Ikebana practitioners love to work with curly willow branches. They show very interesting lines and curves that are a delight to use in arrangements. We’d normally take advantage of the long branches to express a strong profile or direction.
The challenge for this arrangement is to resist the temptation of using curly willow in its natural state. So we cut it up and re-assembled it!
Here is the whole arrangement.
While shopping for groceries, we found some packs of chili pepper. The bright red colour was mesmerizing. It would be wonderful to use them in ikebana!
Some winter greens were used to further emphasize the redness of the chili pepper. The vase is the work of local Nova Scotia pottery artist Sally Ravindra.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope this arrangement brings a little warmth in the cold winter! —Miyako
Here is a festive arrangement for the holiday season.
Leftover monstera leaves were allowed to dry and when they’ve become stiff and crumpled, gold paint was applied.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Two bamboo containers are used to create this arrangement that is meant to be seen from a higher angle.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Autumn is probably the most breath-taking time in Canada. The maple leaves turn into a wonderful spectrum from bright red to bright yellow…and everything else in between! When you have seen this, you will understand why the Canadian flag has a red maple leaf!
This was taken just down the street from where we live in Halifax, NS.
This arrangement uses autumn leaves.
In a bamboo vase.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Burlap fabric is usually used to make sacks to pack bulk dry foods like grains and beans. For this arrangement, a “vase” was fashioned out of burlap fabric!
This type of arrangement is called tsuri-bana (吊り花) or “hanging arrangement”.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
The objective of this arrangement was to show unbalance: a small vase versus a large arrangement of materials.
What do you think? Was it successful? ☺ Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Every year, we are honoured to be invited to present ikebana to the Japanese Culture course offered at St. Mary’s University.
Normally, the demonstration would have been live in the classroom. Afterwards, the students would have been able to see the ikebana arrangements up close and enjoy the subtle details.
But of course, this year is different. University lectures are being conducted online and so must our demonstration! We are posting the demo arrangements below so that the students may have a second look at them.
We’d like to thank Dr. Alexandre Avdulov of the Department of Modern Languages and Classics and all the students in the Japanese Culture course for your warm welcome and keen interest!
Believe it or not, this was our first “Zoom event” ever.
Arrangement No. 1 - Basic Upright Moribana
Arrangement No. 2 - Drawing Attention to the Container
Arrangement No. 3 - Seasonal Arrangement: Autumn
We hope you enjoyed the demonstration!
Our ikebana demonstration for the closing ceremonies of the Asian Heritage Month las May 2019 at the Halifax Public Library Central Branch is featured in the June 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
It sure took its time but we finally received our copy of the April 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Our exhibition, Surprise! (yes, the award-winning one!) last May, 2019 at the Keshen Goodman Library, is featured in this edition.
