DUTCH IRISES: AT LAST

 

I recently set my Geelong students the exercise of making an ikebana using green materials only. This subject was added to the Sogetsu curriculum with the introduction of Book 5 in 2017.

Christine made a "line and mass" interpretation of the exercise. The beautifully curving line is a from a Eucalyptus , the leaves of which have a bluish tinge picking up the colour of the vase. The mass is made with Fatsia Japonica berries and two sprigs of Euphorbia.

Ellie created dramatic lines with several Dietes leaves. Her mass is mostly made with the yellowish-green buds of an unidentified plant. Sitting behind this is a smaller mass of Leucadendron. The colour of the flower buds harmonises with that of the wavy vase.

Maree's exercise was to make an ikebana incorporating fruit or vegetables. In the old curriculum, the earlier version of  this exercise was called a Morimono (literally,"heaped things") arrangement and was created on a flat board or platter. The change to the use of vases has varied the range of interpretation of the exercise.

Using a blue trough she has set seven parsnips with irregular spacing and orientation interspersed with shallots. A small mass of blue Hyacinth is placed behind the space between two parsnips. 

Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana using flowers only. The "flowers" are ornamental Kale and Chrysanthemums. (Technically, Kale is a vegetable although it is sold as a flower). When viewed from a standing position the curve in the position of the flowers was more apparent than this camera angle.

In my Melbourne class the exercise was ikebana made with "Wattle" Acacia, which starts flowering in later winter and is abundant by the time of the winter-spring transition.

Marcia made her ikebana with two kinds of Acacia in a curving  vessel with both central and side openings.

Jacqueline used a tall cylindrical vase and contrasted the curving branch lines with strong lines of some dried bark.

Marisha made a one-material ikebana in a footed vase. The asymmetrical design resulted in a curving c-shape line of yellow flowers at the end of the branches.

The Magnolia branches from my teacher Elizabeth's tree are coming to the end of their long vase life. I decided that I would use them to make an ikebana in a suiban without using a kenzan. This style emphasises the space between the main stems and the surface of the water (which is not visible in this photo). I had hoped that the Dutch irises in the garden would have flowered in time to place them in the work. 

However, I did get a chance to set two of the flowers in this subsequent ikebana.

Greetings from Christopher

27th August 2023