GREETINGS AT CHRISTMAS TIME

At one of the recent term three classes with my Geelong students, the topic for the senior students was to make an ikebana with a feeling of containment or enclosure. By coincidence, and the time of the year, three of the students used Agapanthus as their principal material.

Tess's ikebana focused on the materials apparently arising from the confinement of her contemporary ceramic ikebana vessel. Her principal material is Agapanthus, still in bud. The material is from her garden and all of the stems had a curious "S" curve at the top. The second material, also emerging from the vase, is a  succulent flower massed at the base of the work.

Helen M has used Agapanthus 'gathered from the wild', which also had some curious curves. These were emphasised by their placement on opposite sides of this double necked vase. This makes them appear as a single wandering movement almost diagonal to the upward movement of the principal stem.  

Maureen inverted a single flowering stem of Agapanthus in a narrow glass vase, with the stem reaching strongly upward. She then created a sense of enclosure by draping three Agapanthus leaves that, by their curve, seem to be holding the vase and the flower it contains.

 

Ellie placed a small mass of pink buds within the opening of this donut-shaped vessel. She then emphasised the sense of  containment by inverting a blue painted branch over the vase. The use of two shades of blue on the branch gives it an extra vividness that brings it alive. 

I could not help but comment on how the branch reminded me of an Australian Leafy Seadragon.

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This year I particularly wanted to make a Christmas decoration that was not reminiscent of a traditional tree; that is, not cone-shaped. I was also wanting to use a bare branch or some driftwood. As I was searching about the garden, I suddenly noticed the framework that I had created in early October for the online, "From Melbourne" exhibition, organised by the Wa Ikebana Festival committee.

This is the frame work I had created, in which, for the exhibition, I had massed some blossom of Golden wattle, Acacia pycnantha.

I was delighted to find that the framework fitted perfectly when balanced on the top of the two pillars of the living room sideboard. I have added Christmas baubles in silver and gold and some short, iridescent cellophane streamers.

Depending on your time zone, I do hope that you have had, or are continuing to have, a Happy Christmas. I wish you peace and good health.

Greetings from Christopher

26th December 2021

CHRISTMAS RENKA

 

While in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne a couple of weeks ago, my attention was caught by the racket made by a large number of Rainbow Lorikeets squawking while feasting in one particular tree.

The tree turned out to be a South African Weeping Boer-bean, Schotia brachypetala. Interestingly, the "Weeping" part of its name refers to the copious amounts of nectar the flowers produce. No wonder the Lorikeets seemed to be going crazy.

When I came across a second tree with slightly less dense flower and leaf cover, I was able to get a decent photo of this Lorikeet...

...and this one feasting away. With their green back and wings the Lorikeets are very often hard to see in among the foliage, let alone photograph.

Earlier in the day I held the final 2021 class for my Melbourne students at Margaret's house. As only five students were able to attend I decided that we should make a Renka. This is a collaborative ikebana, progressively built up by a group. Each participant, in succession, has a limited time to make their ikebana in response to what has been created before them. They can take their inspiration from the line, movement, colour or feel of the developing ikebana. 

The idea of Renka was developed by the third Sogetsu Iemoto, Hiroshi Teshigahara. It is modelled on the classical, linked poetry form called Renga, when brief stanzas of poetry are improvised in response to a previous stanza.

 

Above is our Renka as it finally evolved. I began the process as it was an unfamiliar exercise for the students. We had all brought material for a Christmas ikebana but had to choose an unfamiliar vessel from Margaret's collection of vases. With a maximum of 15 minutes working time I began by arranging a  large dried stem of Kiwi Vine, three stems of Alstromeria psittacina, and a small sprig of variegated Holly, Ilex aquifolium in my chosen vessel. It is in the small black vessel made of three ceramic loops, just to the right of the centre.

