Shikibana (敷き花）is a style of arranging flowers by spreading them on a flat surface. It is a very short-lived one because it does not use any container or water.
This arrangement is Easter inspired. Notice the coloured eggs on the side!
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. Happy Easter! —Miyako
Ikebana practitioners are all branch collectors. When we stumble upon branches with very interesting lines and shapes, we get very thrilled and immediately start seeing the possibilities of a new arrangement. We’ll move heaven and earth (and most of the time our spouses! Ha Ha!) to get those branches. But let’s admit it, most of the time the branches we come across are really not-very-remarkable ones. But still, we keep them.
One way to breath new life into the “boring branches” is to paint them. And that’s what we did with these!
The very dull brown branches were painted a dirty white to help them bounce out of the shadows. Then, a couple of gerbera daisies to add some colour! Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Mizuhiki are cords made from washi paper. They are usually used for celebrations. Valentine is a celebration too! So we decided to use some mizuhiki for this arrangement.
Here is the whole arrangement.
Happy Valentine’s Day! —Miyako
Ikebana practitioners love to work with curly willow branches. They show very interesting lines and curves that are a delight to use in arrangements. We’d normally take advantage of the long branches to express a strong profile or direction.
The challenge for this arrangement is to resist the temptation of using curly willow in its natural state. So we cut it up and re-assembled it!
Here is the whole arrangement.
While shopping for groceries, we found some packs of chili pepper. The bright red colour was mesmerizing. It would be wonderful to use them in ikebana!
Some winter greens were used to further emphasize the redness of the chili pepper. The vase is the work of local Nova Scotia pottery artist Sally Ravindra.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope this arrangement brings a little warmth in the cold winter! —Miyako
Here is a festive arrangement for the holiday season.
Leftover monstera leaves were allowed to dry and when they’ve become stiff and crumpled, gold paint was applied.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Two bamboo containers are used to create this arrangement that is meant to be seen from a higher angle.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Autumn is probably the most breath-taking time in Canada. The maple leaves turn into a wonderful spectrum from bright red to bright yellow…and everything else in between! When you have seen this, you will understand why the Canadian flag has a red maple leaf!
This was taken just down the street from where we live in Halifax, NS.
This arrangement uses autumn leaves.
In a bamboo vase.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Burlap fabric is usually used to make sacks to pack bulk dry foods like grains and beans. For this arrangement, a “vase” was fashioned out of burlap fabric!
This type of arrangement is called tsuri-bana (吊り花) or “hanging arrangement”.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
The objective of this arrangement was to show unbalance: a small vase versus a large arrangement of materials.
What do you think? Was it successful? ☺ Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
