ONE KIND OF MATERIAL

Towards the end of last month I set my senior Geelong students the exercise of making a freestyle ikebana with one material only.

Helen used Cycad as her material which she set in old disused ceramic insulators from electric power poles. The three intersecting "cones" (strobili) are arranged in a criss-crossing design. The insulator at the left-rear contains a small number of individual leaflets taken from the larger frond-like bipinnate leaves of the plant. 

Ellie arranged two stems of green Cymbidium orchids from her garden and two leaves. The  placement of the flower spikes creates a diagonal dense line which is contrasted by the finer line of the strappy leaves. She has used three matching bottle-shaped vessels.

Maree's material is Papyrus, Cyperus papyrus. She has used two stems, the smaller at the back being dried, and the taller still fresh. The two stems are secured in a small glass cube with short lengths of stem cut at irregular lengths and angles. The glass cube has been placed diagonally and to one side of a square black mat.

Also in a glass vessel, in this case a tall cylindrical one, Jo arranged Arum lily Zantedeschia flowers and stems. The curling lines within the vase are lily stems that have been split longitudinally. The curls form with the process of splitting the stem. She has kept the lower part of the vase free of plant material.

Christine also used Arum lily flowers and leaves. The ikebana was originally facing the opposite way and did not work well because the flowers are curving away towards the back of the large triangular vessel. With this re-positioning, the flowers come forward and leaves peep around from the back. 

Maureen has used two Strelitzia flowers and three leaves. The  two leaves at the front have had one side cut off the mid-rib. Then sections have been cut out of the remaining part, changing the appearance of the material. The third leaf sits low in the arrangement behind the other material.

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A couple of weeks ago the Victorian Sogetsu Branch held a workshop led by Thea Sartori. She had chosen for her subject "Spring flowers in a basket". One of the interesting ideas Thea put forward was that the basket should be the primary subject and the botanical materials secondary. (My words, not Thea's.) She also commented that the materials should be light so that they complement the basket. 

The basket that I used belonged to my friend and mentor Kath Dacy. It is Japanese, made from split bamboo and lacquered. Its form is like a wide bowl and has a very open weave. I noticed that the outer surface of the basket looked best but was less noticeable when presented upright. So I decided to set it upside down, over a small white bowl. The materials could then be arranged coming through the openings in the weave. Being spring time, I massed some yellow "double" Daffodils Narcissus, within the bowl, allowing only a few longer stemmed ones to protrude. Because this was an unconventional use of the basket, I then set some bent Watsonia leaves to create a bold contemporary feel to the ikebana.

Here is a link to photos from the workshop.

Greetings from Christopher

28th September 2025