TWO VESSELS and a WINDFALL

In the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, I was recently surprised and delighted to see this huge sweep of pink everlasting flowers. They are in light shade under some tall Eucalyptus trees. My internet research tells me that they are no longer called Helichrysum but have been transferred to a new genus Xeruchrysum. 

I did not notice a label for these, however they may be a hybrid of X. bracteatum. Or they may be naturally occurring in this colour. Please contact me if you know the answer.

They are particularly beautiful in this massed planting.

Three weeks ago I mentioned that we had some extremely windy weather, particularly on the Saturday night. I was relieved when I walked around the garden the following morning not to find any large branches blown off the trees. 

However, when I walked along the creek path we came across a Bushy Yate  Eucalyptus lehmannii, that had split at its lowest forking branch. I think somewhat less than half the small tree had survived. The tree was aged and I think had passed its prime.

This was the largest of the branches that lay beside the path. When I passed the branch again on my return I noticed that there were a few open flower-heads and quickly rescued a couple of shorter branches before the Shire workers came along with their mulching machine. "Waste not, want not", as the saying goes; an impulse which many Sogetsu practitioners will recognise. A literal wind-fall. 

I immediately knew that this material would make for an interesting ikebana opportunity.

The mop-like, greenish-yellow inflorescence is quite fascinating, as is the fruit when it forms. The one on the righthand branch has only recently lost most of its stamens. I am not sure of the technical name of the remaining curving structures. 

In planning this ikebana I wanted to show the three phases of the inflorescence development from bud to open 'flower' and then fruit

I decided to make an ikebana using two smoke-grey glass vases with the lines spreading widely. 

  

To start I removed about eighty percent of the leaves to reveal the lines of the branches and the phases of the flower from bud to fruit. There is a small bud on the branch just to the right of the central mass. The large spiky mass on the left branch is a well-developed, but as yet unopened, inflorescence. The line on the left is stretching slightly to the back and the other is stretching slightly forward. The flowers are on very short stems and could only be positioned side-on. 

Greetings from Christopher

28th September 2024

AUSTRALIAN NATIVE MATERIALS

 

Last week I posted a photo of my contribution to the Ikebana International Exhibition at the Labassa Mansion in Melbourne. Earlier this week I was delighted to receive a photo of my work by my colleague Lei Wang. Lei made good use of the Covid lockdowns by completing a photography course on-line. 

The knowledge and skills she has gained since then are evident in this beautiful image that shows the context of the ikebana. 

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The Consul-General of Japan for Victoria, South  Australia and Tasmania and his wife are joint patrons of Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter. On a rotating basis, for special occasions, the five Ikebana Schools in Melbourne are called on to provide Ikebana in the Consul-General’s residence. A few weeks ago I was advised that it was the turn of the Sogetsu School. The event was a reception to mark the end of the term of office and pending departure later this year of the current Consul-General, Mr Shimada. 

I had the privilege of making an Omukaebana, a welcoming ikebana, for the reception. In my planning preparation I thought it would be appropriate to create an Ikebana using only Australian native materials to express the unique beauty of our flora.

My starting point was a solid piece of Moonah Melaleuca lanceolata driftwood. This interesting branch has three principal twisting lines that radiate in different directions. It is quite a heavy piece so I needed to choose a fairly large and solid vessel. 

I chose this wood-fired vessel and was delighted to discover that the branch had a small side stem that allowed it to sit very securely in the mouth of the vessel without the need for additional fixing. The ceramicist is Ian Jones of Old St Luke's Studio.

The other materials are, on the left side, Banksia praemorsa from the garden of my ikebana friends Rosemary and David. And on the centre right a striking pink Waratah Telopea speciosissima. I assume it to be a new hybrid. The petal-like bracts that surround the small inflorescence are quite long and loose looking. They made a good textural contrast to the strength and denseness of the Banksias.

I was assisted in this exercise by my colleague Susan.

Greetings from Christopher

22nd September 2024

 

COMBINING MATERIALS

 

Recently in Melbourne I set my students the task of making an ikebana which incorporated both Australian native and exotic materials. In the past, traditional ikebana had rules about the appropriate combinations of materials; the flip side of which was that there were combinations that were considered "objectionable" *. 

