Afterglow Ikebana

Added on September 27, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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!

“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.”

— Entry #17, Afterglow Art Festival 2015

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!

My Ikebana: Contrasting Cattails

Added on September 11, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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

A Little Squirrel Fun At Our Soba Shop

Added on August 15, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

Summer time in Nova Scotia...it's the time when our little friends in the woods come out and gather food. So we thought to put up a little "soba shop".

Pretty soon, a customer came sniffing around.

Hope he liked the food...

Nope, we didn't serve any alcohol. He probably was just head-over-heels with our menu! :-)

Please come again!

My Ikebana: Little Green Apples

Added on August 7, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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

Ikebana At The Biscuit Eater

Added on August 1, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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.

Matcha and Suikinkutsu at Jomyo-ji, Kamakura

Added on July 26, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

We went to Jomyo-ji (浄妙寺), a Zen Buddhist temple in Kamakura with the express intention of visiting the tea house Kisen-an (喜泉庵).

It is a spacious tatami tea room, with the engawa (縁側) porch looking out to a serene karesansui (枯山水) Zen rock garden.

It is a very peaceful place.

The temple serves matcha and wagashi (Japanese sweets). There is no better place to enjoy such a treat!

Tucked in the left corner of the garden is a suikinkutsu (水琴窟). You can't see it because it is underground. All you can see is the stone basin with a little water trickling on it.

Source: http://www.suikinkutsu.com/image/suidanmen.jpg — Source: http://www.suikinkutsu.com/image/suidanmen.jpg

The suikinkutsu is a domed installation with a pool of water at the bottom and a tiny hole on top to allow water to fall in drops. The sound of the water drops echo inside creating a very pleasant (or shall we go as far as saying "mystical"?) sound.

The name suikinkutsu literally translates to sui = "water" , kin = "koto" (a string musical instrument), kutsu = "cave".

Next to the stone basin is a long bamboo pole that extends all the way to the engawa.

Put your ear close to the end of the pole and you can hear the melodious and soothing sounds of the water drops. Almost other-worldly!

We found a video of Jomyo-ji on YouTube. Enjoy the sound of suikinkutsu at around the 2:48 mark.

鎌倉五山「浄妙寺」喜泉庵の水琴窟。水琴窟の音を愛でるには、まず喜泉庵の座敷に上がってお茶やお菓子を注文します。そして、庭園の奥にある水琴窟から縁側へ渡された竹筒に耳をあてます。この日は雨。竹筒に当たる雨音のトレモロが一緒に聞こえてきました。訪れる人が少ない日で、ゆっくりと庭園を眺めながら録音できました。評判の石窯は休みでした。

My Ikebana: Using Cardboard

Added on July 13, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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

Hydrangea And Iris

Added on June 29, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

June is the time of the year when the hydrangea (ajisai) and irises (shobu) bloom in Japan. Hydrangea can be found most everywhere!

Growing wild on the roadside...

In temples and gardens...

Irises are less easier found. We went to a park in Saitama dedicated to irises. It is called the Someya Hana Shobu En (染谷花しょぶ園) and it opens only in June every year, when the irises are blooming.

We feel very lucky indeed to catch the blooms this year! After our walk around the garden, we treated ourselves to some wagashi sweets, appropriately iris-themed!

My Ikebana: A Little Tension

Added on June 23, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

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

"Sō" Magazine June 2015

Added on June 11, 2015 by the ikebana shop.

The large ikebana instalment that Miyako and her students created at St. Mary's University was featured in the June, 2015 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.

L-R: Jean H., Patti V., Val S. and Miyako.

The arrangement was part of the Japaneseque event at SMU. Great job ladies!