Chieko used a tall bamboo basket in which she made a freestyle Nageire arrangement.
Helen Marriott used a bamboo basket to make an informal arrangement.
Ikebana International. Melbourne Chapter Inc 29, inaugurated March 1959
Chieko used a tall bamboo basket in which she made a freestyle Nageire arrangement.
Helen Marriott used a bamboo basket to make an informal arrangement.
The guest speaker at Tuesday's meeting was Rachael Binnie, a plant enthusiast who is keen advocate of DIY activities. She is a self-taught expert in the art of making Kokedama, Japanese moss balls.
Ms Binnie became fascinated by Kokedama when she spent three years living in Japan. At the meeting she demonstrated two styles of making Kokedama, while dispensing practical information about the process of making and maintaining your Kokedama.
This example was made with a very loose style of binding that holds the moss around the outside of the soil mass.
Following the guest speaker's presentation Betty Karanikolopoulos demonstrated three examples of Sogetsu Ikebana inspired by Kokedama. Here she is explaining how she covered an inflated balloon with pine needles to resemble a Kokedama.
The third example was made using a sphere of narrow strips of brown paper. The lightness of the materials was such that it could be arranged in a small vase.
Below are members examples of ikebana on the themes of using green materials and inspired by Kokedama.
At this year's Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show there was a bold display by members of five ikebana schools belonging to the Melbourne Chapter of Ikebana International. The theme was celebration, for the 65th anniversary of the Chapter. Each of the ikebana arrangements presented characteristic styles of their schools and featured gold and silver Mizuhiki. All of the works were presented in black vessels on white plinths. The ikebana stood out against the red wall at the back of the display but were united by their colour themes.
The Display won a silver medal in the "Floral Design" section. Below are the individual arrangements shown from left to right in the photo above.
Lucy Papas, Sogetsu School.
Chieko Yazaki, Shogetsudo Koryu.
Magdelena O'Kane, Shogetsudo Koryu.
Angela Chau and Joanne Huang, Ikenobo School.
Emily Karanikolopoulos, Sogetsu School.
Naomi Cullen, Ichiyo School.
Celebrating the opening of the Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show left to right: Chieko Yazaki - Head of Shogetsudo Koryu Melbourne, Mrs Shimada - Patron and wife of the Consul-general of Japan in Melbourne, Julie Ireland - Exhibition Coordinator, Ms Miguchi - Vice Consul-General of Japan.
Thanks to Lei Wang for the photography and post production work on the images above.