INTERTWINING CURVES

As Spring comes to an end and the weather warms... 

...Spike has appeared in the garden again. Sometimes Spike has visited our's, and friends' gardens, at night. Evidence of the night time visit is apparent in the characteristic digging of ant nests. A couple of weeks ago, Laurie noticed that Spike had ventured across the road and I was able to take this photo of them both. 

The other particularly abundant wildlife in our garden is the number and variety of birds. My friend John took this photo of a King parrot feeding on seeds of a Coastal Tea Tree Gaudium laevigatum in his garden.

To ikebana. 
A recent exercise I set for students was to make an ikebana in a suiban with 5 - 7 materials. This task is not as easy as it seems. Taking into account the volumes of the different materials can be quite a challenge.

In my Torquay class...

...Ròzå used Honeysuckle Lonicera, Roses, Rosemary Salvia rosmarinus, and other unidentified materials.

Coralie used four materials, Shrubby germanderTeucrium fruticans as the principal material, also Tall Cape honey flower Melianthus major, Lavender Lavandular stoechas, and a hybrid of Iris ensata.

Lyn set a single Strelitzia flower, Snapdragon Antirrhinum, Dietes grandiflora, Olive Olea europaea and Eremophila.

In the Geelong class... 

...Maureen harmonised her materials with green as the predominant colour. The tall dry branch is dried and coloured Edgworthia E. chrysantha, Tortuous Willow Salix, Leucadendron, Nandina, Gumnuts Eucalyptus, and a small fading red Callistemon flower.

Ellie used an unopened Asiatic lily Lilium, Statice Limonium, Lisianthus Eustoma, Rose, Snapdragon, Jerusalem sage Phlomis fruticosa and Nasturtium Tropaeolum.

Maree's exercise was to make an ikebana of Iris in the traditional style as taught in the Sogetsu School.

My ikebana this week is my contribution for the recent annual exhibition of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School, of which I was the curator. Because I knew I would be very busy in that role, I reworked a sculpture I made for a demonstration last year. The principal structure was made from two branches of Weeping Elm Ulmus. For fresh material, I added two Gymea leaves which encased a mass of Dock weed Rumex, the seed-head of which had started to turn red.

The structure is 1.4m high and 1.8m wide. The branches are secured with wooden dowels and the ceramic "half pillow" vessel is by Graeme Wilkie.

Greetings from Christopher