Journal archive
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 →September 28, 2011
Reusing the pomegranate branch from Sunday’s class I made this nagiere arrangement. The branch has been stripped of it’s leaves so that I could give the feeling of a later part of autumn. Bare driftwood, a fading yellow hosta, and some balloon vine are the elements I used to finish the design. Nice movement, and […]
Read story →September 27, 2011
Ikebana using only branches, from my Sogetsu Ikebana lesson tonight. I decided to also tie in another lesson so I did it without using a kenzan. The branches are a combination of oak and euonymus supplied to me by my sensei for the class. It’s a real challenge to be handed some branches and come […]
Read story →September 26, 2011
Everything in this arrangment is from our garden, beautiful begonias and the deep pink sedum. The pink is an unusual color for fall, however sedums are a great flower. Long lasting in arrangements and and blast of color in the fading fall garden. I think it is essential to my current creative growth to find […]
Read story →September 25, 2011
My arrangement today is the heika from my Saga Goryu Ikebana class. In the design are pomegranate branches, solidago and rose hips. This is the more clasical school I study and I find it to be a lot more difficult, lots of rules and challenging arrangements. Still it does add to my understanding of basic […]
Read story →September 24, 2011
Mass and curved lines are the theme for today, mass is created here by castor bean and craspedia and kiwi vine forms the curved lines. It’s worth mentioning that castor beans are extremely poisonous, so care should be taken to make sure they are placed in a safe place out of the reach of children […]
Read story →September 23, 2011
For today’s ikebana arrangmetn I chose to re-use the manipulated equisetum form again, it’s still in good shape today and the inspiration struck. It’s always nice to show variations and how the same materials or form can be used in different ways. I used a different container, and added a single dried aspidistra leaf and […]
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