Walnut Ornaments

Added on by the ikebana shop.

So we got a bag of walnuts...

...cracked them open, ate the nuts and hollowed out the shells.  We touched up the edges a bit; then found some cute Christmassy fabric and ribbons.

And this is what we came up with!

Something different to hang on your Christmas tree this year!

Hand-made in Nova Scotia, Canada.  Available at the shop or online. $1.50 CAD each (plus applicable sales taxes.)

(Photos by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)

My Ikebana - Keeping It Natural

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Recently, I have been concentrating my ikebana studies doing "formative" creations.  That is to say, the works were designed to form a certain shape that I had envisioned.  I took apart leaves from branches and put them together again! 

This time, after looking at the branches available, I decided that a "natural" style of arrangement would be better. I had 2 kinds of branches--alder and an unknown one with little black berries (Does anyone know?) and two kinds of mum--yellow cremon and green pom-pom.

I chose a wide suiban container because I wanted to show the height of the branches.  First I put together the skeletal frame of branches.  Next, where to put the flowers?  I wanted to keep the focal point of the arrangement up top so that's where the flower went.  At the same time, I showed a clean base (notice that the branches seem to sprout up from one origin as opposed to being all over the place) leaving it stark in order to further emphasize the top focal point.  I removed all the leaves from the mums except for the 2 leaves of the cremon in front.  By doing away with the leaves, the slender lines of the pom-pom mums could be clearly seen, adding flavour to the arrangement.  Lastly, I created some space by adding that branch on the left.  It helped give the arrangement a sense of motion... to prevent it from looking like it was only sitting idly on the vase!  

I hope you enjoyed this arrangement.

Miyako

See more of Miyako's work here.

(All photos by the ikebana shop. All rights reserved.)

Nocturne Notes

Added on by the ikebana shop.

​Thank you to everyone who visited our Nocturne exhibit last Saturday, Oct. 13th!  

​We thought we'd share with you a few side stories behind the arrangements.  (A link to the complete gallery can be found at the end of this blog post.)

Blue Moon by Val Spencer​

Val found this big and beautiful branch while passing through a cemetery in Halifax. It was too big to use at home but she kept it anyway...kept it for a year!  The hydrangea are from her garden.  It had been a struggle ​to strike the right balance, hanging the whole arrangement by one wire; but Val got it right in the nick of time!

Silence by Miyako​

​The silver dollars came from the garden of Beverly, a friend who knew we were always on the lookout for interesting branches.  The dried pine came from the backyard of our friend, Libby who must've been puzzled when Miyako offered to clear some of the pine detritus off her property! Thank you for sharing the bounty of your gardens!

Untitled arrangement by Marina Sokolenko​

Marina mixed reds and oranges with a brillant touch of green pine.  We don't know if you noticed but the flower container was actually made of glass and not ceramic.  Stained grey, the vase was the perfect vessel for this simple arrangement.​

13-Year Old Daughter by Miyako​

Her 13-year old daughter is learning to play the guitar and is training her singing voice. Did you see the "guitar" in this piece? The red leaves represent her beautiful voice. Miyako had had a hard time choosing the focal flower​ for this one. In the end, she settle on dried corn flower, picked up from Annapolis Valley the week before!

Front Yard and Back Yard by Susan Robertson​

So what's behind the title?  The hosta came from Susan's backyard. The hydrangea came from a friend's front yard.  All from Nova Scotia's South Shore. The balding hydrangea reminded us that the summer had passed on the baton to autumn!​

Self-Made Vase by Miyako​

The inspiration for this arrangement came from Miyako's father.  Visiting Halifax from Japan last summer, he had made a little fence for the garden using sticks of bamboo and hemp rope. Taking his cue, Miyako fashioned her own "vase" for this arrangement.

Quince by JB​

To be honest, we didn't realize quince fruit could grow so big! These lovely fruit-bearing branches came from JB's garden. Some time after Nocturne, these fruit will be turned into jam! Didn't we mention JB makes the most delicious of jams!​

Basic Slanting by Patti Vaison​

Despite being tied up with the activities of the African Violet Society the whole of  Saturday, the day of the exhibit, Patti managed to create this moribana arrangement of yellow and black with a beautiful reflection on the water! Did you also notice the little berries under the roses? They're called bittersweet. In time, the yellow berries turn red.

Halloween by Miyako​

The dried leaves used for this arrangement had come from the Caribbean.  The leaves had been ​quite thick and had dried up to perfection! The photo on the right is the actual plant (whose name we don't know). It grows abundantly by the sea!

Roses by Xuejun Wang​

Her first time to join us for an exhibit, Xuejun started actual work on her arrangement the day before. After choosing an elegantly long curly willow branch to be her shin (main "heaven" branch)​, she got creatively stuck. A good night's rest worked wonders and she finished magnificently with this creation!

Autumn Abundance by JB​

Nothing like a stroll through the Farmers' Market to make one realize that autumn is upon us. The abundance of the autumn harvest and its golden red colours were what JB took as inspiration for this work. Many people liked the idea of the pumpkin used as a vase!​

Untitled arrangement by Marina Sokolenko​

Marina thought she was done when she saw the delphinium and tropical leaves left in the bucket...unused.  They were so pretty that she had to do something with them! Thus came this last-minute arrangement that ended up welcoming our visitors at the door!​

My Mother's Vase by Miyako​

The container used was Miyako's mother first ever ceramic work of many, many years ago. Amateurish, perhaps, but special to her. The apples and amaranth were from Annapolis Valley whilst the big pine branch was picked up right on Spring Garden Road, undoubtedly a ​victim of Halifax's sometimes gusty winds.

We hope these little annotations makes the Nocturne exhibit a bit more interesting for you!  You can see the complete gallery on our flickr page. ​

(All photos by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)​

Nocturne 2012 Is Coming!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

​Nocturne: Art At Night 2012 is this coming Saturday, Oct 13th, 6PM~midnight.  Our shop becomes an ikebana gallery for the night.  We are #63 on the guide.  The Nocturne courtesy bus (Route B) also stops right in front of our shop!

Some of the ikebana material have been chosen!​

Miyako and her tireless assistant choosing flowers and branches for the exhibit! ​

Miyako and her students have been working hard, preparing many ikebana arrangements.  Please come see them!​

(All photos by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)​

Baa Baa Black Sheep!

Added on by the ikebana shop.

Hand-made sheep ornaments!

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Yes, they have wool...well, sort of!  (^_^)​

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Do you like them?​

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Our original product.  Made in NS, Canada.
$5.00 ea.  (plus HST where applicable.)  Available at the shop or by mail order.

(All photos by the ikebana shop.  All rights reserved.)

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