As the weather becomes warmer, the lupins start to bloom here in Atlantic Canada. They are beautiful and, happily, they are all over the place!
A typical Halifax roadside scene in the summer.
It is wonderful to see the purples and pinks amid the refreshing green. We try to bring this freshness into our ikebana arrangement, using the lupins from our yard. This arrangement is a floor position arrangement, i.e. it is meant to be viewed from above.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
In the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, Propeller Beer opened its Quinpool location. Another great addition to our vibrant community!
Image is a screenshot from @propellerbeer Instagram post.
Here is our little welcome ikebana for Propeller Beer! A crystal container with light blue hydrangeas to evoke the pleasure of that first gulp of ice cold beer after a long day!
Apologies for the belated welcome. We are happy to have you in the Quinpool neighbourhood!
An arrangement using no kenzan, using 2 flower containers connecting as one unit.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Do you know shiki ita (敷板)?
It is a flat wooden (usually lacquered) base platform used by ikebana practitioners to create and extend space that otherwise could not be fully expressed by the flower container alone.
Normally it is a supporting actor to the usual main characters of flowers/branches and container. Sometimes, it can also provided necessary contrast against backgrounds that have similar hue with the flower container.
In this arrangement, we flip the usual roles and use the shiki ita as “main character”. There is no flower container in the usual sense to steal the show!
Notice also that instead of the shiki ita delineating the boundaries, the arrangement extends its space outside of it.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
I was thinking of using things found in the house for an ikebana arrangement.
This colourful mug from Mexico caught my eye. It was a gift from our Mexican friends. Such bright and vivid colours are not normally seen in Japanese-style pottery. It was refreshing! To me, it spoke of the vibrance and gaiety of the Mexican culture.
The other piece of pottery is a shallow bowl made by Danielle Sawada of Thrown Together Pottery from Truro NS. It has been with us for over 10 years now! The Mexican mug, by the way, sits atop a candle.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
This arrangement uses an easel as a frame!
Things around the house could be made part of ikebana arrangements. Do you have any ideas?
Most of us are probably staying at home in self-isolation as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on. We miss doing ikebana together and hope that we can enjoy making flower arrangements together again soon.
For those of us with some time in our hands, let’s try some ikebana at home!
Let’s try to use something that is normally found in our kitchens: aluminum foil! The challenge is to use aluminum foil to create your container. Here are some guidelines:
The lead “character” is the container. Any flowers you add should be there to help the lead character.
You may use a different container to hold water or to help you with forming the shape (if you need). This other container may be completely hidden or could be showing as part of the arrangement. It’s completely up to you!
You may use kenzan, if you need. Again, completely up to you!
There are no other rules. Have fun with it!!
Share your work with us! Tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram!
Our ikebana demonstration at the Ross Creek Centre For The Arts is featured in the February 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Congratulations to our new neighbour, East Peak Climbing, on their grand opening today, Feb 29th, 2020! East Peak has converted the inside of the old Oxford Theatre into a fabulous indoor climbing gym…and they’re right across the street from us!
Here is a welcome ikebana to our new neighbour. This arrangement was inspired by the rock climbing walls found inside the gym.
Hope you see the connection….
The photo of the climbing wall is from this CTV News article. Hope they don’t mind that we used it for inspiration. Please read the article as it gives us the inside story of how hard the folks there worked to get this gym up and running.
Happy climbing on Quinpool!
One of Sogetsu Ikebana’s themes challenges us to use unconventional items together with fresh material. (生の植物と異質素材). Here, we play around with a piece of tulle fabric.
It was fun to blend the synthetic bright blue netting with the natural plant colours. Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
