A couple of weeks ago the Mr Lincoln rose produced its first flowers for the season. I was surprised to see three large fully- opened flowers all at once on the bush. I especially love the sweet, apple-like fragrance of this rose. Wikipedia says the rose is very similar to the Mohammadi rose that has been grown in Isfahan for centuries. I am also comforted to learn that Mr Lincoln is "drought friendly", which is perhaps not surprising if its heritage traces back to Iran. 

The Cushion bush shown here is in our garden and is a common sight on the cliff-faces and sand dunes around Torquay. I used this plant in my ikebana at the Victorian Sogetsu Branch workshop last Monday. 

Last Tuesday at the meeting of Ikebana International Melbourne the guest speaker was Ema Shin, a Japanese-born, Australian textile artist of Korean descent. Ema's presentation had been planned for July 2021, however a Covid-related lockdown prevented the meeting from taking place at that time. Ema spoke about the way her creative work has evolved from printmaking to three dimensional textile sculptural work involving a variety of techniques. 

Her recent work has focused on the depiction of the female body, including internal organs as well as flowers, as "...symbols of her life and emotions...". In particular, her embroidered soft heart sculptures represent the "missing women" of her own ancestry whose names were not recorded in the family's genealogical records. Images of Ema's work in this link are included with an article about her exhibition earlier this year.  

 

The fabric is an olive green with a subtle dull gold brocaded pattern. The materials are Forest Bell bush, Makaya bella, flowers and Dietes grandiflora leaves. 

Last year I made the ikebana below...

...in response to viewing Ema's work online. I must admit I am happier with this earlier work, in which I wrapped a single line of a branch in two shades of red wool as a direct reference to her work. The fresh pink material is a stem of Bougainvillea flowers. This link is to the Ikebana International Melbourne blog for more photos from the meeting.

...the bush of Spanish Broom, Spartium junceum, started to flower. The bright yellow flowers were vibrant in the bright sunshine and became my chosen ikebana subject for a vase with a very narrow slit-like opening. 

The particular challenge with the vase is that it is deep and with the narrow lateral opening the materials tend to lean forward or to the rear. However, what are such challenges for but to find a solution!

I have used two stems of Broom that each have straight almost parallel lines, and a single stem with a zig-zag form. The single stem, placed on the right, is angled forward and creates a loose open space. The two leaves of Kangaroo fern, Zealandia pustulata, provide a mass that visually holds the lines together.

Early last week I was in Melbourne where I was surprised to see...

I had to remove the overblown flowers a few days ago and thought I would keep the petals and flower-heads in a bowl to enjoy their fragrance. Later I was glad that I left the bowl on the outside table. I discovered that there were a number of small spiders and earwigs sheltering among the petals. The humid atmosphere meant that these petals were not going to dry out to make potpourri. Well, instead we have a fragrant compost bin.

The principal material for my ikebana this week is corky Elm. Gathered from suckers, most likely of Ulmus minor.

This first ikebana is an upright naturalistic placement of two bare branches of elm which are contrasted with two Green Goddess Lilies, Zantedeschia aethiopica. The two flowers face away from each other, thus emphasising the space between their stem as well as the space between the elm branches. The vessel is by the landscape and ceramic artist Mel Ogden.

Last week at the Art Gallery of South Australia, my colleagues - Ray Bywaters (Director of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana, South Australian Branch) and Maureen Arnott (Deputy Director) - and I were interviewed by the Curator of Asian Art, Russell Kelty, about our installations in the Pure Form Exhibition (see last week's posting). Following the interview the three of us gave an ikebana demonstration in the Cafe space of the Gallery.

As this photo shows the event was well attended. I counted in excess of 60 attendees who paid close attention throughout our presentation.

The presentation was a team effort. The three presenters spent the previous two days in preparing our work and in detailed planning of the process of the presentation. Each of us prepared two ikebana arrangements. In the back row of the photo are Ray Bywaters and me; in the front row are Maureen Arnott and, to the right, our assistant Lea Lawrence. 

This photo shows the six completed ikebana on the two trestle tables, being arranged for viewing at the end of the demonstration.

Ray was the first presenter. This photo shows her creating an ikebana which included Casuarina and Banksia coccinea. Unfortunately, it did not photograph satisfactorily after the demonstration.

However, this was Ray's other ikebana featuring Eucalyptus pleurocarpa, one of those beautiful Australian native plants with strong structural qualities. The square-section stems and flower buds are covered in a distinctive white waxy bloom. The 'mass and line'  ikebana worked well in the bold mid-century ceramic ikebana vessel from Japan. 

In the vase I set a single Waratah, Telopea speciosissima, extending forward and slightly to the left. Then I added loosely swooping lines of Coastal Sword Sedge, Lepidosperma gladiatum to create an asymmetric balance to the mass of the vase and the large flower.

This is the small section of the exhibition where we set-up the three installations on Friday morning. The vessels we used were the far left, the fourth from the left and the last vessel on the right hand side.

Ray and Maureen during the set-up of the installations.

Early in the evening Ray, Maureen and I...

The vessel was by Sakiyama Takayuki. The materials were coloured and woven bamboo strips with three Aspidistra leaves.

Maureen with her installation in an Oribe-ware glazed vessel by Kioe Ryoji.

Maureen's materials were white and green synthetic mesh and a mass of red dyed Billy buttons, Pycnosorus globosus.

My installation...

... was in a vessel called "Kaze" (wind) by Kohyama Yasuhisa. The vessel leaned strongly to the left, with a blade that swept to the right. The materials I used were New Zealand flax and red tissue paper rolled into thin straws. The flax leaf was placed so that it swept around the vessel without touching it except where it issued from and returned to the mouth the vessel.

