NARCISSUS

We passed the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere recently and I set my senior Melbourne and Geelong students the exercise of making an Ikebana incorporating white Narcissus. This is an important flower in Japan as it is one of the early plants to flower after the depths of winter. The traditional way of arranging Narcissus requires a good supply of leaves, which is a problem if you do not have a plentiful supply growing in your own garden. Unfortunately, commercially bought narcissus in Australia will usually have only one or two leaves, or none at all.

For this reason, I set the exercise as a freestyle ikebana so that the students could work with what was available to them.

In Geelong, Maureen made an ikebana with several different materials including some Narcissus in the centre of the work. Unfortunately my photograph does not do it justice. I have taken it from too high an angle, so that I could get the table top as a white background. In the process the interesting vessel, which is made from an old book, has lost much of its impact.

Christine used an unusual vessel made from seven connected bottle shapes. The long arching line of the unopened flower stem created a space beneath it and gave balance to her simple-looking ikebana.

This strong ikebana design was made by Ellie in a long narrow vessel that can be positioned as shown or on it long side. She used hidden techniques to arrange the leaves and flowers which are issuing from the vertical slit of the vessel.
 

In Melbourne, Marisha borrowed this footed vessel from my collection and arranged her Narcissus with some variegated Aspidistra given by fellow student Eugenia. The curving line of the leaves leads the eye up and down the ikebana.

Eugenia used an interesting octagonal vessel positioned on one of its sides. A bare branch with a single remaining leaf gives the ikebana a wintery appearance with a focus created by two bunches of Narcissus that cascade forward over the face of the vessel.

 

Jacqueline used a previously prepared cage of fine bamboo canes to provide an additional focus for her mass of narcissus that arises on a tall column of stems and leaves.

Marcia, who kindly provided some of the narcissus to her fellow students, created an unusual slanting ikebana. The straight stemmed flowers arise among the curving "windswept" lines of the leaves from her shallow vessel.

This week my own ikebana was inspired by some fading leaves from the Bird's Nest fern in the conservatory.

   

As I was removing the leaves I noticed the fine lines of the veins on the front of the leaves which had darkened while the rest of the leaf yellowed. 

The long slender shape of the leaves with slightly fluted edges is very attractive.

I arranged three leaves, one is hidden at the back from this angle. The colour focus high in the arrangement is Swan River pea Glastrolobium celsianum, and two rose hips from the 

Mr Lincoln rose. The shape of the leaves made them suitable for a vertical ikebana and allowed me to present the face of the leaves with their attractive colouring and texture. The vessel was made in 1932 by the Tasmanian ceramicist John Campbell and given to me by my sister-in-law.

Greetings from Christopher

30th July 2023

WINTER FLOWERS IN THE GARDEN.

At this time of year we are blessed with winter flowering plants. In the Mediterranean climate of coastal Victoria we have not only introduced species from the northern hemisphere, but also introduced Australian native plants from elsewhere on the continent as well as our own local (native) species.

The Lorraine Lee rose has its origin in the northern hemisphere. However, this particular rose was bred in Australia by Alister Clark in 1924. It is looking better this year than for a very long time as it is now better protected from possums. My protective device, a curtain hanging below the horizontal lattice on a tall pole, through which the rose grows, has kept the possums at bay. I also pruned the adjacent trees from which the possums might have jumped onto the rose to eat the new growth.

The Swan River pea Gastrolobium celsianum, is endemic to Western Australia and has masses of bright red "beak-shaped" flowers at this time of year. It is a spreading plant and has been useful on some of the sloping garden beds around the house.

Here is a close-up of a couple of flowers.

Finally, the long-flowering Coastal Banksia B. integrifolia. It is a widely distributed plant growing along the coast from just west of where we live up the east coast of Australia as far north as the central coast of Queensland. It is also generously self seeding in the garden.

About four and a half weeks ago my teacher, Elizabeth, had a Magnolia removed from her garden which had out-grown the space available. I used the bare branches in an ikebana a few weeks ago and kept some unused branches in water in a cool dark room. During the week I went into the room and, to my complete surprise, found that a single flower had opened on one of the stored branches.

