LEAVES ONLY IN AN UPRIGHT VASE

This week I set some of my Torquay and Melbourne students the task of making an ikebana arrangement incorporating any kind of Narcissus and one or more kind of some other flower material. It is the season for Narcissus flowers and I thought the additional challenge would encourage the students to think "outside the square". I am pleased to say that I was not disappointed.

Lyn created this ikebana with the principal subject being the strong diagonal line made with two variegated leaves of New Zealand Flax Phormium. These lines are balanced by a counterposed linear mass of yellow Daffodils at the base. A small pale green Anthurium sits low down behind the line of the flax.

Coralie also made a simple ikebana with a strong design using two Aspidistra leaves and three Daffodils for the main elements. She has emphasised the space between and under the leaves. Her second flower material was an Anthurium provided by her class-mate Lyn.

In the Melbourne class, Jacqueline arranged a single stem of white Narcissus Jonquilla low in the group of green Chrysanthemums. She also set a stem of Jasmine Jasminum, curving over the surface of the water on which she floated a large number of Jonquil flower heads.

In a modern Japanese ikebana vase, Eugenia placed three Daffodils as the focal point in her ikebana, setting them beneath a large ornamental Kale . The branch material is Leafless Acacia A. aphylla, from her own garden.

Chen's exercise was to make an Upright Variation No 1 in the Nageire style. I think the branches are from an Ash tree Fraxinus. The floral material is one of the many Grevilleas. In this variation, the Shin line is placed opposite the Support line and leans toward the rear. This dramatically opens up the space between these two lines.

Aileen's exercise was to create an ikebana using leaves only, in an upright vase. She used a Monstera leaf as the principle material which she cut in quite an interesting way. Look closely at the upper left of the leaf. Her additional materials were Fatsia Japonica, showing both the upper and lower sides of the leaves, and a single strong angled line of New Zealand Flax. 
 

My ikebana this week is this same exercise. Once again, one of the leaves on the Tree Philodendron Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum in the conservatory has started to turn yellow; so it has become the main subject of my ikebana.

I set the leaf in a tall black vase which has three openings, one at the top and one on each side. To complement and contrast with the Large leaf, I added two New Zealand Flax leaves that were heat damaged on one of the extremely hot dry days last summer. The upper surface of those leaves developed interesting markings in several shades of brown. I felt that the large yellow leaf required strong accompanying materials as well as a visually strong vase.

Greetings from Christopher

17th August 2025

A DIAGONAL LINE OF FLOWERING QUINCE

 

This year part of the clump of red Japanese Flowering quince Chaenomeles, seems to be flowering more prolifically that in previous years.

I must have planted this Flowering quince about thirty five years ago. It is a delight to see part of this bush as I look from the west-facing kitchen window, especially when the late afternoon sun shines through the petals.

There is also a white Flowering quince in the garden. It was grown from a cutting and given to me by my colleague and Ikebana friend Joan. 

The third variety of Flowering quince in the garden is this one that was given to me by a former work colleague and friend Shirley. Appropriately, it is called Chaenomeles "Apple Blossom".

I have a new student in my Geelong class who recently created a Basic Upright ikebana, the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. 

Susie did not have suitable branches and so I suggested that she use her long stems of Gladiolus for the principle lines and the seed head of Bursaria spinosa for the Hikae, 'flower line".

I asked my advanced students to make an ikebana "Using Camellia with Pine and or Willow". 

Maree used a very interesting vessel made from a folded ceramic cylinder, which has two openings.The lower part of the cylinder extended the left side. That leftward line was balanced by having the fine Tortuous willow Salix, curving to the upper right. Two variegated Camellias, provide focal points and the freshness of live material.

Maureen also used Tortuous willow, in this instance a thick branch that was placed outside the vessel to create a dramatically strong diagonal line. Two white camellias created a floral focus.

Christine placed her curving branch of Tortuous willow in a suiban so that it made an arch of multiple irregular lines. Nestled beneath the arch is a single, bright red Camellia flower, also curving to the right.

Helen used a large glass vase in which she set a single straight branch of Japanese Black Pine Pinus thunbergii, at a shallow angle to the right. Two pink Camellias create a floral focus at the opening of the vase. The clear glass gives a feeling of lightness to the ikebana.

Ellie also used a large branch of Tortuous willow which she extended to the right of her lacquered vase. The floral focus on the left side of the vase draws attention to the short thick base of the willow branch.

For my ikebana this week, I was delighted to be able to use some of the red Flowering quince from the garden.

Here is the work placed in the living room wall niche. I have used a single branch of the Flowering quince. The diagonal line that extends from the lower left to the right side are separate side-branches that attach to the main stem very closely together. I have put a kink in the highest branch so that it reinforces the movement of the main diagonal line. A mass of Geranium leaves sit at the opening of the vase. Some fixing techniques were necessary to hold the main line at this angle as the righthand side was relatively heavy.

 

I took this photo against a screen and from an elevated position. This is more true to how the ikebana looks in the niche when viewed from a standing position.

The vase is by the Japanese born Australian ceramicist, Terunobu Hirata.

Greetings from Christopher
9th August 2025

VERTICAL IKEBANA

In my Melbourne class this week, Chen was repeating the very difficult exercise of creating a Basic Upright nageire. That is an ikebana set in a tall straight-sided vessel. 

On this occasion, he was creating a reversed, or mirror image, version of the arrangement. That meant the principal line is on the right hand side, rather than the left. He used very thick Olive Olea europaea branches, and small button Chrysanthemums for the hikae (flower line).

Julie-Ann created a slanting arrangement in a suiban. Her unidentified branch material came from a friend's garden. The flower material, Alstroemeria is also homegrown from the friend's garden.

The exercise I set for the senior students was to make an ikebana arrangement in a tsubo (spherical) vessel using a single crossbar fixture.

In her arrangement, Aileen used Japanese Flowering Quince Chaenomeles, for the principal branch. The secondary materials are Eucalyptus leaves and some white Freesia flowers.

Marcia used some unidentified branch material, and some Hydrangea for the focal point on the right side. 

Jacqueline reused some Cypress stems for her main line and variegated Camellias for her focal point in the centre of the arrangement.

Unfortunately, Marisha's material, Leucadendron, had stems that were too fine to split across the horizontal bar fixture. So she completed the exercise with a different fixing technique, in this case using unconventional crossbars.

Eugenia used Eucalyptus stems for her branch material, and some interesting spidery, pale yellow Gerberas for her focal material. She also added a line on the left using a dried branch which swept forward, embracing her vessel. 

In my Geelong class on Thursday, I demonstrated a Basic Upright ikebana arrangement for two new students. When I came home, I decided to rework the materials. 

I have made a vertical arrangement with the original Shin line, and its supporting line. To them, I have added four light-yellow roses. Laurie described it as an arrangement of branches, with hidden roses. I had to agree with his description. Of the four roses only one can be seen clearly.

The suiban is by the New Zealand ceramicist, Elena Renka.

Greetings from Christopher

3rd August 2025