Filtering by Category: ikebana

My Ikebana: Golden Maples

Added on by the ikebana shop.

In contrast with the lush green of spring and summer, autumn brings a resplendence as the leaves turn a brilliant golden yellow.

The container used for this arrangement is a hibachi. (In Japanese, a hibachi [火鉢] is a brazier that holds charcoal to warm a room. The small cooking stove that Westerners often refer to when saying “hibachi” is actually called a “shichirin” [七輪] in Japanese.)

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. —Miyako

A Visit From The Consul-General of Japan

Added on by the ikebana shop.

It was a great honour to have Consul-General Saito and Vice-Consul Inaba from the Consulate of Japan in Montreal visit our shop and ikebana studio last Wednesday (Oct 12th) during their official visit to Halifax. In the photo is the Consul-General with Miyako. The arrangement in the back was the one displayed at the Japanese Film Festival held at St. Mary’s University last Oct 13th.

在モントリオール日本国総領事館の斎藤総領事と稲葉副領事がハリファックス公式訪問の際に、生け花ショップと生け花スタジオにお立ち寄りくださいました。大変光栄です。写真は総領事とみやこです。後ろに写っている作品はセントメリー大学で開かれた日本映画祭の会場に飾られました。

My Ikebana: Palming It

Added on by the ikebana shop.

In this arrangement, we wanted to highlight the lightness of the material. Fresh palm buds were stripped to make very thin threads. Some were used to show graceful lines; while some were rolled up into seemingly weightless balls.

I hope you like it. —Miyako

Sogetsu Ikebana Exhibition In Halifax 2022

Added on by the ikebana shop.

After 2 years of not being able to really go out and about, we were very happy to be able to present a live ikebana exhibition once again! For sure, many ikebana artists continued to publish their floral arrangements online during the pandemic (including our own virtual exhibition last year!) but there is always that extra dimension when the arrangements are in front of us. We can feel the depth, switch angles, and even smell the subtle scents! And so we were ecstatic when the Halifax Central Library approached us for a collaboration. This exhibition was held on May 13th-15th, 2022, as part of the Asian Heritage Month celebrations,

Our special thanks to Kassondra Torraville, Regional Programming Lead for the Halifax Central Library for her wonderful support. The planning had gone very smoothly!

Our thanks to our students who gave their time, effort and talents to this exhibition: Leo A, Media C, Michelle C, Odessa G, Lyla H, Robert L, Susan R, and Val S. We hope the experience has been as rewarding for you as it has been for us.!

Arrangement by Leo Artalejo
Variation No. 1 Upright Style Nageire

Arrangement by Media Chalabi 美虹 (“Miko”)
Free-style: “Hope”

Arrangement by Michelle Ciach
Variation No. 4 Slanting Style Nageire

Arrangement by Odessa Godbold
Free-style

Arrangement by Lyla Hage
Variation No. 1 Slanting Style Moribana

Arrangement by Robert Lee
Variation No. 5 Upright Style Moribana

Arrangement by Susan Roberson
Free-style
The vase was made by Lunenburg-based NS pottery artist Jason Remai.

Arrangement by Val Spencer
Free-style: “One Flower, One Branch”

Arrangements by Miyako Ballesteros

“Red and Black”

“Welcome Flower”

Joint Arrangement by Val Spencer & Miyako Ballesteros
This work sat atop 2 tall shelves and was designed to be viewed from a low angle.

Photo credit: Susan Robertson

Some of the people behind this exhibition. Sorry we did not get a chance to get everyone together!

Photo credit: Susan Robertson

My Ikebana: Basket Balancing Act

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Two basket containers put one on top of the other are held together by pussy willow branches. The unorthodox use of the containers, placed in a seemingly precarious position, becomes like an objet d’art that displays imbalance.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. —Miyako