Spring Natural Landscape Ikebana

I thought I would try to do this post a little different this time, showing you the steps I take to make an arrangement.

I did this landscape a couple of weeks ago when it was still cold and snowy here -- this winter is dragging on forever! This little mountain landscape helped to bring a little brightness and springy feel into my apartment.

Here's what I did:

First, I got a round "suiban", or container, and placed two kenzan in the lft hand side. The kenzan will be the place where I create the "ground" in the arrangement.

Next, I placed three branches of Spike Winter Hazel to form the basis of the arrangement. One long branch, the main branch, spreading out and up to the left in the back of the suiban; one branch tilting off to the right; and one branch low and to the front of the suiban. These three points form a scalene triangle. Because the branch in the back is long, the branch in the front is short -- opposites create balance.

After that, I added the Mountain Fern. With the fern added, you get the feeling of some "ground" being in the arrangement, thus a landscape arrangement. The branches and the fern are intermingled, giving the arrangement a natural feel.

The mountain fern is a beautiful material, but it does not take in water well. The tallest branch of the fern, seen in the front, actually only lasted about 3 days, and then it started to dry up and wilt. It is sad to see the materials die so quickly, but it makes you appreciate their beauty even more.

Can you see the difference? I added another tall branch to the middle of the fern. It acts to connect the space from the front to the back, making the arrangement feel more cohesive.

A bit of red can be seen in the back of the arrangement. The Azalea is placed low and in a clump, the way it would naturally grow this time of year. Having it just peek through the fern and branches instead of being in the forefront helps to keep the Spike Winter Hazel the main material of the landscape. Plus, when something is hidden in the arrangement, it pulls the viewer into the landscape -- a little ikebana magic.

Another branch of the azalea was placed a little higher in the arrangement, tilting forward, also helping to bring the viewer into the landscape.

Finally, one more branch of the Spike Winter Hazel was added to the front of the landscape, down low and in the fern. Having something in fours is not good. In Japanese, one way to pronounce four is the same as the word death, so having something with four is a little taboo. Some buildings don't even have a fourth floor. It's like the number 13 in western cultures. So, the branch is added to get rid of the "death" in the arrangement.

 A view from the side so you can see the azalea in the landscape. The fern has also been placed low in the arrangement to cover up the kenzan.

A wide shot from the side to show how much area the landscape takes up. Having the branches extend beyond the confines of the container makes them fell larger than they are, and also gives a sense that the landscape continues, but we just can't see it. You can also see the tall filler branch in the middle that helps to connect the main branch on the left and the short branch on the right. Without this branch, the branches would fell disconnected and out of balance.

The finished landscape tweaked a bit for balance. This shot was also taken from a little above, showing more of the azalea.

Only three materials were used -- five branches of Spike Winter Hazel, six stems of Mountain Fern, and two stems of azalea. A minimum of materials that produces a maximum of beauty -- again, the magic of ikebana!

Sakura, Japanese Cherry Blossoms

It's that time of year again -- time for cherry blossoms.

At least for use in ikebana, that is. There is still some snow on the ground here, and the nights still get below freezing. Not the ideal conditions for cherry blossoms.

But in ikebana, materials intended for the coming season are used in arrangements. By doing this, one can feel the coming spring at the end of winter, building our expectations for the joy of the season to come. Sakura are a very delicate flower that only show their beauty for a few weeks each year. The blooming of cherry trees is something that every Japanese looks forward to each year, with the national and local news forcasting the blooming of the trees throughout Japan, and many people celebrating the season by having a picnic under the trees so they can enjoy the pink, white colors and the distinctive sakura smell. It is definitely one of my favorite times of year.

It had been seven weeks since my last ikebana lesson. I had missed having some flowers in my apartment. It really does make a difference when you have some flowers in your living space. I place my arrangements near the door, so I am greeted by flowers when I come home and greeted by them when I leave. Having something beautiful to look at when I come home is very relaxing and helps me to unwind after a long day. Needless to say, I was very happy to get back to my ikebana lessons!

My teacher had chosen sakura. She had several branches to choose from, some large and some small. I chose a large branch that had some character to it and began to look for the best way to show that off. I cut it into four pieces and had the main material for my arrangement. There were also some beautiful yellow Oriental lillys to use. It would be just the right burst of color to match the light pink of the sakura and the deep blue of the vase I was using.

cherry tree and Oriental lilly

Not only did I want to show off the cherry blossoms, I also wanted to show the unique character of the tall branch. So, I cut it back some, creating some space (as talked about here), and inserted it into the right hand side of the vase, showing the angled curve of the branch. Next, I inserted a branch with lots of blossoms low and to the front of the vase. The unbalance of the the tall branch with a few flowers and the short branch with many flowers brings a balance to the arrangement. I added another branch that bends down infront of the vase and another branch to the rear of the arrangement to balance out the front to back space and weight of the cherry tree branches. To finish it off, I added one stem of lilly. The lilly actually had three more blossoms on it, but I cut those off, because it would have felt too heavy with all of them on the stem. And with this one stem, I got three different variations of the flower in bloom -- one almost fully open, one just opening, and one still in bud form. With variations like this, it makes it fell more natural, and the viewer can enjoy watching the other blooms open up and change the arrangement. And also notice how the face of the lillys are pointing up and towards the tall branch, which is the main branch of the arrangement. These lillys feel happy and energetic pointing up towards the tall branch. For my first arrangement in a long time, I was very happy!

view from the side. this has only 5 stems total and takes up all of this space!

