USING WOOD in an IKEBANA ARRANGEMENT

Recently there have been some large flocks of Galahs feasting on the grass roots on the local football field. 

The largest flocks I have  seen would have been three times greater than in this photograph. I find the colour combination of their pale grey wings and pink face, neck and breast charming. Sometimes they are also quite playful in their behaviour.

The following ikebana photos are of my Geelong students' classwork.

Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana in a tsubo vase. She used Mirror bush Coprosma for the branch material and a single Hydrangea for the central mass. The fixing method she used involved the interlocking of the stems.

The senior students' exercise was to make an ikebana using bark and floral materials only.

Maureen's bark, which was very thick and inflexible, was positioned on the top of her vase. Orange Marigold Calendula were added, including one extending from an aperture in the vase. 

13/7/24: Editor's note. The orange flower was incorrectly identified, it is a Tagetes not Calendula. Thanks to Fermi for the correction.

Christine secured some curling bark on the top of a round vase, and used Pin-cushion Hakea H. laurina to create a mass within the curve of the bark.

Ellie used a tall traditional ikebana vase, setting some bark so that it cascaded down its side. Her floral mass was made with orange Gerberas.

My ikebana this week was made at the June meeting of Ikebana International, Melbourne Chapter. The guest presenter at the meeting was Mr Eijiro Fukuda, a Melbourne-based maker of traditional Kumiko (woodworking). This is a Japanese technique of  creating decorative panels by assembling wooden pieces without using nails. Members at the meeting were asked to create an ikebana incorporating wood to have relevance to the presenter's topic.

I had previously created a small sculptural structure from short lengths of Silver Birch wood. Given the nature of the material, I had joined the pieces together using dowels. This meant that the method of securing the pieces of timber was not visible. I positioned the structure across the top of a ceramic bottle. I then added a stem of Lemon Citrus x limon, with a green fruit still attached, and a single bloom of Brushfields Yellow Camellia.

I re-set the ikebana when I arrived home, bringing both the fruit and the flower further forward. The bottle was made by Akutsu Tadao, a ceramic artist in Mashiko. Click here I.I. Melbourne for more photos from the meeting.
 

Greetings from Christopher

30th June 2024

STRELITZIA JUNCEA

I took the photo below two months ago, on a day with cold winds and bright sunshine.

 

Laurie and I were both rugged up in warm, windproof jackets.  We had walked to Bell's Beach and, from the clifftop, looked down on the waves breaking just before they washed up on the sand. The sun behind us projected our shadows onto the beach  

Today was a similarly cool day (13 Celsius) with bright sunshine. 

In my Torquay class at the end of May I set my students the exercise of incorporating bark in their ikebana.

Róża found a long piece of bark which was able to sit securely on a flat section. Its position was stabilised by being inserted in the upright vase at the back. Two large Banksia flowers created a mass to contrast with the lines. 

Pamela brought a large piece of 'paper bark' from a Melaleuca linarifolia. The two developing infloresences are from an unidentified Banksia. Unfortunately, the photo does not show that on the righthand side the bark is 'floating' slightly above the table surface.

Norma arranged her bark across the middle of the vase and focused on the autumnal colours of the Manchurian pear leaves Pyrus ussuriensis, and Strelitzia reginae flowers.

Louise used two large sheets of quite thick bark and a similarly coloured thinner bark that was able to be coiled into a loop. She added purple Statice Limonium, as her fresh material contrast.

My ikebana this week was made at a workshop of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School. The double theme was 'one kind of material' and 'to be viewed from all around'.

The material I chose from the garden was Strelitzia juncea. In the photo above it is easy to see the spear-like stems which have only vestigial leaves at the tip.

These stems are relatively soft and can be easily bent. This property allowed me to make two masses from four stems. I bound the stems together and then bent them across each other in an irregular fashion, progressively building them up into a ball. Four other stems were arranged separately, projecting long lines of different lengths in different directions. As a result the finished work looked quite different from each perspective. This is a requirement in the Sogetsu curriculum. If a work is to be "viewed from all around', it must present a different aspect from each viewing angle. 

The unique vessel is by the Victorian ceramic artist Mel Ogden.

