This morning the yellowing leaves on the apricot looked bright against the dark bark of the eucalyptus in the background.
And when the sun came out they positively glowed. The colours were also intensified with the rain that fell overnight. I have noticed the changes of the season with the coming of winter. The first buds have appeared on the Japanese Flowering Quince and strong new growth is showing on the climbing Lorraine Lee rose.
In the warmth of the classroom my Geelong students had various ikebana exercises to complete recently.
Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana without the aid of a kenzan. We had not discussed the exercise in advance and she quickly produced this very contemporary looking ikebana with a bold design. It has a good feeling of space and shows the water surface well. However, this exercise is an especially good opportunity to practise techniques of fixing so that the materials do not need to be supported on the sides of the suiban.
This was Jo's second ikebana, using branching material that can be intersected so that the branches are braced against each other. The use of wiring is permissible in this case, as long as it is not noticeable. Although it is not apparent in this photograph, the middle branch in the ikebana is not touching the back wall of the suiban.
The senior students' exercise was to make a slanting, variation number two, ikebana in a nageire vessel. I had not expected Christine to use Anthurium flower as the main stems. However, the proportions and angles were correct and the result quite striking.
Here is Ellie's version of the exercise. She used Magnolia grandiflora branches and white Chrysanthemums in a pale blue nageire vessel. The multi-headed nature of the flowers made it hard to emphasise the line element in that part of the ikebana.
Maree's exercise was to make an arrangement using leaves only. The straight lines she has used are a maroon Dracaena and the light green leaves are from a Split-leaf philodendron; recently re-classified as Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum. Her third material is Ornamental Kale Brassica oleracea. I felt this material did not technically qualify for the exercise as the leaves were not used individually. Maree has placed the Kale behind the other material.
After the class Maree kindly gave me two of the Ornamental Kale which I used later when I came home.
Using two of the New Zealand flax leaves from last week's ikebana, I was particularly attracted to the silvery-fawn colours in the damaged part of this leaf.
The tall line on the left was intended to show the colour but it was not really successful. Quite a bit of mechanics went into positioning the angled leaf. Unfortunately it insisted in being seen side on and thus the colour was lost from this angle.
A few days later I re-set the materials in this black ceramic vase which showed off both materials much more satisfactorily. The position of the single flax leaf enables the surface to be seen clearly and has held its position without any help other than the "cross bar" fixture within the vase. I also feel that the mass of the Kale is more harmonious with the vase.
Greetings from Christopher
28th May 2023
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