Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! 明けましておめでとうございます！
No more monkey business of 2016. Let's welcome the Year of the Rooster with a cock-a-doodle-doo!
My Ikebana: Black Branches
I had on hand some wonderful dried branches. I thought I'd have fun with them. I painted them black.
Adding pink, yellow and green accents brings the arrangement together with a stronger impact.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Ikebana Workshop At SMU
About a month ago, we had the opportunity to present ikebana to a class in Japanese culture at St. Mary's University. A number of students were very interested to learn more and so a hands-on workshop was organized on Nov 15th, 2016.
The students learned about how to view branches and discern the front and back. They also practiced measuring and clipping to gain proper proportions in the arrangement. It was great to see how seriously they took to the task. Their attention to detail was commendable.
After the hard work, everyone was happy with their arrangements! It was indeed a pleasure to study ikebana with the students. Thank you for being wonderful participants in the workshop!
A big thank you to St. Mary's University President, Dr. Robert Summerby-Murray, for his gracious support. And, special thanks to Dr. Alexandre Avdulov of the Department of Modern Languages for organizing everything!
2016 Year End Store Hours
My Ikebana: Creating Mass With Lilies
When we want to create mass in an arrangement, it is often easier to use floral materials like spray mums, baby's breath or alstroemeria. These flowers are easy to bunch together, leaving very little space visible between them.
For this arrangement, however, I challenged myself to create mass with lilies. The reason is simple: I had a lot of lilies leftover!
I used two black containers to highlight the yellow of the lilies. The mass was set on top, accented with solidaster and one chrysanthemum bloom below to regain some balance.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. --Miyako
Ikebana At The South Shore Shambhala Meditation Centre
We'd like to share some images of members of the South Shore Shambhala community in Mahone Bay, NS as they practice their ikebana.
Everyone is serious in their pursuit of understanding ikebana. It is such a great pleasure to work with them.
We look forward to our next meeting!
Thank You Hal-Con 2016
Thank you to all who visited us at Hal-Con! Thank you to all Hal-Con organizers and volunteers for another great convention!
See You At Hal-Con 2016!
Hal-Con, Atlantic Canada's largest sci-fi, comic, gaming fantasy convention, will be on Nov 4-6, 2016. We will be there to bring you tons of Japanese anime and kawaii stuff!
It's going to be at the World Trade & Convention Centre, 1800 Argyle St., Halifax NS B3J 2V9. FInd us at booths 807~808.
Show us your best cosplays! See you there!
"Sō" Magazine October 2016
Our group arrangement at the Toyota Lexus showroom last December, 2015 has been featured in "Sō" (「草」) Magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
To learn more about the arrangement, click here.
My Ikebana: Having Fun With Monstera
Monstera leaves are always very interesting to use because of their wide surface and unusual patterns. However, I wanted to use monstera in a different way this time. I curled the leaves into a ball, overlapping and weaving together!
I had to pay attention not to make it look too heavy! I added a light, gentle horizontal line using branches stripped of their leaves.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. -- Miyako