...my student Chen has advanced from Moribana ikebana arrangements in a Suiban (shallow vessel) to the next stage in the Sogetsu curriculum. That is, arranging materials in a tall straight-sided vessel. This requires the mastering of fixing techniques so that the materials remain in place and at the correct angles for the particular exercise. In the photo above he has used only one kind of material, Crepe myrtle Lagerstroemia. Technically, the flowers should be a different kind of material to the branch lines at this stage.
The exercise I set for the advanced students was to make an ikebana using "summer flowers and unconventional (artificial) material".
Jacqueline arranged three Sunflowers Helianthus, and two Camellia branches so that they protruded from a picture frame.
Marisha arranged Eucalyptus branches and Alstroemeria flowers in a shallow boat-shaped vessel. The "unconventional" material she used was white mizuhiki *.
Eugenia, arranged a single, cerise Dahlia flower in a flat-fronted vessel. The unconventional material is a wide ribbon of thick, malleable metal that has been painted black.
In the garden at Torquay I have been growing Golden Rod Solidago canadensis, in an old concrete laundry trough.
This year I started watering it with a full bucket of water on most days. It has survived the few very hot days and grown shoulder high, as the above photo shows. Interestingly, when I was in Japan in November 2023 I saw that it had indeed become a significant environmental weed; true to my Canadian ikebana friend Leonora's description of it as 'the Canadian weed'. As a result I am taking care to remove dead flowers before they set seed.
I made this ikebana to express the strong upward movement of the Golden Rod. A mass of pink Bella Donna flowers anchors the vertical line and connects it to the vase made by Mark Bell from Maine USA.
Greetings from Christopher
6th April 2025
