DEMONSTRATION

At the beginning of last week I presented a demonstration of seven ikebana works to a private group. I was assisted by my fellow Sogetsu teacher Emerald Leung. My student Marta and her husband generously gave me access to their garden to collect some materials, for which I am most grateful. Their house is about 19km inland and, therefore, not subject to the ravages of salty winds. In their sheltered garden, with good soil, many northern hemisphere plants flourish but which would not do well in our seaside garden.

The photos below are not in the order in which I made the arrangements. Unfortunately, I did not photograph the first ikebana I made. It was a "Basic Upright" arrangement, which is the first exercise of the Sogetsu curriculum. Each of the following arrangements is an interpretation of an exercise from the Sogetsu curriculum.

The theme for this arrangement was to use a tsubo-style (globular) vase. The ikebana is horizontally spreading to reveal the beauty of the Japanese Maple Acer palmatum, on the right, and a bare Magnolia branch on the left. A transition from autumn to winter. However, I rather obscured the Magnolia branch by adding some Nandina domestica which has red tips. A green Hydrangea with leaves attached, forms a mass in the middle. On this occasion the maker of the vessel is unknown.

The next ikebana theme was "Showing lines at the base". The lines must be clean and clear where they arise from the vessel. I have used Strelitzia leaves which I partially 'fenestrated" to allow the bright orange Lions tail Leonotis leonurus flowers to peep through from the back. The suiban is by the New Zealand ceramic artist Elena Renka.

The next curriculum exercise was to make a "Composition of Curved lines". I have used Coast Sword Sedge Lepidosperma gladiatum, which has beautiful glossy green leaves that curve particularly well. The contrasting mass is made with two Hydrangea flowers from our garden, which have coloured to a rich red in the cool night air. The unglazed vase is by Don Jones, a South Australian ceramic artist.

This ikebana has the theme of using "Seasonal Plant Materials". In this case the autumnal materials left to right are: Nandina domestica leaves, Hydrangea leaves and a flower, orange Pittosporum P undulatum berries and Medlar Mespilus germanica. The box-shaped ikebana vessel is by the Canadian ceramic artist Leta Cromier

This ikebana is "Focusing on the uses of water". I deliberately chose to arrange the materials underwater for the unique feel such arrangements produce. They are particularly suited to the  hot weather of summer. It is important to use a limited amount of material and to attend to the changes in appearance of the material underwater. The materials are: Dietes grandiflora leaves, Ivy Hedera berries, and Cane Begonia flowers.

The theme of my final ikebama was "A composition of Mass and Line". In this case I created two knotted-looking masses using the stems of Strelitzia Juncea. I began by bundling four stems together and then randomly bending them across each other. The mass on the right is rather loose, while that on the left is tighter. The masses have been attached to the vertical line of the same material that arises from the centre of a tall narrow Japanese vase. A small mass of Nandina domestica Nana, leaves have been added to provide a colour focus.

When I came home I reset the line and mass ikebana in a vessel by Phil Elson, I was pleased that this photo shows the space between the top of the vessel and the mass more clearly than the previous photo.

Greetings from Christopher

5th May 2024 

NEW ZEALAND FLAX and RED "BOTTLEBRUSH"

In the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne last week I was delighted to see more signs of autumn.

The red of the Boston Ivy Parthenocissus tricuspidata, on the old Director's house, now called Gardens House, was quite intense. It is probably more eye-catching because in front of the old house is the Perennial Border, which is looking a bit dull now as most of the late summer flowers have finished blooming.

I also noticed that the ivy is climbing up a large tree to the west of the old building. This photo shows the bright red vine among the green leaves of the tree. 

In a nearby Norfolk Island Pine some Sulphur Crested Cockatoos were chewing away at the bark of the highest branches.

Nearby there is the beginning of autumn colouring on this Pin Oak Quercus palustris, on the Oak Lawn; an early heralding of the cooler weather to come.

At my Melbourne class I had set a revision exercise for the advanced students, of making a slanting ikebana in the nageire style (that is, using a tall straight-sided vase).  

  

Eugenia used Eucalyptus and Leucadendron branches in a tall metal vase.

Marisha also used Eucalyptus branches and one of the very fine leafed Acacias.

A few weeks ago I made the ikebana below for our friends Heather and John who had invited us to dinner.

I used New Zealand Flax Phormium and Coastal Banksia 

B. integrifolia in a simple design which I was able to quickly arrange before our dinner. The vessel is a suiban made by Graeme Wilkie of Qdos Gallery studio in Lorne.