Last week I posted photos from the Sogetsu School, Victorian Branch's Annual Exhibition which was held in conjunction with the Wa Ikebana Festival. I included a photo of my ikebana demonstration of the first exercise in the Sogetsu curriculum. The other demonstrators made ikebana revealing the variety of the Sogetsu style and demonstrating different techniques.

Angeline Lo split one of the Strelitzia leaves to reveal the partially obscured orchids in her ikebana. This an example of "changing the appearance of the material".

Aileen Duke's spring ikebana was a demonstration of one of the fixing techniques used when arranging in a "tsubo" (spherical) vase. The technique is a way to stabilise the long branches that extend to each side of the ikebana,

As Susan Healey created this ikebana, she illustrated the importance of open space in ikebana by removing a large part of the branch on the left of this work. The ikebana has vibrancy because of the carefully controlled space between the two structural elements of the ikebana.

Lara Telford demonstrated the use of "unconventional material" (man-made) in ikebana. She used a branch with long curving lines that created a sculptural form. Having prepared the branch in advance Lara wrapped the lines with strands of variously coloured wool. Two leaves of fresh material were added to bring the ikebana to life. 

Last week I posted a photo of the second version of my ikebana. It included a main mass made with orange Ranunculus and blue Dutch Iris. 

The first version of the ikebana included wonga-vine, Pandorea pandorana, from the fence in our garden. This turned out to be unfortunate as the flowers dropped if the ikebana was even slightly touched. 

This is my original version of the ikebana which I preferred because of the colour harmony. Also, I think the cascading line of Pandorea flowers helps connect the elements of the vase and Birchwood structure. In retrospect, I think the Kiwi vine is redundant to the overall design. Such are the second thoughts that often occur the day after the completion of an ikebana.

Greetings from Christopher
17th September 2022

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nick took us to the Noosa Botanic Gardens at Lake MacDonald, where I was able to take this fairly close photo of a Kookaburra. The 8 hectare gardens have a variety of indigenous and exotic trees and plants.  A group of enthusiastic volunteers provide a great support to this small regional garden.

In Nick and Sabrina's own garden I was impressed by this quite large Traveller's palm, Ravenala, which is a member of the Strelitzia family.

In this early stage the huge inflorescence is very spectacular, but not as attractive as it opens compared to Strelitzia Nicholi. It would make a wonderful ikebana sculpture without any addition!

This ikebana was created by Masako Morrison. Members of the Queensland Branch have been making ikebana in the Gallery every week since 1993. A very impressive achievement by a dedicated group of community volunteers.

We returned to Victoria a week ago, very pleased to have caught up with family and friends, and came home feeling refreshed. At my class in Melbourne, Jacqueline's exercise was to complete a Sogetsu curriculum exercise called Morimono, or "heaped things". The student is required to arrange fruit and/or vegetables on a flat surface. Flowers may be added. The placement is required to conform to Sogetsu principles of line, mass and space. 

In this morimono Jacqueline set a single spiral of orange peel and three segments on a black platter with a cut radish and a leaf segment from the celery. The camera angle conceals the fact that the orange peal lifts off the platter surface in a large spiralling curve.

In the garden I was delighted to see the mass of red Japanese Quince flowers when I looked out of the kitchen window. Always an excellent subject to use for a winter ikebana.

Last week I wrote my Blog post while in an aeroplane flying to Queensland. Laurie and I have now spent the first week of our "Progress" up the southeast coast visiting friends and family. 

Initially we stayed inland from the Gold Coast, where one day we had a morning walk along the "The Broadwater".

I was surprised to see this Brushturkey. However, I soon realised that they have adapted to parts of the urban environment with its abundant food supply.

Our friends, who live about 10 kms inland from the Gold Coast, have a house with a back yard that overlooks a reserve of remnant bushland. That is home to a small mob of Kangaroos.

In this photo, in the sunlight, the mother kangaroo has a Joey in her pouch, while her previous year's off-spring is in the foreground. The leaves at the bottom of the photo are plants in the house garden.

We are now in Brisbane and staying with a friend who has a small terrace garden with a wonderfully lush tropical feel. Dense planting along the fence line includes palms and Heliconias.

Over-flowing pots of succulents, Bougainvillea,...

...crucifix orchids, and more, make up for the lack of garden beds.

It is certainly enough to bring on a spot of what one of my students described as "Ikebana envy". Many gardeners would recognise the feeling.

Last week I mentioned that the Victorian Branch held a workshop that was presented by Vernisher Wooh from the Queensland Branch of the Sogetsu School. The theme of the morning workshop was, "using one kind of material...branches with fruit, berries or flowers on them." The focus of the workshop was on trimming. Given that it is winter, fruiting or berry bearing branches were not an option on the Surf Coast in Victoria.

However, I spied a beautiful Queensland Silver Wattle, Acacia podalyriifolia, in a friend's garden and was permitted to pick a branch.

In the event, the trimming turned out to be rather more radical than I, and some colleagues, had expected. The word 'simplified' was used and I realised that I had to do a major re-think of my 'trimming' expectation.

As you can see I completely removed all of the leaves from the branch, revealing the fine silvery branchlets but leaving the blossom on one of the branches. I really liked the transformation of the branch as it showed a different aspect of the beauty of the material.

Unfortunately, the change in my expectation of the anticipated workshop exercise revealed that my large vase was unsuited to the now-transformed material. The vase is too heavy-looking for the now fine-looking material. However, this was a workshop not an exhibition and workshops are where we have opportunities to learn.

I plan to publish photos from the workshop soon and will provide a link on next week's post.

Greetings from Christopher

17th July 2022