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