I love using pussy willow branches. They are so versatile that every time I use them, I tend to bend and curl them to create beautiful curves.
This time, I challenged myself to use pussy willow branches in straight lines only.
I also chose a container with many corners to show mass and lines. Here is the whole arrangement.
Pussy Willow, Oregonia, Green Hypericum & Baby's Breath
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Chyrsanthemums, carnations, and pom-pom mums to create mass....
...and a big block of driftwood!
There is a sense of flow coming from the driftwood. The mass of blooms extend this flow.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Our friend from Chile, Ana Luisa, shared with us her ikebana inspired by a recent trip to Kyoto where she met maiko. Thank you, Ana Luisa!
Two Japanese artistic expressions: Ikebana and Maiko.
Elegance, finesse and serenity...
Beauty in both.
Ikebana: Dutch lilium, aspidistra leaves, & dried Canelo* branch.
The container looks to us like a celadon incense burner. Ana Luisa purchased
it at a flea market in Kyoto. What a wonderful treasure to find!
＊ The Canelo is a tree native to Chile and is considered sacred by the ethnic Mapuche people.
It has very curly branches.
* All photos courtesy of Ana Luisa Quiñones.
Sometimes, it is interesting to create ikebana with unconventional materials. Such material could draw out the charm of flowers in a different manner compared to those using only plant material. It is precisely because the material is unconventional that we are able to come up with a unique expression.
I set my sights on the wrapping paper that we use at the shop. This paper is used to protect fragile, ceramic items like teacups, bowls, etc.
The paper, when stretched, produces a lattice-like pattern with a rough but soft texture.
I used the paper together with daisy mums and some dried branches.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
If you are out shopping for a car, visit the Toyota Lexus showroom in Halifax!
We put up an ikebana installation there. Way up there above the showcase shelving! See it?
Toyota and Lexus being Japanese brands, we hope to show a little bit more of the Japanese aesthetic in the showroom. We express through flowers elements of the automobile design: elegance, boldness, power.
Sometimes, it is good to work outside the studio and create something BIG...a very different experience from the usual table-top arrangement. The project is a collaborative effort by Miyako and her advanced students : Val S., Susan R., Jean H. and Patti V.
Toyota Lexus had asked for something that could stay in place through the Christmas season. So, dried materials were used. Apart from the bleached palm, all other plant materials were those that can be found in Nova Scotia.
Bleached palm leaves.
Gold maple leaves and Canada holly (ilex) among others.
We also used Japanese obi.
We searched far and wide to get the right material! :-)
Planning, designing, creating the mock-up took an effort. But we enjoyed doing it! With everyone working together, there was an excellent exchange of ideas.
(L-R) Miyako, Jean and Patti.
Val.
Since the arrangement was to be placed atop a 2-metre high shelf, we had to imagine it being viewed from the below.
Susan and Miyako.
The other challenge, of course, was bringing the work to the showroom...and the actual installation. Many thanks to Val's engineering & carpentry skills for coming up with a great "scaffold"!
Here are more views of the installation.
The installation will be there throughout December, 2015. Please visit when you have the chance!
We are very grateful to Toyota Lexus Halifax for generously allowing us to use their showroom. It is never easy to find big spaces for big arrangements!
Thank you to Val, Susan, Jean and Val! We hope you enjoyed the project. We are proud of your work. As well, thanks to Susan and Patti for sharing your photos with us!
Fresh sunflowers and dried hydrangeas...a contrast of old and new.
For this arrangement, I combined use of hanadome wire and flower container.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
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