This photo shows the damaged leaves of the Flax that I mentioned in a posting recently. It is the result of three consecutive days in the high thirties while we were away, and the general dryness of our soil. I am trusting that the plant will recover over the winter when we will have more regular rain.

Once again I have used some of the heat-damaged leaves of the Flax in my ikebana. The leaves have developed areas of rust-brown surrounding straw-yellow patches on leaves that are mostly green. Some roadside-collected Red Bottlebrush Melaleuca citrina provides a harmonising colour focus. The use of such materials as these leaves is a reminder of one of the Wabi-sabi ideas. The recognition that beauty maybe found in the imperfect and transient.

The ceramic suiban comes from Seto city.

 
Greetings from Christopher
28th April 2024

KAMO HON'AMI

A couple of weeks ago I set my Melbourne students the exercise of making a "Horizontal Ikebana". The materials chosen have a significant influence on the resulting ikebana. It is an interesting demonstration of the fact that Ikebana is a difficult art. The ikebanist discovers that plants cannot be made to do things against their natures. For the student, who has had a topic set for them, there is also the question of what materials are available at the time. I think some of the ikebana produced in the class should be thought of as "extending laterally". 

Eugenia arranged variegated Aspidistra leaves, creating a strong sense of lateral movement reaching outward. A single dark pink Chrysanthemum sits in the space between the two main lines.

Marcia used two branches of Japanese Maple. The longest branch stretches to the left front while the shorter one provides a counter-balancing movement. White Japanese Windflowers Eriocapitella hupehensis form a light mass in the centre.

Jacqueline's ikebana slowly evolved during the class. Originally, the large leaves stretched to the right and the left. This is the final version where two leaves reach toward the right side, one nestling in the other. Two Haemanthus coccineus flowers provide a strong accent at the base of the leaves. A single wandering line extends to the left.

Marisha used two stems of Protea "Pink Ice" which had a natural gentle curve that sat well in her oval-shaped bowl. Both stems seem to be reaching outward. In the centre is a small mass of pale blue-grey Eucalyptus leaves.

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Earlier this week I noticed that the Firewheel tree Stenocarpus sinuatus, was flowering in the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. 

This is a large tree. The flowers seem to form towards the end of the branches and are distributed throughout the canopy. Unfortunately the sun was behind a cloud so the red flowers do not look very bright.

Up close they are dramatic because of their intense red and the extraordinary spoked, circular form.

Meanwhile in the garden at Torquay... 

    

    

...the third flower of the Kamo Hon'ami * Camellia opened yesterday. The plant has many buds this year, in spite of being quite small. It is surviving in a pot, having struggled through the summer of 2022-23. I took this photograph today in the late afternoon.

A couple of days ago I picked the second flower as it was on a short stem with only one other bud.

This is my modest, one-flower ikebana arranged with a small bare stem of Tea Tree Leptospermum laevigatum. The form of the flower lends it to a simple-looking ikebana that has a casual elegance, and which carries a strong feeling of quiet beauty.

The vessel is a ceramic lidded box by Don Jones that I bought in 1973. It has a Tenmoku glaze and a slightly domed lid.

Greetings from Christopher

21st April 2024

* This Camellia was named for the Grandson of the famous tea master Sen no Rikyu. 
p. 108,   Sparnon and Waterhouse. The Magic of Camellias. Ure Smith 1968 

LINES IN DRIED NEW ZEALAND FLAX

Last week Laurie and I travelled west along the Victorian coast to the town of Warrnambool to see an exhibition by our artist friend Ben Fennessy. Ben and his wife Helen are long standing friends, since Helen and I worked together in the mid-1980's. Another connection with this area is that the nearby town of Koroit was where Laurie's mother spent her childhood. 

  

While in the area we visited Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve which incorporates the lake and islands within the caldera of a large inactive volcano. The site has been revegetated since earlier farming activity was discontinued. The planting has focussed on the re-introduction of native flora species that were present prior to the European farming. Native fauna have also been re-introduced into the reserve. The view above is from one of the high points on the north side of the crater rim overlooking the lake. In the further distance the Southern Ocean can be seen.

On some of the walls of the crater, layers of volcanic ash deposits are evidence of the past eruptions of the volcano. 

The most conspicuous of the re-introduced fauna are the Emus, Australia's largest birds. They tend to congregate around the car park and picnic area, being the least timid of the re-introduced species. I find their size and general inquisitive nature makes them rather intimidating creatures.

This relatively close-up photo shows the skin of the neck and head is a shiny pale blue. Like ostriches and cassowaries, emus are flightless birds.