These old rules have their reasons and logic. The Sogetsu School, however, releases its practitioners from such rules; so no combination of materials is prohibited. The challenge is to make such unlikely or difficult combinations in our ikebana work so that the finished ikebana is coherent.

Eugenia created a space between a branch of (unidentified) Acacia and Kangaroo fern Zealandia pustulata, in which she set a single red rose.

 

Marcia also set a large mass of fine-leafed Acacia, to which she added Euphorbia.

Jacqueline harmonised the colour of curving lines of Eucalyptus leaves with a vase she had made. These were contrasted with two bright red roses.

Marisha chose two principal materials with harmonious colours, Eucalyptus leaves and stems of Leucadendron . She added some small branches of Thryptomene in the space beneath the main lines.

Aileen's principal material was Acacia aphylla set in a clear glass vase. A floral focus of two pink orchid flowers has been set in the embrace of the entwined curving lines.

My ikebana this week is a partial re-working of an Ikebana I made at the AGM of Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter last month.  

For the original arrangement I used only Australian native materials. On the left side is a Eucalyptus I bought for its grey stems and seed pods (I think E. pterocarpa). In the centre are three Banksia paludosa flowers. The dried woody line is Billardiera heterophylla,  a climber that I had used as a ground cover in the garden, but which had died.

This week the native materials I wanted were not available. I decided to remake it with two Cymbidium orchid stems from the conservatory and four Strelitzia leaves provided by my student Maureen. This re-worked ikebana is currently in "Labassa", a National Trust property in Caulfield North, Melbourne. It is one of many ikebana works on display by members of Ikebana International Melbourne for this weekend only. My work is on a dining table and therefore was made to be viewed from both sides.

 

Here is the other main view. The rest of the exhibition is being photographed and will be uploaded to the I.I. Melbourne website in due course.

The vessel is by the Australian ceramicist Alistair Whyte (1954 - 2023).

Greetings from Christopher

14th September 2024

 * Page 76. Condor J. "THE FLOWERS of JAPAN and THE ART of FLORAL ARRANGEMENT". 

Hakubunsha Tokyo 1891 publisher. 

UNEXPECTED BEAUTY IN HEAT DAMAGED LEAVES

The first photos are by my Geelong students in class a couple of weeks ago.

Anne's exercise was to make a freestyle ikebana, the first time for her. It sounds an easy thing to do, because freestyle has no rules as such. However, the principles of asymmetry and attention to line, mass and space need to be considered. Her materials included three types of branches and two Arum lilies Zantedeschia aethiopica. The different materials are appropriately, grouped together and the flowers have been placed in the centre following the lines of the branch materials.

Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana using the two-step method (see posting on 18th August). That is, first make a freestanding structure with branch material. Then reposition it in or around a vase and add fresh material, in this case three Arum lily leaves. Her structure was correctly made and repositioned for the second step. 

Unfortunately, Jo brought the wrong material, branches with flowers and leaves, to make her freestanding structure. The flowering branches break the fundamental principle that fresh material must be in water. The stems of these branches are outside the vase and do not reach the water. I did not insist that she strip the flowers and leaves from the branches because she was going to re-use them at home.

Maree's exercise was to make an ikebana to be placed on her long dinning table. She chose four squat, clear glass cylinders of different sizes. The materials she used included Sunflower Helianthus annuus and pot marigold Calendula flowers and  Grass Tree leaves Xanthorrhoea australis. The stiff leaves have been braced against the inner surface of the vessels and the flowers floated on the top of the water.

The senior students' exercise was to make an ikebana incorporating Pine branches.

Ellie used Monterey pine Pinus radiata, which she placed in a long suiban. This allowed the soft drooping branch to maintain an upright position, with a little discreet support. She added some white Chrysanthemum flowers as a floral contrast.

Helen chose to use an unusual rounded vessel with an irregular bright blue patterned surface for the exercise. She used a single branch of Japanese Black pine Pinus thunbergii and a partially hidden mass of orange Ranunculus flowers. The flowers were chosen for their contrasting colour to the vessel but are only just visible so that they do not dominate the ikebana.

