Filtering by Category: ikebana

My Ikebana: Just Maple

Added on May 31, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Around this time of the year, young branches start to shoot out of the thick trunks of big maple trees.

I took a few branches and decided to use nothing else. This is called isshu-ike (一種生け), creating an arrangement with only one type of material.

It does not possess the colourful gaiety that flowers could bring but branches are great for showing lines and space!

Here is a shot in black-and-white. Please enjoy the space between the branches!

...and here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Perpendicular Lines

Added on May 19, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

For this day's challenge, I had chosen a box-like container and had hoped to show some sort of contrast between the corners of the vase and the curves of branches. However, on the branches I had available, there were a few stems that would not allow themselves to be curled into submission. They kept bouncing back! So I decided to use those stubborn parts to put more focus on the perpendicular lines instead.

I set about cutting away the smaller stems. I used pink and white alstroemeria to create mass.

Last but not least, I added a branch that connects the flower container to the ground.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Sculpting Salal

Added on April 27, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Salal leaves are already beautiful in themselves so normally, I never think of trying to alter their shape; but my challenge today is to make something "sculptural" with salal!

Salal is not a leaf/branch that bends to one's will easily. If I try to make them curl or force them to take a certain angle, they always bounce back. So, after folding, I slice across the crease. Then, I insert another leaf into the slit to create a three-dimensional shape.

The activity feels more like paper craft than flower arranging!

I add one carnation stem for extra colour.

Here it is... my salal sculpture arrangement!

I hope you like it. --Miyako

A Small Private Workshop

Added on April 9, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Last night we were host to a very genki (means "lively") group of friends who came for a private ikebana workshop.

Despite some weather setbacks (the workshop, originally planned for last week, had been postponed due to a snowstorm....yes, you read that correctly...snow in April!), we finally got around to doing it!

We hope you enjoyed the workshop!

Thank you everyone for coming. Our special thanks to Shannon P. who organized the whole thing. We really appreciate it!

Learn more about ikebana workshops here.

My Ikebana: Bridging Containers

Added on April 7, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Today, I used two containers that have very strong flat surfaces. I made them to lie on their sides, one overlapping the other, to form a kind of bridge.

I used a mix of pink anastasia, dark red carnation and orange lily to make a low (not tall) composition.

Plus, some white hypericum to draw out a light and gentle line.

Here is the whole arrangement.

....and viewed another angle.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Momentum - Ikebana Exhibit

Added on March 16, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

We are a proud sponsor of Momentum, the 2014 exhibit of the Ikebana International, Ottawa Centennial Chapter 120. Please visit if you are in the area!

My Ikebana: Bittersweet Vine

Added on February 15, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

I am very thankful to our friend, Patti, who brought us a bunch of bittersweet vine branches last autumn.

I had let them dry entwined. Now I used them for this arrangement.

It was no longer possible to bend or shape them because the branches were dry and would break easily so I had to use them in their natural state. But, I could still cut and trim, of course!

I arranged the branches to show a climbing movement from the bottom of the vase, merging with other branches at the top of the vase and still reaching further upwards. The ornithogalum moved in the same rhythm as the bittersweet.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Japanesque at SMU

Added on February 4, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

The annual Koshogatsu (Little New Year) celebration at St. Mary's University has evolved into Japanesque, a Japanese cultural festival. With the new format comes more flexibility as the event can now be celebrated at different times of the year and not be tied down to the Little New Year (which occurs at the first full moon of the year). This year 2014, the inaugural Japanesque was held last Sunday, Feb 2nd at SMU's Sobey building.

Dr. Alexandre Avdulov, coordinator of the Japanese Language and Culture Program, gives the opening remarks.

The event was organized by the Japanese Language and Culture Program, Department of Modern Languages and Classics of St. Mary's University, with the support of the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal. Members of the local community also shared their time and skills. Plus, the Japanese-Canadian Cultural Exchange Society of SMU was involved too.

There were many cultural demonstrations and workshops...

Kyudo

Shooting two arrows as a rite of purification.

Dancing!

Iaido

Chanoyu - Japanese Tea Ceremony

Dr. Avdulov performs the tea ceremony.

Ikebana demo

Shodo - Calligraphy

People gave the calligraphy brush a try!

Japanese Paper

People learned the many different uses for Japanese paper!

Incense

Taking a whiff of magically fragrant incense!

Matcha

We were fortunate to partake of matcha and Japanese sweet (wagashi) hanabira mochi!

AKB48...SMU version! :-)

We were honoured to give the demonstration of ikebana.

L-R: Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President of St. Mary's University; Miyako Ballesteros, ikebana artist; and Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal.

Thank you to all who joined in the activities. We hope you enjoyed the afternoon! Thank you to all the organizers, supporters and sponsors for making this happen. It was a wonderful event and we hope to see you again next year.

My Ikebana: The Snowstorm Pine

Added on February 3, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

After strong snowstorms like the last one we experienced, I always get gifts of fallen branches. The pine branch I used for this arrangement was one such gift.

Before starting on the arrangement, I took some time admiring this branch. The main branch, strong and straight was pointing towards the heavens.

There were also smaller curling branches which I situated horizontally over the mouth of the vase to appear like little wavelets.

The pink spray mums and oregonia leaves did not project any powerful and distinctive colours.

But they were perfect to create a sense of harmony. The straight pine branch rising from the sea, reaching for the sky, just visible in the horizon. Do you see it? :-)

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: One Bloom

Added on January 12, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

For my first arrangement in the New Year, I used an old container! This heart-shaped container would go well with thin lines.

I removed all the leaves from the English boxwood branches and put them on the right side to show lines. But, in their midst, I included some branches with leaves. It was as if to show new life being breathed into the bare branches.

On the left side, a single pink carnation nestled in green hypericum. Then, small dogwood branches with their tiny leaves pretending to be butterflies hovering over the flower!

My thoughts were towards a new year, a new spring. May we all have a fantastic year ahead of us!

Here is the whole arrangement. I hope you like. --Miyako