CONTRASTING FLOWERS

I was surprised by this lovely rural scene on the weekend. Surprised because it is in Studley Park, and only 4 kms from the Central Business District of Melbourne. 

The Yarra river was a little bit more muddy than usual because of recent spring rain. This section is the last couple of hundred metres of the river that is tidal. Around the next bend are Dights falls which are above the reach of the high tide.

The open pasture area here is part of the famous Collingwood Childrens' Farm. A wonderful place that brings the country to the city, enabling children (and adults) to learn about aspects of farming, animal and plant care.

As you can see from this photo the Community Farm is a genuinely working farm...

...and offers a range of interactive experiences for visitors.

These two lambs were incredibly cute playing together. They were not really interested in me and walked away as soon as I had taken this photo.

There were a large variety of birds including this Orphington Fowl, but also varieties of ducks and some Peacocks and Peahens.

The large vegetable garden included...

 

...this bed of Iceland poppies that were just beginning to flower.

I was at this site for the annual exhibition of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu school. It was held in conjunction with the Wa (harmony) Ikebana Festival. The exhibition took place in two of the rooms in the old Abbotsford Convent, now a community centre of "...art, culture and learning...".  

One of the additional features of the event was the inclusion a number of ceramic artists with work for sale in their stalls. Also a ceramic flower vessel competition was held with between 30 and 40 artists contributing their work.

As the Director of the Sogetsu Branch I was asked to participate in a demonstration of Sogetsu Ikebana.

Given this was an event open to the public I deliberately chose to make a "Basic Upright moribana" ikebana, which is the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. Most of the work in exhibitions is large, sometimes complex and quite technical in its construction. All demonstrators were allocated six minutes to complete their ikebana. I was concerned to show inexperienced viewers that with knowledge of the principles and a little practice ikebana can be made with very few materials and without spending a lot of money.

For the exhibition I created this ikebana incorporating a Birch wood sculpture and a single line of Kiwi vine, Actinidia deliciosa, The flower mass is made with Renunculus asiaticus and Dutch Iris, Iris X hollanica. The ceramic vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Graeme Wilkie.

To my northern hemisphere friends who usually read this blog with their morning coffee, my apologies for its lateness. It was a big weekend.

Greetings from Christopher

12th September 2022

WINTER-SPRING TRANSITION

 

In this part of the world we officially entered Spring last Thursday. However, the contrary weather has turned a bit cold and wet in recent days compared to the last few days of Winter. I have enjoyed seeing the evidence of the season's change in the garden. There is a feeling of hopefulness about this time when we experience a lifting of our spirits.

The more evenly spaced wet weather in recent months has been good for many plants in the garden. Among the Australian natives, this Cut-leaf daisy, Brachyscome multifida, has spread well this year and brings a splash of blue to the garden.

Under the adjacent trees the Running Postman, Kennedia prostrata, has also spread well and is flowering generously. This plant grows on the cliff tops and in nearby bushland. It seems to have responded well to the dappled shade and the slightly more moist environment provided by the leaf litter beneath the trees.

The Wonga Wonga vine, Pandorea pandorana, does not need encouragement, other than something on which to climb! It is flourishing on a side fence and has just begun to open its masses of springtime flowers.

This Aeonium, perhaps A. cuneatum, has flowered for the first time. Its large, intense greeny-yellow inflorescence is very striking in the garden and would make an excellent, dramatic ikebana subject.

Elsewhere in the garden the exotic plants are also responding to the change in the seasons.

I am living in hope that the protective barrier I have put around the Alister Clark climbing Lorraine Lee rose will continue to keep the possums at bay. The wooden frame was made from the remains of the pergola. I filled in the base of the frame with narrow strips of galvanised metal and hung a curtain of soft plastic to prevent the possums from climbing along the underside of the structure to get to the top.

This was the only flower low enough for me to photograph up close. 

One of the Osteospermum family, this South African Daisy is about to enter its time of full blooming. Like so many plants from Southern Africa it is especially suited to our climate. It has been a very useful ground cover in this area of the garden.

Also from Southern Africa comes the Freesia with its beautiful fragrance that I remember so well from my parents' garden in my childhood.