Just to the left Margaret added a strong curving line of variegated Miscanthus that leans to the right, teamed with hot pink Begonia, red crucifix orchid, grape vine leaves and some red Christmas baubles. Marcia added the strong line of Christmas lily on the right with a curving branch of pine. Eugenia added long-needle pine and a black zig-zagging branch line with Christmas baubles on the far left. At the back lefthand side Marisha added a branch of pine that curves to the left, some white flowers and red berries. On the righthand side at the back Jacqueline added the strong line of split New Zealand flax that leans to the left and a mass of pale green carnations.

One of the things that became apparent in the process was that the "less is more" principle is necessary to create harmony and to prevent the final work looking over-loaded. Unfortunately, the top of the work had to be cropped a little because it extended above a black overhead light pelmet.

Greetings from Christopher

18th December 2021

BANKSIA AWAKENING

Following on from last week's posting, this time my Geelong students ended term four of 2021 with an "ikebana at home" exercise. The class members met at the home of my student Tess. They had been asked to bring materials for an ikebana and were asked to include red and/or white flowers. Each student was allocated a location to make their ikebana by drawing a number from a hat, which indicated one of the eight designated locations. After considering the locations and the materials the student had brought, they then selected a vase  they had never used before from Tess's collection.

Maree's ikebana was located on a chest of drawers in a bedroom. She had prepared some white paper lanterns which she wrapped around a stem of tortuous willow. A single stem of white gladiolus stood at the back of the willow and two red carnations created colour focal points low in the arrangement.

Jo arranged her ikebana on a shelf, also in one of the bed- rooms. This freestyle ikebana is very close to a "Slanting Variation Number Three, nageire style". The materials from her garden are Japanese maple and a very long stemmed red Geranium.

On a side-table in the entrance hall, Christine arranged a silver-sprayed Palm inflorescence. To this she added some red succulent flowers, red-sprayed dried leaves and green glass baubles.

Tess used one black and one white ceramic bottle of the same shape. In them she arranged some red flowering Melaleuca branches and added two small white Snapdragon flowers at the neck of the black bottle. 

On a side-table in the same room Maureen arranged some cascading stems of Agonis flexuosa, from which she stripped all the leaves to show the lines. Red Alstromeria flowers make a focal point at the base of the stems.

On a small side-table in the living room Helen M created a slanting arrangement using pine and two, red pincushion Leucospermum,

In responding to the red and silvery-grey Japanese print of two fish, Ellie chose this black triangular vase for her ikebana... 

... Her materials are pine needles and small white chrysanthemums. She added the silver-painted structure made from bamboo skewers to reflect the lines of the calligraphy.

Helen Q made this table-centre ikebana using blue Spruce with a focal cluster of silver baubles. The tall glass vase has grey vertical lines.

After discussing each of the ikebana, we all shared a relaxed evening meal.

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Over the last week the New South Wales Branch of the Sogetsu School has held an exhibition in the Calyx at the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. The live exhibition was supplemented by an online exhibition to which Sogetsu members were invited to participate. The theme of the exhibition was Sogetsu Awakening, to reflect the experience of coming out of the many, lengthy Covid lockdowns endured in Australia and around the world. This link is to the Online Exhibition.

Here is my ikebana for the exhibition. Using three Banksia flowers, I have tried to express a sense of the materials arising from within the vessel and their movement as they stretch, writhe and move toward each other. The black-lacquered vessel is by Hiroyasu Takizawa.

Greetings from Christopher

9.05 pm. (running late) 12th December 2021

FASCIATED AGAPANTHUS

 

I have come at last to the end of teaching classes for 2021. On Thursday the final class for my Torquay students was held in my house. The challenge for the students was to make an ikebana in one of my vessels in a suitable location in the house with materials they had brought with them. I was interested to note that each of the students chose unusually shaped vessels for their ikebana.

Coralie had done some at home preparation and had sprayed  the tops of three straight, dried stems of Agapanthus with silver paint. These she arranged in each of the full depth spaces in this difficult to use modern blue-glazed vessel. She added some bright red Nandina berries at the top of the Agapanthus and a curving branch of Cyprus across the top of the vessel.

