Filtering by Category: ikebana

My Ikebana: Contrast

Added on May 24, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

This time, I brought out this black-and-white glass vase. I remember purchasing it because I was drawn to the contrast.

I had in my hands two different colours of chrysanthemums, which I thought would look good against something black. I decided to use the mums as "colour" rather than as "flower". I placed them on the black side of the vase.

The yellow and pink against black stood out clearly enough...but, there was something lacking on the white side of the vase. I wanted to show contrast (as the vase dictated) but the yellow and pink against white was not strong enough. So, I placed dark purple statice in the middle to intensify the difference in space. The statice were made to look like the blooms were overflowing from the vase.

The next question was how to make use of the space on the white side. I needed lines to complement the mass on the black side. I stripped myrtle branches of all their leaves and fashioned them into circular shapes.

Black side = mass. White side = line.

Back view: did you notice my little eryngium helpers? :-)

Here is the complete arrangement. I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Maple Lines

Added on May 13, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

In our parking area, there is a maple tree. Close to its trunk, there are many new maple branches sprouting, probably from seeds that have fallen from the mother tree. I decided to use some of them.

The little buds and young leaves were a breath of new life of spring.

This arrangement is all about showing lines. Most of them were very straight branches. But there were at least some that curved a bit...or some that bent with a little "encouragement"! I chose a container that showed a strong surface to contrast against the lines.

I wish I could take a three-dimensional picture. It is not easy to express the depth on a flat photograph!

Here is the complete arrangement.

Hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Only Branches

Added on May 1, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

After a particularly strong snowstorm last winter, I picked up some branches that had fallen off a maple tree. I kept them until now.

Finally, long winter is over and we start to smell the earth, the grass and the trees again. The branches have started to flower!

For this arrangement, just the branches were enough. I decided to make isshu-ike (arrangement with one type of material only). No more flowers. And since the branches were quite thick, no kenzan either.

I did not have an appropriate container that could match the strength and heaviness of the branches. So I decided to use 4 containers. I used two of them simply to enlarge the space and showed only water.

Here is the whole arrangement. I had fun making this! Hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Pussywillow And Water

Added on April 10, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

I was so excited to find these long pussywillow branches that I did not even think to choose what kind of container to use. My mind simply started imagining what I could create with these branches.

The branches felt good in my hands. I bent, twisted and coaxed them to form different shapes and angles. I was playing and having a lot of fun! Before long, I had an objet in front of me.

Next, the container. The work turned out to be quite big so I decided to use a combination of two suiban containers. The pussywillow branches went to the first container. I did not want to cover the lines so I used very sparse flowers.

I used the second suiban to show water. I let some alstroemeria blossoms float to show a flow from one container to the other.

The image of hana-ikada was in my mind. (花筏 hana-ikada = literally "flower raft". This term is used to describe sakura petals that fall in a pond or river.)

Here is the full arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Natural Style

Added on March 24, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

This time I made an arrangement in a more orthodox and natural style.

Last week, a customer came to the shop bringing a big branch. She said she had found it on the sidewalk. She knew I loved getting branches! It was that branch that I used for this arrangement. Thank you very much!

I used red carnations, white pom pom mums and a sprinkling of pine.

See the buds? The branches were holding out the promise of spring!

Here is the complete arrangement. I imagined it would be appropriate at an entrance lobby of a restaurant or ryokan (Japanese style inn).

We put it in our shop instead! :-) Sorry but we don't have a lot of space these days so it had to be together with some other things!

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Pine Needles

Added on March 16, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The back of our house has a lot of pine trees. The previous night's rainstorm gave me a gift of a fallen pine branch.

Back at the studio, I stood for a long time in front of the flower container shelves but found it difficult to choose a container. In the end, I decided not to use a container...rather, I re-discovered this piece of driftwood that had been set aside many months ago!

I also abandoned the idea of using the big pine branch. The needles had caught my eye.

I rearranged them to form a mass. I thought it'd be interesting to set it on the driftwood to look as if moss had started growing on it. Then, I added the pine twigs (already stripped of their needles) on to the end to show movement, giving the mass of needles a lighter tone.

Here is the arrangement...

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Swirling Eucalyptus

Added on March 12, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

The idea to twist eucalyptus branches round and round came from the shape of the container. I thought of using only the heart-shaped one.

When I finished, I felt the arrangement uncomfortably incomplete.

So I expanded the work using the second container.

I used the single aspidestra leaf embedded in the eucalyptus swirls to create a connection with the second container.

Also with the help of hydrangea blossoms, the arrangement with two containers was now a unity.

Hope you like it. --Miyako

Horizons - Ikebana Exhibit

Added on March 6, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

We are a proud sponsor of Horizons, the 2013 exhibit of the Ikebana International, Ottawa Centennial Chapter 120. Please visit if you are in the area!

Links:
Ikebana International Ottawa Centennial Chapter 120
Canadian Museum of Nature

On The Radio

Added on February 14, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Miyako and one of her students, Jean, were featured on a short radio documentary that was broadcast last February 7th on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax NS.

Here is the clip, which we put together as a slideshow. It was too bad we were not able to take photographs during the actual interview. (In fact, during the interview, we were not even sure what kind of piece would come out!) So we just used some images from our archives to complement the presentation.

Many thanks to Emily Kitagawa, a student in the School of Journalism at University of King's College, Halifax NS. You did a splendid job!

This clip was broadcast as a short radio documentary on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax NS on February 7, 2013. Audio clip produced by Emily Kitagawa, a student of the School of Journalism at the University of King's College, Halifax NS. Featuring Miyako Ballesteros, ikebana teacher, and her student, Jean Henshall.

Erratum: The 80 variations that the narrator talks about actually refers to the 80 lessons of the basic curriculum of the Sogetsu School of Ikebana.

My Ikebana: Fallen Maple

Added on February 9, 2013 by the ikebana shop.

Recent windy days afforded me the opportunity to pick up interesting branches that fell from the trees around Halifax. Thank you to the snow for providing some cushion!

The dried moss gave an extra flavour to this branch. Using it together with a thick piece of driftwood, I found a strong framework for the arrangement.

The arrangement needed a bit of colour so I unobtrusively inserted a few stems of red roses.

Since last year, I find myself creating arrangements that are more artificially "sculptured" (as opposed to using the natural shapes of the plant material.) In this arrangement, I used the flowers not as "flowers" (i.e. not trying to show the beauty of the roses) but rather as a tool to add colour to the work.

I hope you like it! --Miyako