Greetings from Christopher
23rd June 2024

WEEPING ELM

Recently, I set my Melbourne students the task of making a freestyle ikebana using large leaves with a floral focus.

Aileen used some Yuca leaves, which are tough and fibrous, to create a strong angular design. The flowers are an open Camellia and two buds.

Marcia set two Monstera leaves horizontally, one above the other, and placed a single partially-opened Peony between them.

Eugenia used variegated Cordyline leaves to create sweepIng lines above a double-opening vessel. She then added a mass of yellow-centred white Chrysanthemums to the right side.

In a white suiban, Marisha placed two Monstera leaves, the taller of which she curved back to show the veins on the underside. A cave-like space was thus created, into which she placed a pink Camellia as though it was sheltering. The only kenzan she had was black, so it was covered with white tissue. At the time of taking the photo, water had not yet been added to the vessel.

Jacqueline chose New Zealand Flax Phorium, which she set in a glass cylinder wrapped in white card. She emphasised the height of the flax by arranging it vertically and contrasted the line with a second flax leaf folded into a zigzaging line. In lieu of flowers she used three red Maple, Acer, leaves as the colour focus.

Last winter my student Jo and her husband gave me the pruned branches of a weeping elm from their garden, and delivered them to my house. The arching lines of these branches are particularly interesting because the subsequent curves of their side branches create a repeating effect. At the time of asking I did not have a specific plan for their use. However, I was confident I would eventually find one. My recent demonstration for the Geelong Gallery was the perfect opportunity.

I began with two branches, exploring ways to position them relative to each other. Their drooping ends were exceptionally long, straight and brittle, which made a purely naturalistic placement impossible. The resulting ikebana would have been too tall, and I could not transport the elements in my small car. The above photo shows a moment when the branches appeared to be twisting around each other.

However, this positioning suddenly created some new forms,. It felt like a "Eureka" moment. The spaces between the opposing curves seemed to come alive. They were filled with a dynamic potential.  

This is the final Ikebana. The two branches arise from a large ceramic 'half pillow' form. The ends of those on the left have been allowed to form sweeping lines. Those on the right have been cut straight across to the same length. Securing of the branches together has been achieved using three wooden dowels, two of which are made from bamboo skewers. In the central space between the branches I placed two short Gymea leaves Doryanthes palmeri and a mass of red Nandina "Nana". Both of these fresh materials will last without water for some time.

The full width of the ikebana is 2.1m and the height 1.4m.

The ceramic 'half pillow' was created by Graham Wilkie.

Greetings from Christopher

16th June 2024
 

 

BARK and BANKSIA

In Melbourne, away from Torquay's salt air and strong prevailing westerly winds, northern hemisphere plants have a better chance of flourishing.

I took this photo a few weeks ago of Japanese Ivy Parthenocissus tricuspidata, on a garden wall in South Yarra. The richness of the red and two contrasting leaves with some residual green colouring really caught my attention.

However, by the coast we are fortunate to have the much tougher Australian native flora with its often unusual forms in the flowers and seed-heads. This particular plant, Bushy Yate Eucalyptus lehmannii is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. One of the beautiful phases of its flower development is the colour change from green to orange of the operculum before they fall of and reveal the green stamens of the flowers.

As I was taking the first photo Laurie pointed out to me the New Holland Honeyeater just below the opened flower. The black and grey feathers of the bird make it hard to see, apart from the yellow flash on its wing.

At a recent class in Geelong I set the senior students the exercise of making an ikebana using "One material only", in a nageire vessel.

Maureen used branches of Eucalyptus with leaves, flower buds, and gumnuts from the previous season, arranged in a tall metal vessel. The branches were carefully arranged and trimmed so that the lines of the leaves created a sense of movement.

Helen chose branches of Lemon Citrus x limon, which she arranged to emphasise the difference in the lines of the branches. This resulted in the creation of an interesting space between them. The branches included leaves, flowers and small early fruit.

Ellie used stems of Queen Anne's lace Daucus carota, (or one of its look-a-likes). The soft stems had gentle, snaking curves,  which she arranged on one side of the vase. These lines were balanced by a large flowerhead low in the right hand side of the Alabaster vase.