I am looking forward to the cherry blossom season. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and let us enjoy them this year. Last year, the trees had just begun to bloom and we had about a weeks worth of rain causing most of the blossoms to fall from the trees. Now that I think about it, it has been like that the past two or three years. The beauty of the flowers only lasts a couple of weeks, if the weather cooperates, making sakura a special, treasured flower here in Japan. Hope I can enjoy them this year.

Until then, I will just enjoy the blossoms that I have in my apartment.

 What's not to love about these delicate flowers? Beautiful!

Space and Ikebana

It's another cold and snowy day here in Hanamaki. Watching the snow fall quietly to the earth is very peaceful and relaxing. It covers everything up in a blanket of white softness that always looks magical to me. This winter has been a long one -- very cold with lots of snow. And I love it. Anyway, back to the ikebana. . .


One of the most important materials in ikebana is "space." Using space wisely creates a larger arrangement that has a feeling of movement and helps to bring out the beauty of the materials.

For this arrangement, I used three branches of yuki-yanagi, or spiraea thunbergii, and three stems of snapdragon. A single branch is placed high in the arrangement, filling up the vertical space. Another branch is placed low in the arrangement, stretching out to the front, giving the yuki-yanagi and snapdragons a chance to interact. The tall branch was pruned back quite a bit to give the arrangement some space. The open space helps to show the beautiful and interesting curve of the branch and also creates a place for the snapdragons to be showcased.

And did you notice how all of the points of the snapdragons are pointing up? In Ohara-ryu ikebana, it is important to do this. It makes the flowers or branches that you arrange feel as if they are growing up towards the warmth of the sun. Their energy is going up. They feel "genki", or lively. If the tips of the snapdragons were facing down or off to the side, they would not look happy, but sad. These little things also add to the understated beauty of the arrangement.

The Japanese name of the branch is Yuki-yanagi. Yuki is the Japanese word
for snow. When these branches are in full bloom, they are covered
in small white flowers, making the branches look as if they are
covered in snow.

This view from the side shows how far forward the arrangement reaches out towards the viewer. Reaching out forward helps to bring the viewer closer to the flowers and makes for a friendly arrangement. But when it is viewed from the front, you don't notice the angle of the flowers. You can also see one small branch in the rear of the arrangement. It is placed in the back to counterbalance the weight in the front of the arrangement. 

Doing arrangements in a vase can be a little tricky, because there is no frog or kenzan that the flowers and branches are pushed into. When doing an arrangement in a vase, you use special cutting techniques and also add some extra "stoppers" to the branches to keep them in place. I'll have to do another post on that another time. These techniques are what set Ohara-ryu apart from other schools of ikebana.

Space. Another important material for Ohara-ryu ikebana.

Having a little "nothing" gives the arrangement "something".


(I hope to be off of my crutches by next week. I have been working on building the muscle back up in my left leg and walking with a little weight on it. My knee feels better each day and it has a greater range of motion with each passing day. I will be running before you know it! Well, probably not, especially since I never ran before. But, it is a good thought, nonetheless!)

Winter Landscape Ikebana by the Waters Edge

Well, it's been a while since my last post. Why? I had to have knee surgery to repair the meniscus in my left knee. I'll spare you all the details. Let's just say the surgery went well, and I am on my way to recovery. I only have two to three more weeks of using crutches. So, maybe, by the beginning of March, I will be walking normal, using my own two legs, not one leg and crutches.

Anyway, before I had to go in the for the operation, I did get to have my ikebana lessons a couple of times.

The first week, I did a landscape arrangement portraying a scene at the waters edge. It is a late winter arrangement, so there is no snow or no materials conveying the image of snow. The arrangement just depicts the beauty of a cold, winter day, with the first flowers starting to bloom.

The Japanese narcissus have started to bloom along the edge of a river in the forest. And the camellia have also stated to bloom. The air over the water's edge is warmer, so the first blossoms of the camellia open ever so slightly.

With this view, from slightly above, you can see that the blooming camellia is still hiding under the leaf, protecting itself from the cold of the winter, and the snow that could still fall quietly to the earth.

The branch of the tree bends out over the water's edge, having been blown and broken by the harsh winds of winter. And a single leaf of the narcissus has also been bent by the winds, also stretching out over the water's edge.

