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