What classic beauty! Elegant form with subtle colouring. I am amazed and enchanted still. Of course I immediately had to arrange it in a vase.

I chose a very interesting vessel by the Victorian ceramicist Paul Davis. Fixing the branch in the desired position required some problem solving. The vessel has a very narrow slit opening. 

My solution was to find a small forked branch against which the branch could be supported, otherwise it would have been lying quite flat.

I was quite happy with the effectiveness of my technique. However, because of the flattening effect of the camera I do not think this has photographed well.

At the beginning of the week, the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School held a workshop on the theme of using New Zealand Flax. We were also asked to bring an "interesting vase". The workshop leader, Jenny Loo, showed several examples which can be seen on the Branch website. A twist was added to the participating members' work. They were required to exchange their "interesting vase" with their adjacent neighbour.

Above is a strikingly effective, simple ikebana created by Thea Sartori, one of the senior teachers of the Branch. Thea created a bright point of colour contrast by placing a small sprig of purple pea-shaped flowers on the left hand side. I was surprised by the unexpected harmony between the colour of the flax and the oxide colouring on the vase. Readers of this blog may recognise the vase made by Janet Keefe from Ontario, Canada. This was the "interesting vase" which I brought to the workshop, but which I had to exchange with Thea.

This is my ikebana in the vessel brought by Thea. The square fronted vessel is very narrow front to back and I decided to  reference its shape with a straight line design. This turned out to be much harder than I had anticipated because the ikebana was looking unacceptably flat as I was working on it. I was relieved when Thea advised me to turn the tallest flax leaf side-on and then thread the others through it. In retrospect I should have also angled the vessel by slightly moving the right hand side back so that there would be a subtle forward movement giving a feeling of depth.

Click here for further images from the Victorian Branch workshop.

Greetings from Christopher

22nd July 2023

PREVIOUSLY UNSEEN MATERIAL

Last week my Melbourne students' exercise was to make an ikebana "in a suiban without using a kenzan". It is one of the more difficult exercises in the Sogetsu curriculum and one of my favourites. I like the way that the space within the work is emphasised especially beneath the branches, drawing attention to the surface of the water. (No water was used in this class).

In this instance the students were to use "Winter branches", meaning the leafless branches of deciduous trees, which are characteristic in the northern hemisphere winter.

Eugenia used branches with elegant curves and a very clear vertical movement. The central mass that provides a focal point is made with two stems of St John's Wort Hypericum berries. 

Marcia used Manchurian pear Pyrus ussuriensis as her branch material and Leucadendron for the floral focus.

Jacqueline also used Manchurian pear, and pink Chrysanthemum for the floral focus.

Marisha used Mulberry branches which proved to be quite difficult because they are very flexible and moved in spite of being held in place by discreet wiring. The flowers are two stems of Lisianthus Eustoma.

Thank you, to Marcia who provided additional branch material.

On Saturday of last week I attended an Ikebana International, Melbourne Chapter, workshop led by Emily Karanikolopoulos with the theme of using previously unseen material. A delightful challenge because preparation is not possible. Three varied materials were at each place on the tables when we arrived  They were all that each person was to use. We had been advised to bring a suiban and a nageire vessel to allow some flexibility.

My material included five stems of Umbrella fern Sticherus, a small bunch of Iceland Poppies, and two stems of Centaurea "Dusty Miller" which I discarded because their volume was small and not very harmonious with the other material. My big challenge was the main material, the Umbrella fern. I do not find this fern appealing because, as the name suggests, it has the appearance of a miniature palm tree. I did not want to end up with a  suiban containing forest of small palm trees. My solution was to change the appearance of the fern.

 

Looking from above the fern presents a circle of radiating fronds. I decided to turn them into semi-circles and set them facing forward on one side of my tall blue vase. Four such semi-circles were lined up on the left side of the vase with a space between each of them. I then placed the three open poppies between the ferns so that they were partially obscured. Fortunately, the largest poppy was a vivid orange contrasting well with the bright green of the fern. I spent at least 30 minutes creating a fixture so that the semi-circles would not rotate.

I re-set the ikebana when I got home and was pleased that the flower responded well to the warm water and the overhead light by lifting its head to look up.

