The Gang-gangs are winter-time visitors to our part of the world, where they feed on the seeds of indigenous Australian plants. Over the last 40 - 50 years, enthusiastic gardeners have planted many of these species which are more tolerant of our hot, dry summers than exotic plants. The Gang-gangs now seem to have migrated back to the bush where they nest and raise their young.
Laurie, a week ago, also took this photo of a Wisteria vine at its flowering peak. As you can see I forgot my re-usable mask. Fortunately we have made a point of keeping a packet of disposable masks in the car glove box.
This week's ikebana is a continuation of the use of last week's materials, Arum lilies and leaves. Because of their large size I decided that I would arrange them in a large box-like ceramic vessel that was made by the Echizen-based ceramic artist Yutaka Nakamura.
To follow the leaning movement of the vessel I decided to arrange the Arum flowers and leaves extending to the left. However, to maintain a feeling of lightness I did not want them to be leaning on the lefthand edge of the vessel and so I needed to make a crossbar support. The box is of slab construction and the walls are quite thin relative to their size. Therefore, to avoid the risk of damaging the vessel, I needed to create a crossbar support mechanism that would not put pressure on its sides .
This was my solution. I have created a cross-shaped support, the upright of which is inserted at an angle into a large kenzan. The lean to the right is to counter the pressure to the left that will be exerted by the weight of the materials. The crossbar has been measured to just touch the sides of the vessel but is not wedged against them.
This is the mechanism in position. The leaves and flowers will be inserted into the kenzan and their lean to the left is supported by the crossbar. Without this they would collapse.
Here is the finished ikebana. Two Arum lily flowers and two leaves are given a feeling of movement rising to the left. Counteracting this is a leaf at the back and a large swirling mass of dried material that moves to the right and down. This material is the dried base of a leaf from a banana plant. It is a variety of banana which has a distinctive red-coloured central rib on its fresh leaf. The dried material also provides a textural contrast to the fresh materials.
Greetings from Christopher
26th September 2020
That Wisteria vine is beautiful! I also keep extra masks in my car and since we can’t get the better quality surgical versions I now use pieces of #22 gauge floral wire that I poke through the inside track along the nose and chin areas. This way I can pinch it for a tighter fit at the nose so my glasses don’t fog and fold the chin area for a leak free fit. See how useful Ikebana supplies can be:)
ReplyDeleteI love everything about your beautiful arrangement and thanks for the photo of your support mechanics.