Journal archive
October 8, 2011
This glass vase is challenging to work with, but the more I do the more I understand the possibilities it holds. I had some white cymbidium orchid blooms I wanted to use, and combined them with the millet. My partner Frederick suggested that I add the red celosia and the red color paired with white […]
Read story →October 7, 2011
Simplified expression is the ikebana of the day, made of stacked hosta leaves and clusters of yellow craspedia (one of my all time favorite flowers). The hosta leaves are massed together all to one side to show some movement, and the craspedia peeking out from the base. A simple design with a strong impact.
Read story →October 6, 2011
Some vases or containers are not easy to design in, and this particular vase is one of them. I wanted to revisit it(and I will again and again) to see what I can do with it. It’s a journey of discovery, I’m still trying to learn to see things right brained. Maybe when I find […]
Read story →October 5, 2011
My bittersweet vine theme continues for one more day, I was inspired by this bowl I received from my partner last month for my birthday. I turned it upside down and used the holes in it to build the ikebana. Kiwi vines as the base and a mass of bittersweet vines on the other side. […]
Read story →October 4, 2011
My physical and mental feeling is heavy tonight, very tired and I need to catch up on some rest. So for my arrangement I wanted to convey a feeling of being light and lifted on air. Some bittersweet from last night’s class and a bit a balloon vine combines to create such a feeling.
Read story →October 3, 2011
Tonight was my Monday night Sogetsu Ikebana class, we have it twice a month in a DC at a private home. On the table are the materials we were given to use by our sensei, bittersweet vine and chrysanthemums. The bittersweet had lots of leaves and needed to be removed before arranging. I tried to […]
Read story →October 2, 2011
A bouquet of flowers from the farmer’s market was the starting poing ot the ikebana arrangement I made today. The bouquet was filled with a spectrum of colors, as well as different shapes and textures. It was little overhelming, and I had to either select a few stems or figure out how to make it […]
Read story →October 1, 2011
It’s October 1st and here in Washington,DC it feels like early November. The temperatures have fallen into the 40’s tonight and it is rainy, not good for trying to get out in the garden in the dark with a flashlight to find floral materials. The studio is chilly too, and winterproofing this early is just […]
Read story →September 30, 2011
At first glance it looks like a lotus leaf and pod, but that is what I wanted you to see. The truth is that I was really trying to find something to use today and threw out some old fading leaves. But as I was tossing the last leaf out I took a careful look […]
Read story →September 29, 2011
The mere mention of dried flowers brings visions to some of old fashioned 60s or 70’s arrangements that your mother or grandmother had at home. Filled with various dried fillers and often in colors that just were not natural (nor pleasing) in any way. Often designed in some almost Colonial American stiff formal style, no […]
Read story →