Click here for more photos from the workshop.

Greetings from Christopher
16th July 2023

LILIES FROM THE CREEK

At a recent class of my Melbourne students, the senior students' exercise was an autumn ikebana arrangement in a basket.

Marcia's arrangement was in a traditional Japanese bamboo lacquer-ware basket which had a deep colour. She used two small, late-autumn Hydrangeas with some closely matched autumn leaves.

Jacqueline's "basket" is made from a sheet of woven Banana leaf with bobbles at the corners enabling the sides to be raised from a flat position. She chose seasonal fruit and vegetables in autumn tonings and a branch of dried, puce-coloured leaves.

Marisha's exercise was a "simplified ikebana". She has set her ikebana in a small maroon vase using one stem of Camellia and a single Dietes leaf. The Camellia branch has been defoliated except for three leaves, and the Dietes leaf has been bent into straight lines to contrast with the branch.

A couple of weeks ago I was given two stems of Camellia Kamo-honnami by my ikebana friend Rosemary. I was delighted when this bud partially opened revealing the yellow stamens. This ikebana is in the style of a chabana (tea ceremony arrangement).

Last week I showed a large ikebana I made using Magnolia branches and incorporating a single Arum lily leaf

Here is a photo of the source. Arum lily plants have escaped into the creek near our house. I had to put on my gumboots to collect some flowers as well as the leaves. Although it is not visible in the photo there is slowly flowing water under the debris and greenery. 

This week's ikebana is a freestyle arrangement I made in a traditional circular suiban with a deep-blue glaze. Two flowers are arranged with a space between them and supported by three leaves at the base. In this ikebana I was particularly pleased by the space beneath the leaf on the right hand side of the work.

 

WINTER MAGNOLIA

      

In my Melbourne class last week Marisha completed Book 4, the last book of the basic Sogetsu curriculum. She was doing some revision exercises and the final one she chose was an ikebana in a suiban without using a kenzan.

This is the completed work. Marisha had collected some Manchurian Pear (Pyrus ussuriensis) prunings with which she made her structure from two inverted branches. The floral focus was made with a single stem of pink Chrysanthemum and two stems of Snapdragon (Antirrhinum).

The other students' exercise was to make an ikebana using two vessels and in which the materials are intertwined.

Jacqueline used two cylindrical vases for her ikebana. Two branches of Manchurian Pear (from the same source as Marisha's) were fixed using an interlocking technique. Jacqueline then entwined three lengths of Devils Ivy (Epipremnum aureum) which she has growing as an indoor plant. 

 

Marcia used two black vases in which she arranged the climbing Rose "Crepescule" and bare stems from her Wisteria. Marcia created the ikebana to hang over the edge of a shelf in her home where she usually keeps the two vases.

This fourth example of the exercise was made by Mary Fulton, a colleague visiting from Aotearoa New Zealand. She bravely attended the class, taking on the exercise and having to work with unseen materials and unseen vessels. Mary used dried Kiwi Fruit vine that she arranged to the right. Through the vine she looped Dietes leaves creating a loose mass of fresh material.

 

My ikebana this week was made using some bare branches of Magnolia from Elizabeth Angell's garden. The final ikebana is 1.4 Metres wide which is a problem to position in our house as there are no walls that wide which do not contain furniture or artwork. My solution was to set it up in a passage way. On the right side of this photo is a doorway and on the left a window. The two branches are secured with a fine dowel made from a bamboo skewer. To give the work a feeling of freshness and a textural contrast, I placed a single Arum lily leaf at the mouth of the vessel. It extends forward and curves pleasingly around the main branches.  

I worked on the ikebana from this angle arranging the two branches which extend forward. This looked alright seen with binocular vision where the depth is apparent. However with the flattening effect of the photo it looks a little messy, even when re-photographed against a backdrop. 

When I had finished I then had a look from the only other angle possible for viewing.

Imagine my surprise then to see that it looked much better from this side-on angle. I really liked the strong movement to the left that is counterbalanced by the shorter line that curves to the right.

The large wood-fired vessel is by Sergio Sill.

Greetings from Christopher

1st July 2023