Nocturne 2011

Added on October 16, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

This was our second year to participate in Nocturne: Art At Night. Miyako and five of her students prepared our ikebana exhibit for the night.

We are older (just a little bit) and wiser! And it showed in the creativity and profundity of the works of the students. The more one looked, the more one saw interesting details and gained more insight from the arrangements. One visitor commented that last night's exhibit showed more maturity compared to last year's.

We thank everyone who took time to visit us (despite Quinpool being a bit removed from downtown where most of Nocturne took place.) We also thank those who came to see Miyako during her ikebana demonstrations at Pier 21. (Thank you Pier 21 for inviting us again!) And of course, we thank ikebana students: JB, Lien Cayer, Marina Sokolenko, Valerie Sokolenko, and, last but not least, Val Spencer for taking time on Saturday to make the wonderful arrangements. We know it wasn't just an afternoon's work...everyone probably had had some excruciating hours of planning before the actual day of exhibit! Special thanks to Val who helped us take the shop apart and put it back together again the following day...really appreciated. All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't do it, but we're sure you can make Humpty Dumpty whole again! (^-^)

And of course, we thank the organizers of Nocturne for making this happen. You put Halifax on the map!

See you next year!

Please enjoy some photos of the exhibit on our flickr gallery:

How To Appreciate Ikebana

Added on October 14, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

Here is a little slide presentation that we prepared for Nocturne 2011. We are in Zone 4, #68 in the guidebook. (http://www.nocturnehalifax.ca/)

We hope it will make the experience of seeing our ikebana exhibit more interesting. Please visit the shop on Oct.15th (Sat), 6PM - 12 midnight. See you!

Also, Miyako will be performing live ikebana demonstrations at Pier 21 - Canadian Museum of Immigration.

http://www.pier21.ca/home

Tentative demonstration schedule: 7:30, 8:30, 9:30.

This slide presentation was prepared for our exhibit at the Nocturne 2011, Art At Night event, Oct 15, 2011, 6PM-12 midnight, Halifax NS. Acknowledgements: * All Japan scenery photos were downloaded from Tomo.Yun (www.yunphoto.net/en/), a free stock photo website. * The basic upright arrangement (depicting "heaven, earth and man) is the work of Heather Schellinck.

Hand-Made Cat Pin Buttons

Added on October 1, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

We love to get crafty in our shop!

See our cat pin buttons...

We gave each one a name because they are all hand-made and one-of-a-kind! Which one do you like?

Made in Nova Scotia. $3.50 ea.

Edo Furin

Added on September 30, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

It's a breezy day today and our furin (wind chimes) are busy tinkling away.

We are sure you are familiar with the iron wind chimes. They do give a very pleasant ring with the gentle wind. But amidst the iron tinkles, you might hear the odd, dull clunk of a glass wind chime. This is the Edo furin, made from glass. Despite its less sonorous chime, it is by no means the poorer cousin of the iron furin from the north. Many people enjoy the stubby clink of the Edo furin. The glass wind chime is traditionally hand-blown and hand-painted on the inside.

Have a listen...

And this gives you an idea how they are made.

QuinFest Fun!

Added on September 18, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

Thank you to all who visited Quinpool Road on QuinFest yesterday. We were very happy to see the street alive and bustling.

Our tiny fishing pool was surrounded all the time with little hands trying to hook their target yo-yo water balloons. We loved hearing the shrieks of delight from the children. 500 balloons were quick to disappear! We hope you all had fun. ....and we'll see you all again in next year's QuinFest!

We would like to thank the Quinpool Road Mainstreet District Association for organizing this annual event. We also thank the weather for being such a great sport!

Quinfest! Sep 17th (Sat) 11AM - 3PM

Added on September 13, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

This coming Saturday, Sept 17th (Sat) 11AM - 3PM. Pencil it in your calendars! It's Quinfest (formerly the Quinpool Fall Fair of previous years). A great day of family fun along Quinpool Rd. Lots of stuff going on along the street. Our shop will have the water balloon fishing game (it's free!) for the little ones! We'll see you there!

More details here: http://www.quinfest.com/

Dahlias Transformed

Added on September 12, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

Last Sunday, we chanced upon an exhibit by the Dahlia Society of Nova Scotia. (http://www.dahlianovascotia.com/index.php) They were showcasing their perfectly grown dahlias. We could feel the care and devotion that were given to bring these blooms into this beautiful culmination! We were also lucky enough to bring home some of the flowers at the end of the day.

Here is a little ikebana arrangement using some of the lovely dahlias. We used a soft vine and let it flow down from the mass of dahlia. The arrangement is currently displayed at the shop.

20110907 Valerie Sokolenko

Added on September 11, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

After our August break, ikebana lessons have started again! Valerie uses *susuki* grass in this arrangement that emphasizes straight lines.

Does anyone know what is the local name for this grass?

Our New Shop Window Display

Added on September 10, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

Have you seen our new shop window display? They're made of origami. Maybe we're trying to keep the sun a little longer with us! (^-^)

This Wood Is Special! Shoji Divider - Hand-Made in NS

Added on September 8, 2011 by the ikebana shop.

This wooden shoji divider was hand-made by Stephen Sekerak, a woodcraftsman based on the Eastern Shore. He was the craftsman-in-residence for many years at the Dalhousie University School of Architecture, until he retired some years ago. Most of the architects in town would definitely know him!

http://architectureandplanning.dal.ca/architecture/visitors/faculty/sekerak.shtml

The shoji paper is from Japan. But it's the wood that's special... The Sacred Heart School of Halifax recently built a boys' high school (the Fountain Academy of the Sacred Heart) on the lot adjacent to the old building. In the process, some old grey elm trees had to be cut down. Steve saw the trees and offered his woodworking magic to the school. From that old grey elm, a lectern, an altar and a tabernacle were created. These now can be found in the Sacred Heart chapel. From the remainder of the wood, this shoji divider was made.

By the way, the lattice is fastened with small screws. Steve assures us that it can detached in case there is a need to replace parts of the shoji screen. (Think little fingers poking holes into them!)