The pandemic is certainly not good for the mail! We just received our copy of the Oct 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association. It’s about 6 months late but better late than never!
Our ikebana workshop at St. Mary's University back in November, 2019 is featured in this issue.
Shikibana (敷き花）is a style of arranging flowers by spreading them on a flat surface. It is a very short-lived one because it does not use any container or water.
This arrangement is Easter inspired. Notice the coloured eggs on the side!
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. Happy Easter! —Miyako
Ikebana practitioners are all branch collectors. When we stumble upon branches with very interesting lines and shapes, we get very thrilled and immediately start seeing the possibilities of a new arrangement. We’ll move heaven and earth (and most of the time our spouses! Ha Ha!) to get those branches. But let’s admit it, most of the time the branches we come across are really not-very-remarkable ones. But still, we keep them.
One way to breath new life into the “boring branches” is to paint them. And that’s what we did with these!
The very dull brown branches were painted a dirty white to help them bounce out of the shadows. Then, a couple of gerbera daisies to add some colour! Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Mizuhiki are cords made from washi paper. They are usually used for celebrations. Valentine is a celebration too! So we decided to use some mizuhiki for this arrangement.
Here is the whole arrangement.
Happy Valentine’s Day! —Miyako
This is a very “rough” recipe to make matcha squares. Good luck!
Ingredients:
butter 1/2 cup
3 eggs
white sugar 1 cup
brown sugar 1/4 cup
vanilla extract 1 tsp
all-purpose flour 1 cup
matcha 2 tbsp
salt 1/2 tsp
8” x 8” oven pan, parchment paper
Procedure:
Melt and stir the butter.
Mix eggs, sugar (both) and vanilla in a mixing bowl. Beat with whisk until it’s thick.
Add in the butter.
Sift and mix in the flour, matcha, and salt.
Stir with spatula. Keep stirring until it becomes very smooth.
Put in an 8” x 8” pan. (Put parchment paper underneath to prevent sticking.)
Bake in oven at 350℉ (about 180℃) for about 30-40 min.
Use toothpick to check if it’s done!
Enjoy your matcha squares!
Ikebana practitioners love to work with curly willow branches. They show very interesting lines and curves that are a delight to use in arrangements. We’d normally take advantage of the long branches to express a strong profile or direction.
The challenge for this arrangement is to resist the temptation of using curly willow in its natural state. So we cut it up and re-assembled it!
Here is the whole arrangement.
While shopping for groceries, we found some packs of chili pepper. The bright red colour was mesmerizing. It would be wonderful to use them in ikebana!
Some winter greens were used to further emphasize the redness of the chili pepper. The vase is the work of local Nova Scotia pottery artist Sally Ravindra.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope this arrangement brings a little warmth in the cold winter! —Miyako
2020 started out business as usual…until COVID-19 upset the applecart!
“perii, plaustrum perculi
(I am done for, I’ve upset my wagon!)”
2020 turned out to be a year of reflection, recalibration, and resilience.
2020 was the year that told us: “Whoa! Take a step back!” It was painful. There were some dark moments when we had fleeting thoughts of “the end” as we cancelled everything and faced a lockdown with no certain outcome. And we weren’t just thinking of business… COVID-19 took its toll indiscriminately across our community.
2020 forced us to think about what’s important (toilet paper? Haha!) and what we can do without. We decided to roll with the punches and came up with new ways of going about our business (aka our lives) and, in many ways, found improvement and opportunity. Many little discoveries (or re-discoveries?) paved the way for a better way of doing things.
“七転八起 [Nana korobi ya oki]
(Fall down 7 times; get up 8 times.)”
We fell down 7 times in 2020. Come 2021, we are rising up for the 8th time!
We’d like to thank our customers for all the support. We could not have seen this year through without you. Our community is the best. From the time we re-opened after lockdown, not once did we have a problem with anybody refusing to follow Public Safety rules. You were all very understanding, cooperative and caring and we love you for it!
A very special thank-you to the people in the front lines. You kept us safe and you kept us going. (Canada Post, we love you!)
With that, we give you our 2021 New Year greetings. 明けましておめでとうございます。Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. May the Year of the Ox pull us forward, slowly but surely!
Our ikebana presentation at the FASS (Faculty, Alumni, Student, Staff) exhibit at St. Mary's University Art Gallery last year is featured in the December, 2020 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association.
Here is a festive arrangement for the holiday season.
Leftover monstera leaves were allowed to dry and when they’ve become stiff and crumpled, gold paint was applied.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
