GLASS VESSELS

This week I set my Geelong students the task of making an ikebana incorporating a small structure made from chopsticks (hashi, in Japanese) that had been joined together. They had made these small sculptures previously, which I think is a good opportunity to practise wiring techniques. Disposable chopsticks are the most suitable to use as they are soft and the wire can be pulled tight to keep the structure rigid. It is also easy to paint them to change their colour in any subsequent re-use of the structure.

Ellie's structure was made from disposable chopsticks that were painted green. Her structure was the dominant element in her ikebana. She created a small focal mass with unripe, green Persimmon Diospyros kaki fruit. 

Helen created an ikebana in which the principle material was two variegated Aspidistra leaves, with a floral focus of Zinnia. Her dark red structure is made from bamboo kitchen skewers and has been designed to visually connect the elements of the ikebana.

Maureen's chopsticks were of the re-useable kind and therefore had a shiny lacquer-like surface. This meant they were not amenable to wiring because their hard surface is very slippery. She cleverly devised her own solution. By cutting decorated paper straws into short lengths she was able to join pairs of chopsticks and create a structure. The materials, Nandina berries and leaves, were harmonised by the use of red and black as the principal colours. On the left side is a pair of stainless steel rods that have been treated in the same manner as the chopsticks. 

Last Monday, the first meeting of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School for 2026 was held. I was asked to be the presenter of the workshop and given the theme of "Ikebana in a glass vessel". I decided to not restrict the topic to the advanced Sogetsu curriculum exercise on the same topic because it specifies paying attention to the transparency of glass. Many glass vessels are completely opaque and I wanted the members to be able to use whatever suitable glass objects they have in their collections.

This was a previously-prepared example of the exercise. The vase is hand-made by a Victorian glass artist. The vase is very opaque and the surface has subtle iridescent patches on its upper surface in particular.  The branch material is Bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum, which I had picked four days earlier. It was fresh the night before, but I found it had started to dry when I arrived at the meeting. In drying, the fern had developed some interesting curving lines. This called for a change of plan from my anticipated upright ikebana. With a little trimming to emphasise the curling lines, an impromptu slanting ikebana was made instead. The floral focus of the ikebana was two disbud Chrysanthemums. I also used a "stick" sculpture to assist with the positioning of the materials in the slippery glass vase. This sculpture had been an intense red previously, so I repainted its colour to pale gold to better harmonise with the vase.

I demonstrated the making of this modern style ikebana at the meeting. Using a cylinder of plain glass I began by cutting off the inflorescence of an Agapanthus A. praecox, that had finished flowering, and submerging it below the water level. Then I floated a small number of Cumquat fruit on the surface of the water. Lastly, I pushed the cumquats down into the vase with a second Agapanthus stem and held it in position by bending the stem to stand on the surface of the table.

I was thinking of this as playing with the geometry of the radiating green lines and orange spheres, as well as the bold line of the Agapanthus stem.  The clear glass cylinder almost completely filled with water made this possible.

Greetings from Christopher

1st May 2026