Origami-In-Motion Workshop

Added on by the ikebana shop.

UPDATED 20-Jan-2016:
We are postponing this workshop to Jan 31st, Sunday, same time 2:00-3:00 p.m.

The weather forecast for Jan 24th, Sunday, doesn't look very good.  It looks like a considerable amount of snowfall is expected!  

Apologies for the inconvenience.

We are planning our first for 2016 origami workshop on Jan 24th,  Sunday.  In this workshop, we will make origami that go in motion.  One is a pinwheel that will spin when you blow on it and the other is a spinning top! 

See a quick demo of the spinning top here!

 

This origami top is made from 3 sheets of square paper. No cutting, no pasting!

 

Date: Jan 24th, Sunday
Time: 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Venue: our studio (right above the shop)

Cost: $8 plus HST per person.  All materials are included.
Max 10 persons.  Advanced registration is required.  First come, first served!

Please call or email to book your spot.
Tel (902) 407-0487
email: shop@theikebanashop.com

Hope to see you there!

Revised Blade Sharpening Price Schedule

Added on by the ikebana shop.

No, it's not really a price increase!  We've just streamlined the blade sharpening pricing schedule to simplify things.

The following pricing schedule will be applied from 2016:

Cost / knife
  $8.00
$10.00
$15.00

$15.00
$15.00
$15.00
$10.00
$12.00
no extra cost
$5.00 extra

Regular & Serrated Kitchen Knives
    up to 4" blade
    more than 4", up to 9" blade
    more than 9" blade

Japanese traditional knife
Cleaver
Non-kitchen knife (hunting, folding)
Ikebana clippers
Scissors
Minor chip repair* ( <2mm)
Chip & tip repair*

*Chip repair must be incorporated with sharpening order.

Note: If your knives or clippers need extra special attention, we will let you know the expected cost and obtain your agreement before starting any work on it.

Prices are subject to HST.

Ikebana At Toyota Lexus Halifax

Added on by the ikebana shop.

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!

 

Thank you Hal-Con 2015

Added on by the ikebana shop.

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

Added on by the ikebana shop.

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

Afterglow Ikebana

Added on 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!

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.”
— 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 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