Here is the first of the flowers on the Forsythia that, to my surprise, is doing well. I think it must be a very robust as well as beautiful plant. (Thank you, Shirley! )

Finally, the wander around the garden ends with the first flower that opened on the Apricot. It looked quite wonderful when it was the only one open for a few days.

Some weeks earlier I had picked a couple of bare branches to use at the workshop given by Vernisher Wooh for the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School on 9th July. One of the branches was still in good condition when I attended Elizabeth Angell's class. The theme was the winter-spring transition. 

My student Margaret kindly gave me a couple of flowering stems of Prunus x cistena to add to my winter-bare apricot branch. I have set the two branches on opposite sides in the vase, showing the transition. The delicate pink flowers and bronze leaves of early spring harmonise well with the colour of the vase. This contrasts with the angular form of the apricot branch that suggests a blast of wintery wind.

The vase is by the Victorian ceramic artist Jamie Beeston.

Greetings from Christopher

3rd September 2022

MANCHURIAN PEAR

During the week, on a relatively cool day, Laurie and I walked in Iron Bark Basin where I was delighted to see these five Grass Trees, Xanthorrhoea Australis, all with flower spikes. The tallest of the flower spikes, on the slightly-left-of-centre plant that is closest to the camera, is just over one and a half metres tall.

  

Perhaps it is the fairly consistent, and relatively light, rain in recent months that has led to so much flowering. There certainly was no fire in this area last summer; fire being one of the triggers for the flowering of these wonderful Australian native plants.

Earlier today we had another walk in the same area. This time I had my eyes on the ground as it is coming towards the time when the ground orchids begin to flower. 

We were rather too early as the only orchids we came across were this small cluster of Nodding Greenhood orchids, Pterostylis nutans. 

However, my eye was caught by the brightness of this very small white flower of this Whittaker sundew, Drosera whittakeri, one of several endemic insectivorous plants in the area. The white looked brilliant against the deep red of the sticky leaves.

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In the class room...

... I had set Marcia the task of making an ikebana incorporating Narcissus. She chose to make a naturalistic two kenzan ikebana using a large and miniature daffodil with some branches of Manchurian Pear in flower.

Jacqueline's exercise was to make an ikebana "Focusing on the uses of water". The significance of water to all life can be recognised by its symbolic use across many cultures. By minimising the materials and, in this case, completely immersing the flowers under the water, the water itself becomes the major feature of the ikebana.

Because of the propensity of these white Jonquils to float it was necessary to brace the bent stem across the width of the glass vessel. This device and the use of only two stems of the Jonquils achieved the result of focussing on the element of water.  

Three and a half weeks ago I pruned the Manchurian Pear, Pyrus ussuriensis, in the front garden of one of my sisters-in-law. She happily reported to me 12 days later that the prunings she had brought inside had burst into blossom. I had also brought home two branches thinking that I would be able to use the bare stems to make a structure for my ikebana. However, I kept the stems in water to keep them supple and they too burst into bloom. They were slower to do so as they were in the conservatory which is very cold at night at this time of year.

 

As this photo shows, the stems were very long, almost 1.2 metres, and fairly straight. To contrast with the lines of the blossoming branches I made a mass in the ikebana with Dutch Irises, Iris x hollandica, and Kangaroo fern leaves, Zealandia pustulata, from the garden.  

The angle of the single branch on the right side bothered me. To balance the large mass of lines on the left side it should be lower. However that was not possible to photograph as my backdrop is only 1.5 metres wide. The following day I re-worked the ikebana.

Having removed the branch that was on the right and trimmed one on the left, the ikebana now reaches in one direction only. I feel much happier with this version as it is a stronger statement. The feel of this version also seems more characteristic of the Sogetsu school because of the emphasis on the element of design in the ikebana.

The vase is by the New Zealand ceramic artist Keith Blight.

Greetings from Christopher 

 

CLEMATIS MICROPHYLLA

In my Geelong class I recently set the advanced students the revision exercise of creating a "Basic Slanting Ikebana", in a moribana (shallow flat-bottomed) vessel. This is the second of the two fundamental styles in the Sogetsu curriculum, the first being the "Upright Ikebana" style; the distinction between the two being the angle of the longest stem, the Shin line, and the placement of the kenzan. 