Róża used a ceramic, "moon-shaped" vessel to arrange two leaves of New Zealand flax, a stem of small white unidentified flowers and a Christmas ribbon. She was focused on creating an elegant space between the flax leaves and allowed the flowers to cascade forward below the level of the shelf.

Judy used a single flower stem of New Zealand flax from her garden, and a small flowering branch of Grevillea robusta. She chose the modern-style ikebana vessel for its interesting shape and turquoise glaze. Her attention was also on the space between the two "S"- shaped curves in the materials.

 

Marta was drawn to the curve and the shino glaze in this vessel by Graeme Wilkie. She has followed the curve with a line of Spruce and has a small focal mass of creamy-white unidentified flowers, red Alstromeria, and an almost invisible large white poppy on the right. The ikebana was arranged on the sideboard with a busily carved wooden background where the poppy was clearly visible. My eyes did not see how it disappeared into the white background when I moved the work to take this photo! Sorry, Marta. 

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Over the past month I have noticed that the Agapanthus plant I used last on a post back in May has again produced some flowers with fasciated stems and exceptionally large flower heads. With permission from the owner I picked three of these flowers to use in my ikebana. I was particularly interested to emphasise the curve just below the flower.

This is the first ikebana I made. I used a box shaped vase that I was able to place on its side and have set two flowers as though they are growing out and up from the opening. It was quite a challenge to secure the very heavy stems so that they arise from the vase without touching the sides. I used a small ceramic block to support the stems near the mouth of the vase and at the other end a cross-bar to hold the bottom of the stem down. The vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Mel Ogden.

As the arrangement was very wide, I re-worked the materials adding a third flower to create an upright ikebana in this traditional ceramic suiban . At the base of the ikebana I have added some shortened Aspidistra leaves as the ikebana looked too flat on the lefthand side; they also give the work depth, both to the back and coming forward.

Greetings from Christopher

5th December 2021

PLAYING WITH TRANSPARENCY

 

On Thursday the class for my Torquay students focused on incorporating transparent or translucent material in their ikebana.

Róża had brought a huge lacy tree philodendron, Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum, leaf. I encouraged her to manipulate it to alter its appearance. She carefully cut the lamina of the leaf on one side, and part of the second, leaving only the larger veins. The result was a striking sculptural form.

 

I suggested that it needed a focal colour contrast. Her fellow student, Marta, gave her a sheet of orange cellophane that was formed into an irregular ball-shape.

Marta's ikebana used two stems of ginger to make a vertical ikebana. A length of fine green mesh linked the stems and a small succulent created a focal point.

Coralie created a structure with black plastic mesh supported in two glass box-shaped vessels. Three palm leaves provided a contrast, "bringing the sculpture to life". 

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At the beginning of the week I attended the first face-to-face meeting of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, Victorian Branch, since April. The theme of the meeting was to make an ikebana in a clear glass vessel using leaf material only. This excluded leaves on a branch. I was interested in the presenter, Angeline Lo's, suggestion of finding new fixing techniques. In this situation the fixing needs to be hidden or to become part of the ikebana itself.

 

I used two vessels with flat surfaces. About two weeks earlier I had cut some stems of Umbrella grass, Cyperus alternifolius,  the "leaf-head" on some of which, had turned an attractive shade of yellow. I have placed one of these with a fresh, green leaf-head in the circular vase at the right rear. It was cut so that it could sit flat against the surface. Another I cut in half and then cut the ends so that they lined up with the edges of the rectangular vase. In each case the leaf is supported by its central stem that is wedged between the front and back surfaces of the vases. I added the variegated Aspidistra leaf to create sense of movement. However, on later reflection, I think it is too visually heavy and is not well integrated.

Click on this link to other images of the Sogetsu Branch  workshop.

Greetings from Christopher

28th November 2021

 

ROSA ALBERTINE (AGAIN)

  

With the further easing of Covid-19 restrictions we have recently been able to catch up with friends at home.

