An arrangement using two containers. On one side, light pink anastasia...
On the other side, dark red Asiatic lily.
Apart from the contrast, I also wanted to show the purity of water...
...and the space created between the two containers. Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. -- Miyako
Miyako and Susan worked long and hard to design this installation for the Afterglow Art Festival, held in Bridgewater, NS last Sep. 25~26, 2015. The ever-evolving mock-up took over our garage for well over a month!
We thank Jim of Rofihe's Men's Wear (629 King St., Bridgewater, NS) for allowing use of the store's show window for the ikebana installation. The location was perfect!
Photo courtesy of Susan Robertson.
“Have We Met Before?
We are all witness to the wild beauty that grows quietly along our roadsides and gets washed up upon the shore. What if we took that material inside? Susan Roberston is an Ikebana Enthusiast, Admirer, and Student and Miyako Ballesteros is a qualified Instructor Sogetsu School of Ikebana and Co-Owner of the Ikebana Shop in Halifax. Ikebana is an art in which the force of life in living plants and the spirit of the person arranging unite to create new beauty and form.”
It looks like the ladies enjoyed themselves. Here is the ikebana at night.
Thank you to everyone who came to see the work. Thank you to Ashton Rodenhiser and the rest of the organizers of Afterglow Art Festival for letting us participate in this wonderful event.
Miyako & Susan, o-tsukaresamadeshita!
Isshu-ike...using only one kind of material for an arrangement. I selected only cattails.
I meant this arrangement to portray the cusp where summer ends and autumn begins. On the left side, I placed very green cattails, strong and straight, still very much in their prime. On the right side, I placed already weakening leaves, stooped and curled, browning in some parts...a portent of fall.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Little green apples are beautiful!
First, some of the apple branches were placed at a low position to show some low-hanging fruit. Some red elderberry provides effective contrast. Then, a tall branch is placed to depict an out-of-reach fruit.
The alstroemeria play only a support role. The apple branches are the stars for this arrangement!
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
We went to Mahone Bay to share a little ikebana joy. The Biscuit Eater kindly let us use their beautiful space again to set up some ikebana arrangements. (Yes, we did this a couple of years ago too!)
Miyako and two of her students--Susan & Val--put arrangements in some corners of the café...
...including one in the ladies' room...
Oh...and the ladies did not forget about the men's room either. They decided to have a bit of fun there too!. Not ikebana...just mischief! :-)
The big table at the entrance was host to multiple arrangements that could be taken as one harmonious piece.
We plan to have ikebana workshops at The Biscuit Eater, outdoors on the deck, weather permitting. Aug 14th (Fri) and Aug 28th (Fri) both 3:00-4:30 p.m. Miyako will teach basic upright moribana on the first date and basic slanting on the second. We put sign-up sheets on the table so please join us. Or, you can contact us directly to register too. (Cost: 35.00 plus HST).
Of course, a trip to The Biscuit Eater always includes a lovely meal. Food there is always good!
Thank you very much Cara and Frederick for allowing us to intrude into your charming space!
L-R: Susan, Cara (co-owner of The Biscuit Eater), Miyako and Val.
I was in the middle of putting together some fir branches for an arrangement about disassembling-and-assembling branch material when I realized that the vase I was using did not really fit.
I could not find another suitable container so I decided to make one...with cardboard!
In the Sogetsu textbook, there is also a theme about using unconventional materials. I decided to give that a try too! Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Adding an unstable element creates s a little tension in an arrangement...and makes it more intriguing.
Roses that bring a weighty feel sit in contrast with the lightness of baby's breath.
Then, gentle wavy branches.
The arrangement is intentionally put off-centre to create a sense of instability.
Here is the whole arrangement. Do you feel the slight tension?
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Spring comes late in Halifax. I put together this arrangement early April of this year. The sakura were already blooming in Tokyo and I longed to see them. I decided then to use pink blossoms--a mix of spray carnations and alstroemeria--to remind me of pink sakura.
I took care not to let the flowers and branches sit heavily onto the vase. Rather, I made them "float" a bit from the mouth of the container. This lent an air of fragility to the arrangement.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. -- Miyako
The maple branches that I have been keeping have bloomed! I decided to use them for a kabu-wake arrangement.
Kabu-wake is a type of arrangement where two separate groups are made inside one container, with a special focus on the water and the space that separates the two "islands".
I chose gently curving pussy willow branches to match the maple.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
I use a simple glass container to show purity of water.
Inside, statice stems are arranged in a horizontal manner to contrast against the long, tall cylindrical vase.
A small mass of statice blooms is created not only on the inside but also on the outside to keep the arrangement a bit off-balanced. (How does the statice mass stay in place? Secret revealed below!)
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Here is the secret to affixing the blooms at the top of the container: Plastic kenzans! They have suction cups to keep them in place.
Find out more about the plastic kenzan here.