Revision of basic exercises is an important method of maintaining practical skill in any artistic endeavour. This reminds me of my own surprise some years ago at an exhibition of pastel drawings from the estate of renowned Australian landscape artist Fred Williams. For years I have greatly admired Williams' unique portrayal of the Australian landscape. At the exhibition I learnt that, throughout his life, he regularly returned to pastel drawing of the nude figure as a method of maintaining his practical skills.

Tess has used an intensely coloured Crocosmia, for the main lines that stretch to the left. The large inflorescence on the right is one of the many flowers known as a "Red Hot Poker". It provides an asymmetrical balance to the long lines on the left side.The orange colour of the flowers contrasts with the rich green of the sword-like leaves.

Christine has used budding stems of Manchurian pear, Pyrus ussuriensis, for all the principal lines including the low-set balancing line of the same material on the right side. The colour and mass in her ikebana is provided by some mauve Hellebores, 

Helen Q used strong branches of pine in a large suiban for the two main lines on the left. The third line on the right side is a single bud of Camellia stripped of its leaves. She has used two fully open Camellia flowers for the mass in the centre of the ikebana.

Ellie used some curving branches of Prunus pissardii nigra, which had small pink blossom beginning to open. A simple spray of green leaves provides a fresh contrast to the late winter branches.

Maree's exercise was to make an ikebana "...Taking into account the colour of the vase...".  The large blue surface of the vase is contrasted using a strong branch encrusted with yellow lichen and an orange-red Pincushion flower, Leucospermum.  

Jo's exercise was to make an ikebana that incorporated man-made materials. In the presentation of the ikebana she has placed the materials directly on the table surface without using any vessel. This is an exercise from the early part of the Sogetsu curriculum. Jo has paired a green necklace with a carefully-folded Arum lily leaf. The manipulation of the leaf reminded me of the Art Nouveau style in which such lines in botanical materials were favoured.

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Out and about around the surf coast recently it was impossible not to notice the profusion of Australian native Small-leaved Clematis, C. Microphylla. 

This photo was taken on the cliff path that leads from Torquay to Bells Beach. It is a very beautiful sight when the creamy-green flowers come out en-masse and cover the host plant. I was interested to learn that they can grow to 5 metres high but do not harm the supporting plant.

In this close-up photo the structure of one of the small flowers can be seen. It is only 3 - 4cm across. Their delicacy make them particularly suited to a cascading style of ikebana.

After disentangling the long fine stems, I removed more than half the leaves and some of the side branches of flowers. Doing so creates spaces that allow the line of the stem to be seen. The completely natural-looking placement requires the removal of excess leaves and flowers so that the character of the the material can be revealed.

I have set the Clematis in a wall vase in the living room niche. The delicacy of the Clematis works well with this vase which has a subtle glaze. It is has an overall light grey colour with faint pink circles occurring irregularly over the surface and small dots of charcoal grey. The vase is by the Australian ceramic artist Paul Davis.

Greetings from Christopher.

21st August 2022

Lightscape

On Sunday night last week Laurie and I joined the last throng of nighttime visitors to the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne to see the large number of installations using a variety of different types of light sources. This included lasers, LED, and coloured flood lighting. The event was called 'Lightscape'.

This installation of a forest of giant artificial flowers was sure to make people, at least those old enough, to think of "...Cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over your head..." a line from the Beatles, "Sgt Pepper's" album.

I found this field of poppies floating over the pathway quite delightful. The green hanging stems were softly lit from within; I suppose by optical fibres.

The Gothic arch gave this installation the name, 'the Winter Cathedral'. It spanned one of the paths...

...and entranced people. Being a relatively brightly lit space, it was popular for taking "selfies". The following link takes you to a gallery of photos of the event.

Meanwhile in my Melbourne class...

...Marisha's exercise was to make an ikebana emphasising water. She used a tall rectangular vase and small spherical one. The tall vase held a stem of Camellia with a single flower. A curving line of Eucalyptus arched over to the spherical vase, which had another stem of Eucalyptus submerged beneath the water.

