Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu!
Ikebana At Toyota Lexus Halifax
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!
My Ikebana: Fresh & Dried Contrast
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
Thank you Hal-Con 2015
We had a great time at Hal-Con 2015. We would like to thank everyone who visited our booth, including many fabulous cosplayers! You kept us busy. We couldn't even take a break...and we love you for it! :-)
Our special thank-you to the organizers and volunteers. You did one heck of a job. Everything was smooth. 100% successful event!
We hope to see you all again next year!
Sincerely,
the ikebana shop
My Ikebana: Light Pink & Dark Red
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
Workshop: Making Notebooks With Japanese Paper
We are pleased to announce a workshop in notebook-making with Japanese decorative paper.
The instructor is Jamie Pratt. She is the Halifax representative of the Japanese Paper Place (based in Toronto) and has extensive experience in papercraft.
You will learn to make 3 small notebook styles--the 3-hole pamphlet, the teabag notebook, and the meandering notebook. Many different patterns of beautiful Japanese decorative paper will be available for you to choose from.
The 3-Hole Pamphlet Notebook.
The Teabag Notebook
The Meandering Notebook. Not as simple as it looks!
Workshop Date & Time: Oct 17th (Sat), 2:00-3:30 p.m.
Place: Our studio above the shop
Cost: $20.00 plus HST (materials included)
Participants from 12 years old and above.
Maximum: 10 persons
Please register in advance. First come, first served.
Register by phone (902-407-0487) or email shop@theikebanashop.com
Hope to see you there!
Afterglow Ikebana
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!
My Ikebana: Contrasting Cattails
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
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
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