To me it still feels a little cold with the vast amount of water showing in the container, but the hope of the colorful and warm spring to come can also be felt with the narcissus and camellia blossoms.

I think that the Japanese narcissus is one of my favorite flowers. The sweet smell is intoxicating, and the small, delicate flowers are so beautiful against the green of the leaves. Trying to show the beauty of the narcissus leaves is a little difficult, trying to make them look as natural as possible, all the while deconstructing and then reconstrucing the grouped leaves.

It has been very cold here in Hanamaki. Most of the past month has been below freezing, even during the day, with lots of snow falling quietly to the ground. This arrangement just reminds me that after a cold, harsh winter, there is the beauty of spring to look forward to . . . along with me walking again!

I hope you are all having a warm winter, wherever you are.

New Year's Ikebana and Winter Ikebana

Well, it has been over a month since I have posted. The only excuse, I was having too much fun getting ready for Christmas and then spending Christmas with my family back home in Arkansas. I ate and shopped and ate and shopped and ate and shopped. . . you get the picture. I always have a wonderful time at home, spending time with family and catching up over the past year; but, I also look forward to coming back to Japan so I can rest a little!
I guess I'll just jump right into the ikebana arrangements I did.

This year, once again, my friend asked me to do an arrangement for his shop's window. I was more than happy to have the challenge/experience again, so of course I said yes. Last year I used different types of pine to make the arrangement, with a couple of gold fans and some gold mizuhiki to add a bit of color to the arrangement.

I thought that I would do something a bit more traditional this year. Pine is a staple of New Year's material, and so are chrysanthemums. I found some young pine branches and some beautiful white, spider chrysanthemums. I thought that a touch of red would also look nice -- here in Japan, for celebrations, red and white are used as celebratory colors -- and bring in a celebratory feeling to the arrangement. I found some Senyro, which is also used during the New Year, and that added the red that I wanted for the arrangement.

I did the arrangement in a black vase, in a variation of the upright style. Because of the constraints of the space of the window, I couldn't extend some of the branches and flowers out to the front like you should for the upright style, thus a variation. I also had a small red and white New Year's decoration that I tied to one of the branches of the pine. That added a little more celebratory feel to the finished arrangement.

view from the front

view from the side

While I was home for Christmas, I also did an arrangement for my mother's table. I wanted to make a little forest on her table, and hopefully, it would be something that would last into January for her, or until she gets tired of it!


I looked for some little trees at different stores, but had no luck in finding any. Just when I thought I would have to do something different, I noticed some small pine trees outside of the Lowe's that is just down the road from where my parent's live. I whipped into the parking lot and took a look at them. They were originally $9.99 each, but were on sale for $2.25 each -- lucky! I scooped up 9 of the little trees and then found some small blue pine that were on sale for a dollar each. How lucky was that!

I found some containers at home, all of them green, that I thought I could use to make the arrangement. I thought I would do a forest in a one-row form down the center of the table. In Japan, I would use some kenzan to hold the trees in place, but I didn't have any with me. So, I ran to the local WalMart and picked up some floral foam, and right beside it, they had some small bags of moss. I knew that I could use that as the ground cover for the forest, so I picked up a couple of bags of that, too. Everything was falling into place. I had some red Hypericum and Baby's Breath, so I was ready to make my mother a forest.

I built up the forest with the pine trees, spreading them out along the table to complete my one-row form. I then added in the blue pine to give it some texture and add a denseness to the forest. I had some old branches/twigs that I inserted into the arrangement to give the feel of bare trees in the winter. I spaced out the Hypericum to give a little color and some variation and rhythm to the arrangement; and finally, I added in the Baby's Breath to make/give a sense of snow in the forest.

view from above

right side
the baren spot in the front right of the large container and the baren spot on the small container to the left
form connect the two parts of the arrangement and also give the illusion
of a clearing in the forest

the left side
the dense forest continues to the left of the large container

view on Christmas morning

the light shinning through on Christmas morning

a bright, happy forest

 
I also did an arrangement for my grandmother's table this year, too.


Last year, I did a circular form using Calla lilies. This year, I did a radial form using different greenery and white carnations. This arrangement can be viewed from any side, so the material on the left and the material on the right are different, giving more texture and variation to the arrangement. I used white carnations in the middle to bring a focus to the arrangement, and then filled in the middle with Baby's Breath, using a little on the right and left sides to connect both sides of the arrangement. Finally, I added red spray carnations to have the tri-fecta of Christmas colors -- red, white, and green. My grandmother was happy with the arrangement which put a smile on my face and hers, too!

view from the front (beautiful lighting!)

My sweet grandma. Can you believe she is 84? Beautiful!

three beautiful women -- my aunt, grandma, and mom

 
So, there you have it. That's what I've been up to since the last post.


I hope all of you who read the blog have a wonderful new year full of family, friends, laughter, and lots of love! Happy New Year!