INDIGENOUS AND EXOTIC MATERIALS

 

Yesterday we walked in the bush near the Iron Bark Basin nature reserve in the morning. It was a glorious spring day after two days of cold, destructive winds and rain.

The peaceful view over the ocean from the high cliffs was beautiful and calm, such a change from the day before. 

The low angle of the morning sun illuminated this small patch of  moss with two Nodding Greenhood orchids, Pterostylis nutans, and some Drosera.

Close up of Drosera aberrans.

To ikebana.

Last week I set my Torquay students the exercise of arranging endemic Australian materials with exotic materials. The idea of combining unlikely materials is one example of Sofu Teshigahara's thinking. Up to the late 19th century there were many rules constraining what was acceptable in ikebana. For example, the first book in English about ikebana, “The flowers of Japan and the art of ikebana” by Josiah Condor was published in 1891. It includes listings under the two headings:  "Appropriate Combinations" and "Objectionable Combinations” of flowers.

It was against just such strictures that Sofu sought to free ikebana. There certainly are combinations of materials that do not sit naturally well together. However, Sofu considered that any combination is possible. But it is up to the skills of the ikebanist to make the materials work together to create successful ikebana. 

Below are two examples by my students of the exercise I set. 

Val arranged two Western Australian flowers, a maroon Kangaroo paw and, I think, an Erica with two cymbidium orchids, in the Kabu Wake (two groups) style. She has used tonal variations of one colour to harmonise the ikebana.

Helen combined a Grevillea with two leaves and two daffodils. In her strong design the grevillea, which is arranged naturally links the principal elements.

I was interested in the various strategies that students used to achieve harmony. These have included: harmonising (or contrasting) with colour, texture or form. Also choosing one material to be the principal subject and the other subordinate. In Japan I remember seeing the colour-matching strategy to create harmony. However, there are obviously many other ways to solve this problem.

Having set this exercise I have come to realise that I quite often combine plants from different geographical locations and climates. The example above is a re-working from a few weeks ago. Native Clematis microphylla with a variegated aspidistra leaf. An example of using colour to harmonise the elements.

Last week my attention was caught by a wild growing prunus that was just starting to flower. It was in a very exposed position and was stunted with the branches leaning away from the prevailing winds. I decided to contrast this with a mass made with two stems and one flower of Banksia integrifolia, from the garden. In my own example I have made the native materials subordinate to the ‘main subject’, which was the flowering branches of prunus that were so expressive of early spring. 

The white porcelain vase is by the Castlemaine ceramic artist, Phil Elson. 

Greetings from Christopher

30th August 2020

ONE FLOWER AND ONE LEAF

In these days when face-to-face classes are not permitted, my students continue to practise their ikebana at home. I have the pleasure of receiving photos of their ikebana via email and commenting on their work. This however is not without its challenges. The first and most obvious thing is that I am commenting on a two-dimensional photo, not a three-dimensional ikebana seen in 'real life'.

When I photograph my own work I often close one eye to get a better idea of what the camera is seeing before I press the button. It is surprising how often this alerts me to the need to alter the ikebana slightly or make a small change in the angle of the camera. The other major difference from conducting a face-to-face class is that I do not get to see the work as it progresses and observe the student's problem-solving and manual skills. However, for all of us, this new mode of communication is certainly better than not having classes.

Recently Eugenia sent me this photo of her Kamon Hon'ami camellia arranged with a bare branch. She has arranged the materials in a traditionally-shaped bronze vase with very elegant lines that suit her pared-back ikebana.

Margaret told me that she had the good fortune of finding these Golden Ash, Fraxinus excelsior 'Aurea', branches while out for her daily walk. She has arranged them in a suiban without using a kenzan, adding two Aspidistra leaves and a mass of one of the Thryptomenes.

In the garden...

...I recently noticed that an Arum lily, Zantedeschia aethiopica, planted a couple of years ago, was developing its first flower. I carefully monitored its development as I wanted to use it as an ikebana subject. My thought was to make an arrangement using one flower and one leaf.

I decided to use this vase by Pippin Drysdale because of its form and its strong colour. At a glance this vase looks purple. However, the surface is made of alternating fine lines of intense blue and red glaze. The interior of the vase is red only.

This photo of the interior shows that the stems have been gently and patiently curved. The curving of the stems allowed me to brace them against the wall of the vase to achieve the desired positions and particular angle of both the flower and the leaf.

The flower is placed in a relatively horizontal position with a left to right movement. The leaf sits mostly hidden behind the spathe with its tip projecting above the open space on the righthand side of the vase. Minimal materials with a strong presence.

Greetings from Christopher

22nd August 2020

JAPANESE FLOWERING QUINCE (Chaenomeles Japonica)

If you receive this blog by email you will have missed a correction I made to last week's blog after it was posted. The correct name of the maker of Michael's ikebana vessel (below) is William Baker, whose work can be seen by clicking on the link.

                +                    +                    +                    +

We have had a patch of welcome wet weather over the last week, some brief storms without being severely cold on the coast.

At times it looked rather like this, except that I took the photo of this dramatic-looking sky in the early morning at least a couple of months ago.

I have been delighted that a camellia that I acquired from a neighbour late last year has, A) survived repotting and B) rewarded me with these beautiful flowers.

Camellias are such a delight in winter and generous in their flowering. I now have this unnamed variety and a Kamo Hon'ami. Both are in pots as I don't think they will survive through summer in the dry soil of our garden.