Maree's exercise was "An arrangement without a Kenzan". The  branch material most likely Viburnum odoratissimum, from a florist proved to be particularly difficult because of the lack of strong side stems to secure the branches. As a result she decided to revise the exercise in the next class. This is an important lesson for all of us practising the art of ikebana. Materials must be carefully chosen so that they are suitable for the particular exercise.

Above is Maree's successful revision of the exercise. This time she used bare Magnolia branches with strong side stems. The floral focus was made with two incurve Chrysanthemums.

Jo's exercise was to make a "Minature ikebana". This is not quite as it sounds. The exercise is to encourge the ikebanist to look very closely at the elements of which plants are made. Having done so, they are then required to harmoniously arrange the elements by placing them in a variety of very small vessels. This work really is difficult to photograph and is best appreciated by close inspection.

My own ikebana is the fourth photo from my demonstration for the Geelong Gallery in conjunction with the current "Cutting Through Time" Exhibition.

  

 

    

I came across a large piece of Eucalyptus bark, with a beautiful rich red-ochre coloured underside, while walking along the creek path. Because of its size, I chose a largish bowl-shaped vessel by Isabella Wang. The full width of the bark is just over one metre. As the bark is dry and does not need water I have arranged it so that is "floating" above the vessel. Three Coastal Banksia, B. integrifolia, leaves and flowers from the garden have been added, giving fresh life to the ikebana. The harmony with the wall behind is purely coincidental.

Greetings from Christopher
9th June 2024

 

THE FIRST DAY OF WINTER

The area around where we live has changed from open farm land with bare paddocks to an urban forest in the last 60+ years. The suburban development occurred in a period when garden fashion favoured Australian native plants. The consequence has been good for the enrichment of the environment and good for the wildlife that live in this area. I am particularly conscious of the much greater diversity of bird life compared to the time of my childhood.

A couple of days ago, while walking along the track by the creek, I noticed a family of Gang Gang cockatoos  feeding in a tree. I find it rather intriguing that these cockatoos are less disturbed by the close presence of humans compared to many other birds that we see. This juvenile male was calmly shredding the fruit of a Bushy Yate Eucalyptus lehmannii, while I stood on the path and took photographs.

In our garden... 

...I was surprised a week ago to notice that the Japanese flowering quince, Chaenomeles, had started flowering. It is rather early, which I attribute to the dry autumn with some heavy rain a couple of weeks ago. I am looking forward to there being more of these lovely flowers to make some ikebana with them.

In my Geelong class recently...

 

Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana using a glass vessel. She had brought a long Pomegranate branch with a number of fruit at the end of fine very flexible stems. The solution to the question of balancing the branch was to have the weight of the fruit within and very close to the vessel, with the branch stem cantilevered outside it.

The senior students' exercise was to arrange Autumn materials.

Maureen had also brought some Pomegranate branches. She arranged them naturalistically in this white vase that allowed them to hang in graceful curves.

 

Ellie made an interesting interpretation of the Autumn materials theme. Using glass box-shaped vessels she placed: Chestnuts, Japanese maple leaves (acer palmatum), and Persimmon fruit; all floating or submerged beneath the water. The vessel at the back is half-filled with water only, for the refracted images it created. 

 

Helen used a bare stem of Grape vine Vitis, three Canna leaves and a single Pomegranate fruit which is partially visible at the mouth of the vessel.

Christine used a couple of branches of Claret Ash, Fraxinus angustifolia, and some Hakea seed capsules in a large red-coloured resin vase.

My ikebana this week is one of the arrangements I made in the demonstration for the Geelong Gallery. It is a single material ikebana using the stem, flowers and leaves of Pincushion Hakea H. Laurina. In preparation I have stripped about 40 percent of the leaves from the two branches so that the flowers can be seen clearly. I have also positioned the branches so that the lance-shaped leaves are, in the main, curving upward. The lines of the stems and leaves, and the curve of the vessel, create a strong feeling of movement.

The vessel is by Graham Wilkie of Qdos Gallery in Lorne.

Greetings from Christopher

1st June 2024