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In the world of ikebana, I set my Melbourne students the exercise of making a Mazesashi arrangement a couple of weeks ago. This style requires the use of a variety of materials, five to seven being usual. The exercise is not as easy as it may sound because, among other things, asymmetry in the volume of materials is necessary.

Eugenia's ikebana is composed of the vertical arrangement of flowers with a spray of curving lines made with a Sedge. There are five kinds of flowers of different volumes and two kinds of leaves. The spaces she has created keeps the arrangement feeling light.

Jacqueline's ikebana includes two large Protea flowers and two stems of Leucadendron leaning to the left front. These materials are harmonised with finer stems of "Easter daisy" and Statice Limonium. Unfortunately, the photo was taken before water was added to the vessel and the kenzan is visible.

Marisha's arrangement included a variety of pink flowers which created harmony in the ikebana. She used a small amount of blue-grey Eucalyptus stems which provide a soft colour and shape contrast.

Aileen made an ikebana that is composed mostly of grassy materials gathered from the wayside. Two Morning Glory Ipomoea purpurea, flowers provide a focal mass. The lightness of the materials suggest a late summer / early autumn feeling. I am always enchanted by the beauty of these simple materials that are so easily overlooked and often dismissed as weeds.

My ikebana this week arose from a walk around the garden and my noting that the New Zealand Flax Phormium tenax, suffered quite a battering by the three very hot days we had some weeks ago. Almost all the older leaves had drooped badly and gone pale yellow from their middle to the tips. As I started to cut them away I noticed the beauty of their lines and some subtle marking in the broader sections that had not curled into straws.

The elegance of these lines really appealed to me and are the principle subject of this ikebana. I felt I could best show these lines by extending one across the front of this tall narrow vessel and deliberately have the line end by touching the surface of the niche. The angles created by the flat surfaces of the leaves draw attention to the texture and colour of those surfaces. A single floret and pair of leaves from a small Hydrangea H. macrophylla creates a colour focus.

The Japanese vessel is hexagonal in cross-section and has a tenmoku glaze.

Greetings from Christopher

14th April 2024
 

AN EVERYDAY OBJECT

Early last week, as I was hanging out the washing, a movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was a small bird scurrying around the bushes and ground cover. It was obviously eating small insects among the moist leaves, following some recent very welcome rain. 

I had seen a small family group of about seven of these birds about six weeks ago in the garden. They were completely new to me and I learnt that they are Buff-banded Rails. My photo above, is rather poor having been greatly enlarged.

This is a screen-shot taken from the Wikipedia article about them. They are quite beautifully marked birds and, at this stage in our garden, rather timid.

To ikebana.

At my Geelong class recently, Maree's exercise was, "...paying attention to the vase and the area where the ikebana is placed". In this exercise  the student is asked think about the materials extending beyond the vessel. The main focal point of the material is to the side rather than above the vase.

Maree used a large Tsubo vase. The material was a single large Strelitzia reginae leaf and a stem of Oriental lily Lilium with only one bud, the very showy open flowers having been removed. The stems have been aligned so that the bud is cradled by the leaf.

The exercise I set for the senior students was to "use two materials only" in a freestyle ikebana.

Ellie used some Bullrushes Typha orientalis, and some stems of a reed-like grass with a feathery inflorescence. She said that she chose the materials to suit the decoration on her unusual Japanese vessel.

Maureen used some autumn-coloured Manchurian Pear Ussuriensis and colour-matched Grevillea in a hand made bottle-shaped vase.

Helen made a freestanding small-scale abstract sculptural ikebana using only one kind of material. However, she changed the appearance of the elements and used them differently. The three uprights are the stems of a Yucca and the green elements are the detached leaves with their sharp ends cut off.

Technically, this was an example of the exercise: "Disassembling and re-arranging the materials".

My ikebana was made at a Sogetsu Branch workshop held three weeks ago. The theme was to make an ikebana using an "everyday object" and botanical materials in "Tones of the same colour".

I used a stainless steel Pasta machine, that I had borrowed from a friend with another ikebana purpose in mind. The Pasta machine is placed on its side as it looks slightly more sculptural and its usual function is not immediately apparent. My materials were a re-used Cycad leaf (see last week's posting), a variegated Aspidistra leaf and a head of Hydrangea that had turned a pale green.

Click here for more photos from the workshop.

Greetings from Christopher.
7th April 2024

END OF TERM ONE - IKEBANA AT HOME

  

Early after breakfast a week ago I took this photo at Rocky Point between the Torquay Surf Beach and Jan Juc Beach. The weather was a warm and the early morning light seemed to enrich the colours.

Speaking of which...