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The August workshop of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School was conducted by Lara Telford on the theme of Asymmetry. In preparation for the workshop we were directed to an interesting Wikipedia article on Japanese aesthetics, which I recommend to you. The article teases out a number of subtle ideas that inform aspects of "...Japanese culture and aesthetic norms...". Asymmetry is pretty much a basic principle in ikebana. However, like all basic principles, it is easy to take it for granted and not think about it more seriously.

Lara presented and spoke about her examples of this theme. I was interested in this example above where the structure is actually symmetrical. Two large masses and lines of different materials on either side with a smaller central mass of a third material. As Lara said, it is symmetrical and it is not.

This example of Lara's is more obviously asymmetrical.

At the workshop, it was my turn to bring unsuitable material !  I chose three New Zealand flax leaves, that had been heat- damaged late last summer, and a single stem of Camellia Brushfields yellow. My materials were insufficient. I could not arrange the two long flax leaves in the manner of Lara's first demonstration example above.

My completed ikebana above relied for its asymmetry on the off-centre placement of the materials and the single Camellia branch and flower being to one side of the main vertical lines. The shortened, third flax leaf, was placed at the rear and to the left of the main lines. 

The suiban is by the New Zealand ceramicist Elena Renka.

Greetings from Christopher

8th September 2024

CURVING LINES on the FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Over the last several days we have had extremely windy weather. Being on the south coast we are subject to prevailing westerly winds, particularly in the winter months. However, the last few days have been unusually windy across Victoria. 

When we finally got out for a walk yesterday afternoon we were fortunate to miss the rain that produced this arc of a rainbow. While we were watching the waves roll in... 

...the arc became a full end-to-end rainbow. No evidence of pots of gold, just a beautiful sight produced by the afternoon sun behind us.

Meanwhile, a couple of weeks ago in fact, Maree practised using a vertical fixture to stabilise her quite horizontal branch of Monterey pine Pinus radiata. This is a technique for a nageire arrangement, that is: an ikebana made in a tall, usually straight sided, vase. 

This technique is particularly useful when the weight of a branch causes it to rotate away from the desired angle. In this particular arrangement the Hikae line, projecting forward on the right, is made using branch material instead of flowers. The flowers have been placed in the centre of the ikebana, creating a central mass that visually holds the work together. 

Jo's exercise was to make a hanging ikebana Kakebana, that can be placed against a wall. She commented that there was a lot of sailing experience in the family, so that she was familiar with the technique of looping rope for storing. She has secured  a lemon branch so that two fruit are nestling within the loop. 

Anne's exercise was Slanting variation No 2 in a suiban. Her materials are blossoming branches of Prunus and some pink roses for the Hikae line. The flattening effect of the photograph disguises the fact that the branches and flowers are extending forward.

I had set the advanced students the exercise of making an ikebana arrangement with both straight and curving lines.

Maureen used as her principal material a curving dried branch from a Fig tree that had become a soft maroon colour. She has created a colour harmony with the 'Peach sticks' for her straight line and some yellow Clivia berries

Because it was very dry, the curving branch could not be inserted into the kenzan. 

The solution to this problem is to insert stems of fresh material on either side of the dried stem, to which it is wired. The small stem on the right in the kenzan is maintaining the desired angle of the main branch.

 

Christine used a single long curving line of a very flexible material, then also used 'Peach sticks' for the straight line component. Arum lilies Zantedeschia aethiopica, make the floral focus. In the class my comment about this ikebana was that the curving line looked like a basket handle, especially because of the bowl shape of the vase. The nature of the curving line was that it would straighten out if both ends were not secured.

 

Ellie used a straight, but naturally-kinked line of bamboo. Her curving lines are of finely shredded New Zealand Flax Phormium, which creates a soft mass.

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In the garden the Crucifix orchid Epidendrum radicans  is finally in the right place and is doing well. I decided to use it as the focus in a simple ikebana.

Long ago, in my pre-ikebana days, I bought this tall grey-glass specimen vase, which continues to be useful for single flowers. On this occasion I first placed a partially shredded Aspidistra leaf finding the best angle to show the graceful lines. The leaf leans toward the front and the shredded section falls in looping curves. The orchid inflorescence is placed at the rear. 

In retrospect, I think I should have used two stems of the flowers to make the mass bigger.

Greetings from Christopher
1st September 2024