Ikebana tips #20: tricky little apertures
If, like me, you enjoy using unusual Ikebana containers, you’ve probably come across some with tiny apertures. You know; the ones that are too small for a kenzan: where flower foam would be too messy; and chicken wire too fiddly. And unless you do something, your flowers just will not stay where you want them.
Well, of course, there’s a simple way to deal with that and this tip will show you how. Yes, there’s some wire involved!
Ikebana Tips #16: more modifying leaves
I really love to see creative freestyle Ikebana arrangements. Fusing nature with human creativity opens up infinite possibilities to make really striking Ikebana arrangements. You’ve probably seen many of my students (and some of my) freestyle arrangements in the class photos I post most weeks. If not, you can find them here or on my Instagram .
Anyway, I’d better show you my video for this week, which is the second about modifying leaves. This time I’ll show you two ways to use the same technique to create fabulous architectural shapes with leaves. Once you’ve seen the video, go on and try it yourself. You can use these techniques with lots of different types of leaves and to create lots of different shapes.
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Ikebana Tips #14: let’s try modifying leaves
Nature produces beautiful materials for us to use, but sometimes we can also take what nature provides and modify it. In freestyle we are being totally creative, so anything goes and this includes re-shaping or reforming leaves. And sometimes you can combine leaf modification with wiring to achieve all sorts of creative contortions, for freestyle fun!
Ikebana Tips #12: wiring techniques 1
In Ikenobo Ikebana we love to be creative, and in this tip I’d like to show you as simple way to get creative with leaves, by using wire.
This is a simple way to take soft leaves that will break if bent or just spring back and shape them the way you want them. Here I demonstrate how to bend beautiful cordyline leaves into gentle curves. This is a technique I use in lots of arrangements. In rikka I can make the right-angled bends we need to accompany mizugiwa and in freestyle….well you’ll see in my finished arrangement.
Hana no wa autumn exhibition photos
Our autumn Ikebana exhibition was a great success and we all hugely enjoyed the day. So both as a thank you to my students, Middlesex Bonsai Society and Miyoko, and for your viewing pleasure, I thought I should post a few (well, more than a few) photos from the day. Please share them with other poeple liberally and spread the joy of Ikebana!
Hananowa Exhibiton 2016