...the colour of this Camellia bud really caught my eye this morning. I was a little surprised to see this sign of the change of season. The extended period of unusually dry warm weather had deceived me into thinking that summer still prevailed.

The final term-one class for my U3A students in Torquay was held at my home. Creating ikebana in a domestic environment leads to a number of challenges. The ikebana needs to relate to its particular environment. The students brought their own materials. I had set them the exercise of making a freestyle ikebana using two materials only. To this I added a small challenge. After walking the students around the garden I asked them to add one element from the garden to their ikebana. Most of the students chose one of my vessels for their ikebana.

Lyn brought two heart-shaped leaves and two stems of Dutch Iris Iris x hollandica. Her third material from the garden is the tallest line, Strelitzia juncea.

Annie used Dietes leaves with Geranium leaves at the base.  Her third material is the Goldenrod Solidago canadensis arranged in her own vase that she was keen to try out.

John used Arum lily Zantedeschia aethiopica and Canna leaves to which he added a deep red Hydrangea as his third material.

Norma used a Cycad leaf and a flowering stem of Crepe Myrtle Largerstroemia. Her third material is the single line of Strelitzia juncea.

Coralie used an unidentified Western Australian Ragodia. Her second material is the "unconventional material" bronze-tinted wire coil. The third material is a small stem of Rosemary Salvia rosemarinus.

Marta used a branch of Maple Acer and stem of Duranta erecta. The third material is the single Strelitzia juncea stem.

My ikebana this week comes as the result of receiving a surprise "thank you" gift of flowers from a friend.

The bunch of flowers included these richly orange-coloured Asiatic lilies. I felt the size and colour of the flowers required a largish vase and that the accompanying line material be suitably strong. As I walked around the garden I noticed this drying leaf from the Strelitzia nicolai. Its tan colour seemed to be a good fit. The dried leaf was quite heavy so I have secured it onto a cross bar to stop it from rotating forward.

 The vase is by Mark Bell from Maine USA

Greetings from Christopher

31st March 2024
 

GOLDENROD

While visiting friends in Angelesea recently, I was delighted to be able to take this photo of a male Gang Gang Cockatoo at quite close range. It is one of the endearing characteristics of these cockatoos that they are relative unperturbed by humans being close and scrutinising them.

It was feeding on the seeds of an Australian native plant Melaleuca nesophila which is endemic to an area near Albany on the southern coast of Western Australia. This plant is a popular garden shrub because of its abundant purple globular flowers. Sadly many of them on this particular bush have been burnt by the recent three consecutive days of high temperatures and hot dry winds. 

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At a recent class with my Geelong students...

... Maree had the exercise of "Taking into account the view from above". Obviously, this is the converse exercise of "Taking into account the view from below" which I posted a photo of last week. In this case Maree placed the materials in two black suibans, a long narrow trough and a more standard rectangular suiban. This photo was taken from directly above the ikebana which was placed on the floor. The abstract-looking geometric design was quite striking from this angle.

The senior students were given the exercise of making an ikebana using large leaves with a floral focus.

Tess used variegated New Zealand Flax Phormium leaves which she bent into a structural-looking design that had a strong sense of movement. The materials were set in a large mauve-tinted glass bowl which harmonised with the colour of the Pineapple lily Eucomis, placed at the back.

  

Maureen also used variegated New Zealand Flax leaves and a single Strelitzia leaf. Her flower was a large Sunflower Helianthus annuus "Teddy bear". She set her ikebana within a circle of thick bark giving it a rustic feel.

Christine used two Gymea Doryanthes leaves set in a very heavy, shiny metal vase. The floral focus was made using two stems of white Gladiolus. It was surprisingly difficult to stabilise the leaves in the centre of the vase's mouth, without them touching the side lip. 

Helen used three bold elements to make this strong ikebana: a big dark vase with a bold geometric design, two very broad Gymea leaves folded to make rectangles, and a large bunch of Sedum "Autumn Joy".

Ellie used a single, small Strelitzia Nicolai leaf and two stems of Leucadendron with maroon flowerheads. The Leucadendron stems pass through holes made in the Strelitzia leaf rib to support its elevated angle.

 

My ikebana this week uses the flower inflorescence of two stems of Goldenrod Solidago canadensis. My intention was to make the Goldenrod the principle element of the ikebana. I then added two Aspidistra elatior leaves. When I first placed the leaves they seemed to dominate the Goldenrod so I partially split them so that they hung in graceful curves. This created a better harmony of forms between the materials. Unfortunately the glowing yellow of the flowers becomes a little washed out in the photograph because of the dominance of green, including the Japanese ikebana vessel.

Greetings from Christopher

24th March 2024