I made this welcoming ikebana for one of Laurie's former work colleagues, and her husband, whom we had not seen for some time. The sculptural structure is made from disposable hashi (chopsticks) that have been wired together. I used two Dietes leaves to create the ovoid line and added some stems of Forest Bell Bush, Mackaya bella, as a focal accent.

In the garden recently...

.. we were delighted to see a male Gang Gang Cockatoo in the Grevillea robusta. They seem to be less 'nervous' than other cockatoos, but are quite uncommon in our garden. When I first heard its call it was in the large red flowering Melaleuca viminalis, (formerly Callistemon viminalis) and was well-camouflaged because of its colouring. The bird seemed quite interested in what I was doing as I got out my phone to take this quick snap.

Elsewhere in the garden the Albertine Rose, that I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, has lifted some branches above the Pandorea Pandana vine and is now flowering well.

  

I particularly like the contrast between the darker outer surface, and the pale inner surface, of the petals as well as the delicate fragrance of the flowers. I chose these flowers as the main subject of an ikebana that I demonstrated to my Torquay students this week.

The exercise was to make an ikebana in a suiban, without the use of a kenzan and to be viewed from above. This is useful when you want to set the ikebana on a dining, or other low table. The technique I demonstrated was the using of materials braced across the suiban in such a way as to be able to support the floral materials. When this method is used it is important that the supporting materials become an integral part of the overall design. 

 

Here is the ikebana on the dining room table the day after it was originally made. I was pleased to see that one of the buds  had opened overnight, increasing the size of the flower mass. However, the water surface still makes up about one-third of the ikebana giving it a light fresh feel.

Greetings from Christopher

21st November 2021

IKEBANA IN A SUIBAN WITHOUT A KENZAN

This morning, Sunday, we visited the Royal Botanic Garden Melbourne to see how the Lotuses were developing this season. 

Some of the new leaves had unfurled sufficiently to sit on the lake surface and, as you can see, capture some of the overnight rain.

A little further along I noticed these reeds and their reflections in the water. This reminded me of a photo I took in the lake at the Sale Botanic Gardens, three years ago.

I was really fascinated by the reflections of the reeds and the pink-tinged clouds as the sun was setting. The image reminded me of the Sogetsu curriculum exercise of making an ikebana with straight lines. Nature has done it before we ever tried.

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On Saturday I attended Emily Karanikolopoulos' “Master Class” workshop.The class is modelled on the process Mr Kawana uses at classes in his Tokyo studio. Materials and vessels are provided along with other equipment for fixing. So the students have to work with unfamiliar materials and vessels. In the case of a whole day class, the student has to work repeatedly with the same material making several ikebana arrangements one after another. As I have said previously, the aspect which I enjoy is having to work without a preconceived plan.

When we arrived at the class each participant had to draw lots for a prepared bunch of materials and a vessel with which we were to work. The exercise was to make an ikebana in a suiban without using a kenzan. 

My materials included a dried branch with many side branches that were relatively parallel. In the photo it is just visible on the table top to the left of the fresh material. The fresh material included two very straight stems of Coastal Banksia, B. integrifolia, and a straight stem of Oriental Lily with a bud and two fully-opened flowers. The vessel was a wide white glass bowl with a slightly domed centre.

I was able to cut the dried branch into two pieces, one of which I inverted to stand with the additional support of the strongest Banksia stem which angles down to the right side in the suiban. I deliberately inverted the stem so that from a standing position the pale underside of the leaves would be visible. The low angle of the photograph looses this aspect. Two leaves on the right side of the Banksia stem clearly show the pale underside as well as the rich green of the top of the leaf. The second piece of the dried branch was placed at an angle across the upright materials.  I cut one of the Banksia stems into short sections to create a mass at the top showing only the pale undersides of the leaves. In the photo, the pale undersides look like flower petals but they are, in fact, leaves. Then I placed the oriental lily at the back so that the flowers are mostly obscured, just providing pink contrast to the underside of the leaves. I was reasonably happy with my technique in this exercise, but think the design aspect could be improved.

