RE-USING MATERIALS

A couple of weeks ago I had a class with my Melbourne students for the first time since returning from holidays. Two of the students are studying Book 1 of the Sogetsu curriculum. For those of us who are teachers it is a pleasure to see the changes in the students as they start to see the botanical world anew through their "ikebana eyes". 

Julie-Ann's exercise was to make a Slanting Variation No. 1. This means that the shorter branch supporting the main line is angled away to the back. The change in position creates a larger space between those two stems.

 

Chen's exercise was to repeat the Basic Upright, Nageire style. Unfortunately we had to fossick for material at the last minute, so the principal branches are not entirely satisfactory. However, it was a good learning exercise because the branches were thick enough to practise this difficult fixing correctly.

Because it is winter, I had set the advanced students the exercise of making an ikebana with Camellias using either willow or pine as a second material.

In the absence of pine (or willow) Marisha used Cypress, another member of the Conifer family. Her freestyle arrangement has the basic structure of a Variation No 3.

In this arrangement, Jacqueline chose to use a clear glass vase. She had some left-over stems of tortuous Willow Salix, at home which she used in the arrangement. For the purpose of balancing the design she added some willow inside the vase. The Camellias are in a small tube.

Aileen was given some variegated Pine Pinaceae, with quite short stems, by an ikebana friend. She made a freestyle arrangement, adding a single "Brushfields yellow" Camellia. The vase is by the Australian ceramicist Ian Jones.

Aileen made a second ikebana in this low modern tubular ikebana vessel. The pine formed a stretched S-shaped curve from the centre of the vessel to the left side.

My own ikebana this week is an example of re-using materials. 

The structure, which I made with some Japanese Quince Chaenomeles, branches on 29th June, still looked fresh. It was just beginning to show the development of some tiny leaves, so I added a bunch of white Narcissus. I was very happy with the result as the tall straight lines harmonised well with the branches. It also made the focal point of the ikebana higher in the arrangement than in the earlier version.

Vessel by Phil Elson

Greetings from Christopher

20th July 2025