I was surprised by this lovely rural scene on the weekend. Surprised because it is in Studley Park, and only 4 kms from the Central Business District of Melbourne.
The Yarra river was a little bit more muddy than usual because of recent spring rain. This section is the last couple of hundred metres of the river that is tidal. Around the next bend are Dights falls which are above the reach of the high tide.
The open pasture area here is part of the famous Collingwood Childrens' Farm. A wonderful place that brings the country to the city, enabling children (and adults) to learn about aspects of farming, animal and plant care.
As you can see from this photo the Community Farm is a genuinely working farm...
...and offers a range of interactive experiences for visitors.
These two lambs were incredibly cute playing together. They were not really interested in me and walked away as soon as I had taken this photo.
There were a large variety of birds including this Orphington Fowl, but also varieties of ducks and some Peacocks and Peahens.
The large vegetable garden included...
...this bed of Iceland poppies that were just beginning to flower.
I was at this site for the annual exhibition of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu school. It was held in conjunction with the Wa (harmony) Ikebana Festival. The exhibition took place in two of the rooms in the old Abbotsford Convent, now a community centre of "...art, culture and learning...".
One of the additional features of the event was the inclusion a number of ceramic artists with work for sale in their stalls. Also a ceramic flower vessel competition was held with between 30 and 40 artists contributing their work.
As the Director of the Sogetsu Branch I was asked to participate in a demonstration of Sogetsu Ikebana.
Given this was an event open to the public I deliberately chose to make a "Basic Upright moribana" ikebana, which is the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. Most of the work in exhibitions is large, sometimes complex and quite technical in its construction. All demonstrators were allocated six minutes to complete their ikebana. I was concerned to show inexperienced viewers that with knowledge of the principles and a little practice ikebana can be made with very few materials and without spending a lot of money.
For the exhibition I created this ikebana incorporating a Birch wood sculpture and a single line of Kiwi vine, Actinidia deliciosa, The flower mass is made with Renunculus asiaticus and Dutch Iris, Iris X hollanica. The ceramic vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Graeme Wilkie.
To my northern hemisphere friends who usually read this blog with their morning coffee, my apologies for its lateness. It was a big weekend.
Greetings from Christopher
12th September 2022
No comments:
Post a Comment