Today is the completion of one third of my project. It’s getting a bit harder, some days it’s easy and other days I struggle to come up with something. Each day I do manage and I’m feeling pretty good about that. At this point I really need to look back at what I have done and see what direction I really want the next section to take. This journey with Ikebana is a lifelong study and process, so I have to remember to be patient and just do something every day. For today I chose to do hana kubari with a fresh pear and red tulip. The pear is the hana kubari or the means by which the flower (the red tulip) is held in place. Not only does it provide a way to hold the flower in place, it actually becomes an important part of the design. Whereas a kenzan, Soegi-dome (vertical type fixture, or Jumonji-dome (cross bar fixture) and meant to be covered and not seen, the hana kubari is an important visual element in the complete design. Here is pear is simply pierced with a chopstick to provide a straight opening so that the tulip may be inserted through the pear and into the vase.
Stunning!