Jacqueline's exercise was to make an ikebana incorporating some "unconventional" (artificial) material. She found this expanded cardboard packaging and thought its lattice-like appearance would be an interesting contrast. The difficulty was  that the material did not have enough strength to be self-supporting. The solution was to use it like a lattice wrapped around the shallow vessel that held her botanical material. 

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Last Tuesday the Melbourne Chapter of Ikebana International held its Annual General Meeting. As the Director of the Victorian Branch of the Sogetsu School I was required to give a brief demonstration, along with the other Heads of Schools or their representatives. The demonstrators were asked to make an ikebana that is representative of their school. Unlike the older traditional schools, the Sogetsu School does not have a signature style of ikebana. However, the Sogetsu School encourages freedom of expression in advanced students and practitioners. I decided therefore to select for my principal material something that particularly drew my attention. I chose a large piece of dry material, the leaf base of an Abyssinian Banana, Ensete ventricosum. This material has a beautiful texture and a sinuous curling line that reflexes back on itself.

The dried leaf base is 23cm broad and reaches 45cm from the middle of the vessel to its full extent on the right. I have contrasted both the texture and line with a mass of Dancing Lady Orchid. A single curved Aspidistra leaf is placed so that it highlights the end of the the dried material.

The vessel is by the Melbourne-based ceramic artist Isabel Wang.

Further photos from the Ikebana International Melbourne Chapter meeting can be viewed through this link.

Greetings from Christopher

13th August 2022

DUTCH IRIS

Last week, on a very cool day with some sunny breaks, I had a stroll around the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. 

 

One of the first plants to really catch my attention was this Cycad. The red in the photo are a couple of patches where the ripe seeds are exposed.

This photo shows that some of the bright-red woody seeds have fallen to the ground. The shiny surface surface of the hard seeds look as though they are lacquered.

When I was walking toward the small tropical glass house I realised that it would provide me with both a respite from the cold wind as well as a sight of the exotic beauty of its flora. Among the lush plant growth this bright pink ball turned out to be a Fireball lily, Scadoxus mulitflorus. Not an oversized pink Dandelion seedhead.

Among the wattles that have started to flower was this Sandpaper wattle, Acacia denticulosa.  The dense yellow velvety flowers look worm-like with their wavy form.

Another eye catching wattle is Acacia aphylla, the leafless wattle. In this season it is a mass of gold flowers and green thorny-looking stems. The rest of the year it looks just like a lot of green wiry, sometimes thorny, stems.

To continue the theme of yellow flowers I am including this ikebana by my friend Michael from Florida (USA). Michael kindly sent me some photos of his work late last year. This ikebana follows the Sogetsu advanced curriculum theme of an ikebana "Complementing an Art work". Michael has responded to the vertical lines in the painting by creating an upright freestyle work with a small mass of yellow at the base. The white vase is placed side-on to reduce its impact and continue the vertical line.

Last week I showed a moribana (shallow bowl) ikebana using Japanese Flowering Quince, Chaenomeles japonica. Over the week almost all of its flowers have opened. Each new one progressively more pale than the last. I wanted to capture the intense red in a more simple ikebana by using a single stem. These two small similarly-shaped vases have different shades of a celadon-like glaze. Using the two vases together makes them look larger and a better proportion for the stem.

In the garden the Dutch Iris, Iris x hollandica, has flowered for the second year. This photo is actually from last year because I was too slow to photograph the first bud. The colour is so intense I really wanted to use it while still in bud. It was the perfect flower for me to demonstrate a "basic upright" ikebana for my Torquay students.

This is the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. The two branches on the left side of the asymmetrical design are Italian buckthorn, Rhamnus alternus. Their height is balanced by the  line of the low-set Iris stem, still in bud, on the opposite side. The flattening effect of the photograph hides the fact that the left-most line and the stem of the Iris on the right are both extending at an angle coming toward the viewer. The colour palate is reduced to blue and green, except for the small touch of yellow in the open flower. 

Greetings from Christopher

7th August 2022