In the late winter, early signs of spring are appearing. This is the transitional season that Dr Tim Entwisle, the Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, calls 'Sprinter". The link above is to his excellent blog.

In our garden I was pleased to see that this small shrub of Japanese Flowering Quince, Chaenomeles japonica, has survived the ravages of possums and is beginning to flower well.

It is such an intense colour that it looks extra bright on a cold winters day.

Beside the red Japonica is the variety called Apple Blossom, which has delicate pink and white flowers and was given to me by my friend and former colleague Shirley.

I was keen to make one more ikebana arrangement with the Flowering Quince before the season changes. 

The angular lines of the branches really seem to capture the feeling of winter. They are most dramatic in their leafless winter state which also shows off the flowers in their stark intensity. This ikebana is made with two Flowering Quince branches and one stem of camellia leaves. They are supported by a small forked branch braced across the mouth of the vase. I have carefully aligned all the stems so that they arise from the mouth of the vase in a single line that creates a cleanly defined point of connection with the vase. Because the main branch has such interesting angular lines, a space has been created on the left that emphasises the contrast between the freshness of the camellia leaves and the principal branch.

The vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Owen Rye.

Greetings from Christopher

15th August 2020

CASCADING FLOWERS

One of the delights of sharing ikebana with friends via the internet is the relationships that are forged across the world. A month ago I showed photos of ikebana by Leonora who lives in Ottawa and Michael who lives in Florida. Here are two further ikebana arrangements, one by each of them. 

Leonora's small elegant arrangement is of her Magnolia in its second flowering, after the leaves have formed. The colours tone beautifully with the ceramic vase. Coincidentally in the same tonal range is...

...Michael's arrangement of Allium and Monstera deliciosa. This is a classic example of the Sogetsu exercise of 'Showing (or emphasising) the Lines at the Base'. The ceramic vessel is by William Baker. (Also at: https://www.pinterest.com.au/baker2861/ )  

[This is a revised post as I had misattributed the name of the potter.]

These photos shared by friends make me more conscious of the northern hemisphere seasons being opposite to the southern hemisphere. This in turn heightens my consciousness of the seasonal nature of ikebana itself.

The Cootamundra Wattle in our garden, which I showed a couple of weeks ago, is now well passed the peak of its flowering. 

The latest spectacular flowering locally, is the Australian native Clematis, Clematis microphylla. The flowers are rather small but certainly abundant.

I took these photographs in the scrub on the leeward side of the sand dunes. This one has whiter flowers than the species which grows in our garden, which are a creamy-green. 

Also growing in our garden, and only just beginning to flower, is this Lady Banks Rose, Rosa banksiae. As both of these plants have a weeping habit I decided to use them in a cascading arrangement.

The tall yellow-tinted glass vase has sufficient height for the clematis to hang gracefully. I have partially stripped the lower part to emphasise its line. At the top I added the rose to create textural variety and a counter balancing mass. Although it is not apparent from the photograph the two rose stems project well forward. In the next photo this will be obvious.

This is the second version of the ikebana. I have added a leaf of variegated aspidistra, which provides additional textural variation. The leaf was too wide and one side was almost totally green so I split off the green side. Then I curled the leaf, creating the illusion that the branch materials cascade from within. 

Greetings from Christopher

9th August 2020

THE FEELING OF WINTER

On one of our daily walks recently I was delighted to see this small flock of Galahs perching in a Melaleuca lanceolata by the foreshore in Torquay. They had been tearing at the roots of some grasses before they were startled and flew into the tree.

 

On Thursday, in the Iron Bark Basin nature reserve...

...we saw this lone Kookaburra, perched on a branch. These birds are more commonly seen in forested areas and are now occasionally seen where we live because of the large number of native trees that were planted in the 1960s and 70s.

*          *          *          *          *

Two of my students recently created ikebana on the theme of a winter arrangement. 

Ellie said she was inspired by the idea that citrus are fruit that start to be harvested in winter. Her contemporary style ikebana includes a lime, lemon, tamarillo and a bare branch in a black vessel. The use of bold colours and the black vessel set me thinking of the De Stijl art movement.

Eugenia has created a classic winter arrangement using a single pale pink camellia and bare branch in a black suiban. The reduced colour palate and bare branches evoke the stark beauty that can be found in winter.

This winter in Victoria has been quite dry. Only yesterday I decided it was necessary to water some of the plants in the garden to prevent them from becoming stressed. At the same time, and perhaps unrelated, we have been visited at night by Brushtail Possums. They have been ravaging the large Lorraine Lee climbing rose and eating the petals on the Japanese Flowering Quince, Chaenomeles japonica.

The flowering quince is one of my favourite winter ikebana subjects and I was despairing of being able to pick any this year. Three weeks ago I noticed a plump bud that had not been eaten so I quickly cut a couple of branches.

This is the first version of the ikebana I arranged, using two branches in a black plastic suiban. You may just see a small intense red-pink bud on the lower left  of the main stem.

Here it is in close-up where, in the warmth of the living room overnight, the flower opened to a beautiful cup of pink containing a mass of yellow stamens.

Several days later the buds had begun to enlarge. I repositioned the two stems and added some white narcissus from a small clump to give an added feeling of freshness and new growth. Because the clump of narcissus was small I did not pick any leaves as that would have deprived the bulb of nutrients for the rest of the season. The green leaves I have added are from a Crocosmia.

Two weeks later the narcissus had finished but the quince had blossomed beautifully. As you can see the flowers that have opened after the branches had been cut and brought inside are progressively more pale.

Greetings from Christopher

1st August 2020