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Satomi using 3 stalks of flax flowers balanced in a low container
We met in the Khandallah Town Hall for our November workshop. Satomi lead a workshop on Book 4. Lesson 4, Using Only One Kind of Material.
The material could only be one kind of fresh branches, leaves or flowers in any style. We all chose different materials including, flax, geraniums, hydrangeas, angelica, chrysanthemums, buttercups, alstroemeria, agapanthus, poppies and sweetpeas.
Helen using leucadendrons, billy buttons and ranunculus all in yellow tones in an open woven flat basket
On Sunday 11 October at the Khandallah Presbyterian Church hall our members met to learn how to arrange materials in a basket. Helen lead the workshop.
Although "Baskets" is not technically a Sogetsu exercise, the idea does fit into several of the lessons which talk about emphasing containers. Certainly, looking in older ikebana books, baskets were often used as containers.
Helen demonstrated three arrangements. The first was a low basket without a handle, where she used two small containers and kenzan. The delphiniums were placed in each kenzan with trimmed reed heads, and the tall reed stems were used to link the two sides of the arrangement together. Arrangement two used an open woven basket propped on its side so the flowers could be poked through it into an adjacent dish and kenzan. The flowers were leucadendron, billy buttons and ranunculus, all in yellow tones. The last arrangement was in a tall handled traditional Japanese woven basket, using succulent heads and flowers, nandina, and aucuba leaves. Dried strelitiza leaves were placed high up to echo the curve of the basket handle.
Everyone bought very different baskets from a metal peg basket, to a flax kete, to beautiful traditional Japanese baskets with their containers inside them. The most common problem we seemed to have, was getting a suitable container inside the basket which remained balanced on the generally uneven basket bases.
Sandi demonstrating using tulips and bark in an interesting Japanese vase
Our Sogetsu group met in the Khandallah Town Hall on Sunday, 13th September at 2 - 4pm. Sandi prepared 4 arrangements for us to demonstrate how to arrange ‘Spring flowers or blossoms’ in various containers. She suggested we follow lessons from the Sogetsu textbooks:
Beginners look at Book 1 Lesson 8 or Book 2 page 88.
Book 3&4 students try Book 3 Lesson 4 or Book 4 Lesson 3 and pages 104-105.
Book 5 students and teachers read Lesson 1 on Seasonal Arrangements.
Twelve members attended and enjoyed creating beautiful arrangements with spring flowers.
