Neuigkeiten aus meiner Ikebana Welt. An welchen Blumen und Materialien ich gerade Freude habe, womit ich und meine Schüler gerade arbeite, was mich beschäftigt und was ich tolles für meinen Ikebana Unterricht entdecke.
Immer frisch und immer mit Herz.
At today’s meeting of our creative group, we worked with KUUKAN and MA the emptiness in and arround an arrangement. We used tropical materials such as jacaranda, pussy willow, dyed palm leaves, and a pompon flower with the beautiful name Wilsonii. We also included homegrown pineapples and orchids. It was a very creative morning.
We used different types of material to create Lesson 5, book 3 “straight lines. For one of my students, it was the very first time to create a abstract free-style arrangement and the result turned out almost perfect.
After a long break during Summer vacation in Germany, we started our Zoom-Classes again this week. We focused on Sofu Teshigaharas Prinzip Nr. 46 contrasts between open spaces, density, lines, masses and created “Ma” in our arrangements. In addition we worked on Variation Nr. 8, Moribana in two containers.
The theme as the floral-Art-Club was “Bushland Wonders.” The ladies presented unique arrangements using all kinds of materials that one might discover on a walk through the Sunshine Coast bushland. I truly enjoyed this playful morning and found it fascinating to see the different results between my Ikebana and the floristic arrangements.
Some of my students worked on wall arrangements last week. The greatest challenge here is to find material that reaches up while also falling downwards, with the focal point placed above the rim of the vase. My other students are still working on basic-Arrangements, Moribana as well as Nageire, with beautiful diverse materials.
This week we played with the tiniest containers - little bottles, lipstick caps, perfume flacons, tiny vases, all under 10 cm and placed theme on cardbords, mirrors ore trays. We used lavender, basil, azalea, tiny pear branches and a lot more. It is not just about cutting them small - each piece must look naturally miniature and of course every arrangment still needs to look like a proper Ikebana work of art.
We held four Ikebana-demonstraions during the exhibition. Each time, three to four teachers shared their skills with a large and attentive audience. The demonstrations were varied - some modern, some traditional. We showed simple ways to approach Ikebana and how to use different materials. The photos give a glimps of the beautiful results.
This past weekend we held our annuale Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibition in the beautitul Brisbane Botanic Garden. The theme was “Space”, and more then 40 stunning arrangements were on display. Our members interpreted the theme with great creativity, each bringing their own vision and style to life.
At the crack of dawn on Thursday morning, I had the chance to visit the Brisbane flower market and selectet some wonderful materials for my students. We worked with very abstract shapes of quince, which was quite a challenge, but the results turned out beautifully and were truly worth the effort.
This week, I had the pleasure of leading a workshop with the ladies of the Floral Art Society in Coloundra. We worked with Puzzle-Sticks, Flexigrass and wintery flowers. The ladies approached the unfamiliar art of Ikebana with enthusiasm and openness. The results were interesting, abstract and each arrangement had its own unique expression.
Last Friday, we held our Winter-Special-Seminar with plants and flowers only availibale at this time of the year here on the Sunshine Coast. We used wattletrees, some looks a bit like Mimosas, as well as Banksias in all stages - from babies to mature ones and to grandmas - showcasing their full beauty and characters, tulips, poppies and poinsettias where also used.
In part two of the event, I like to show you disigns of: Bent but not Broken, Vision of Tranquility and Sunset-Serenade. I crated an arrangement of Tranquility, using Pear-branches and Poppies, which the Australian judge didn´t particulary appreciate, as the other participants presented more elaborate designs. Still I´m happy and grateful to be part of this wonderful event.
This is my first winter here on the Sunshine Coast, and I´m very happy to be part of the Nambour Garden Show, where I have the opportunity to exhibit with the Nambour Floral Art Group. I´m of course the only one presenting Ikebana - all the other participants are florist - but the welcomed me warmly, which brings me a lot of joy. We´re working with sechs differnt themes, today I like to introduce: Table for two, Wintery Moon and Creatures from the Deep. All of them are very intersting, very artistic and far away from our Ikebana, but a lot of fun.
I just came across a picture of the very first Ikebana my wonderful friend Christiane created while she was visiting me. It instantly brought back memories of the three beautiful weeks we spend together. I´d love to share some of our experiences and the amazing animals we were lucky enough to discover.
We worked with the hidden symbolic of flowers this week and arranged with many different flowers, branches and leaves. One Arrangment is made with Typha for strengs and natural clarity and Oncidium which repräsents joy and elegance. The second Arrangment with Canna, Wattle-Tree and Poppies tells a story of tropical strenght, sense of togetherness and transience of the moment. In the third one with thistle, Scarbioasa and Calla you can find defense, sorrow and elegance.
This week we all focused on the horizontal lesson from Book 3, in person and online. A wide variety of materials were used, including banana-leaves combined with haccia -branches, chrysanthemums, snapdragons with Poppy pods and Peonies. Coral trees and ferns also found their way into our arrangements.
I brought back beautiful and very fine washi-paper from Japan for both my students and the lovely Brisbane ladies. Everyone brought their own dry plant-material and a variety of flowers. What followed was countless ideas and unique Arrangements, reflecting the personal connection between nature, paper and hand.
We spend a successful person to person morning and an online class evening exploring the beauty and diversity of leaves, following the aesthetic principle of Sofu Teshigahara where leaves take center stage and flowers play a secondary role. I wide variety of leaves were used to create striking compositions, including palm- strelitia-, aspidistra- and birds nest leaves.
We st.arted our summer online-Ikebana-course under the waxing moon, hanging to the left side. Great results were achieved, and my online students greatly enjoyed this lesson.
We kicked off our autumn course with oversized leaves, setting a stage for beautiful arrangements. Most of my students brought stunning bird-of-paradise flowers, which we combined with unusual shaped Helekonia- bird-of-paradiese - ore birds-nest-ferns leaves. Everyone was full of enthusiasm and delighted that the new course had finally begun.
Photos Eyes Wide Open Images