Greetings from Christopher

14th November 2021

BACK TO CLASSES

One of the orchids in last weeks posting was identified by my student Coralie; it was the Tall Leek orchid, Prasophyllum elatum.

With the end of the most recent Covid lockdown and the arrival of Term Four, I have been able to commence classes again in Torquay and Geelong. In Torquay I set the students the task of making an ikebana arrangement with three different materials.

Judy arranged two branches of Prunus with three 'Pinwheel' Leucadendron and two bare branches of a third unidentified material in a suiban. 

Róża arranged a single flower of Echium with a blue-grey leafed succulent and four Lavender flowers. The interesting vase was quite difficult to use because it is narrow front to back, 

 

Coralie arranged a single flowering stem of Japanese water iris, iris ensata, three stems of Germander, Teucrium fruticans, and a small branch of Bluebell Creeper, Billardiera heterophylla. The exercise turned out to be a lesson is the use of a cross-bar fixture, and the pattern of her ikebana is similar to a traditional seika arrangement.

At the Geelong class four of the students were challenged with having to make their ikebana in fifteen to twenty minutes. Then each student exchanged their material with one other and their vessel with another, different student. The process was deliberately designed so that in the second step the materials had to be arranged in a vessel that was not intended for them.

In the following sequence of photographs the first image is of the original ikebana in the creator's own vessel. The second image shows the original material re-arranged in a different vessel.

Helen M created her ikebana with tonally matched materials of a lichen-covered branch, orange Alstromerias and an orange-tipped leafy branch. The tsubo vessel has an iron-grey crackled glaze.

Christine simplified and re-arranged Helen's materials in a pewter-coloured metal vessel emphasising the space under the branch.

Ellie made a vertical ikebana using some Persoonia longifolia, (sold by the florist as 'Snoddy grass'). The wonderful Wikipedia has taught me that it is actually a small tree or shrub from the south of Western Australia in the region between Albany and Perth. She contrasted the green with a vibrant red Ranunculus and unidentified material being a tight inflorescence of lime green spheres and what looked like very small red fruit.

Helen M re-arranged Ellie's material in a larger suiban creating a sense of horizontal movement by crossing the stems.

In a black suiban, Christine created a vertical ikebana with two tall stems of iris, two seed heads of Watsonia, and Nandina flowers and leaves.

Maureen simplified and re-arranged Christine's materials in a suiban. She created a focus on a bud and single flower under the arching seed head of the Watsonia.

Maureen created a vertical ikebana using two Agapanthus flowers and two budding stems. These protrude above three encasing broad, deep-green leaves.

Ellie shifted the focus of Maureen's materials to a single line of a stem in bud. She then reversed the movement of the line by creating gentle curving lines with the leaves that brings the eye back to the two small flowers at the neck of the vase.

A completely different exercise was Tess's challenge. She had to create an ikebana for a particular space and chose the shelf in front of the mirror in her bathroom. Tess showed me a photo of the space and then approximated it in the class room having brought a framed mirror with her. 

Tess's materials were leafy stems of Bamboo and a single orange rose. She created a light open mass with Bamboo using a cross-bar fixture in a Raku-ware vase.

The classes, as always, hold a challenge. The results are delightful; all the more so, when not planned.

I chose this faceted Bizen vase by Hiroshi Toyofuku to set two flowers and buds of Rosa Albertine with a bare branch of the Japanese Flowering Quince. I managed to strike a cutting from our original Albertine Rose, a few years ago. The original had to be removed because of construction works. The cutting survived but is now at risk of being swamped by the Pandorea Pandorana vine on the same fence. 

 

The roses are arranged naturalistically and I have tried to reflect the vase's faceted surface by the use of the Flowering Quince branch. The in-house critic (and editor of this blog) commented that there does not seem to be any space showing at the opening of the vase. In fact it is the dark area below the roses on the left.

Greetings from Christopher

(8.10 pm)  7th November 2021