My Ikebana: Perpendicular Lines

Added on May 19, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

For this day's challenge, I had chosen a box-like container and had hoped to show some sort of contrast between the corners of the vase and the curves of branches. However, on the branches I had available, there were a few stems that would not allow themselves to be curled into submission. They kept bouncing back! So I decided to use those stubborn parts to put more focus on the perpendicular lines instead.

I set about cutting away the smaller stems. I used pink and white alstroemeria to create mass.

Last but not least, I added a branch that connects the flower container to the ground.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Etegami Workshop At The Bedford Library

Added on May 11, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

That was a lot of fun! Thank you very much to all the participants of the etegami workshop last Saturday, May 10th, at the Bedford Public Library. Everyone did wonderful work! We hope you all enjoyed!

Special thanks to the Halifax Public Libraries for making this possible!

Find out more about our etegami workshop here.

Bloom Exhibit

Added on May 1, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Once again, we are working together with our friends at Argyle Fine Art (1559 Barrington St., Halifax). This time the exhibit is called Bloom, showcasing the beautiful floral paintings of Twila Robar-DeCoste. In keeping with the flower theme, Miyako will put up some ikebana arrangements around the exhibit.

BLOOM: New and Recent Works by Twila Robar-DeCoste
& Ceramics by Emerging Artists brought to life by The Ikebana Shop

OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, May 10th, 1:30-3:30pm
At Argyle FIne Art, 1559 Barrington St., Halifax NS

We'll let the Argyle Fine Art press release speak for itself...

(HALIFAX)- Please join Argyle Fine Art in downtown Halifax for an afternoon filled with ART and FUN for the entire family. We’re launching a new body of work by artist Twila Robar-DeCoste in a show entitled BLOOM, which is fitting as all 14 watercolour and acrylic paintings are celebrating local SPRING flowers that we can all hardly wait to poke their heads out of the ground and greet the SUN. Let’s hope for lots of that too, on Saturday, as we’ll also be showcasing a selection of ceramics by emerging artists that will come to life with living floral arrangements by the talented Miyako Ballesteros from The Ikebana Shop. All artists will be in attendance. The show will continue until May 21st at Argyle Fine Art and online once the show has launched.

Twila Robar-DeCoste has exhibited work throughout Atlantic Canada and Ontario, and her art can be found in many corporate and private collections in North America and Europe. Twila was juried and elected to the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) in May of 2009. Inspired by the beauty and diversity of nature, Twila creates realistic paintings of natural subjects; birds, butterflies, flowers, landscapes and seascapes. Her paintings are created in watercolour, acrylic and ink. Her work is found in many private and corporate collections in North America and Europe. Twila Robar-DeCoste has illustrated numerous books and publications for such clients as N.S Tourism, The Nova Scotia Museum of Natural history, Agriculture Canada, Ducks, Unlimited, Canadian Geographic and the Municipality of the County of Kings to name a few.

All images provided by Argyle Fine Art.

Added May 11th, 2014:
See photos of the exhibit.

My Ikebana: Sculpting Salal

Added on April 27, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Salal leaves are already beautiful in themselves so normally, I never think of trying to alter their shape; but my challenge today is to make something "sculptural" with salal!

Salal is not a leaf/branch that bends to one's will easily. If I try to make them curl or force them to take a certain angle, they always bounce back. So, after folding, I slice across the crease. Then, I insert another leaf into the slit to create a three-dimensional shape.

The activity feels more like paper craft than flower arranging!

I add one carnation stem for extra colour.

Here it is... my salal sculpture arrangement!

I hope you like it. --Miyako

A Small Private Workshop

Added on April 9, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Last night we were host to a very genki (means "lively") group of friends who came for a private ikebana workshop.

Despite some weather setbacks (the workshop, originally planned for last week, had been postponed due to a snowstorm....yes, you read that correctly...snow in April!), we finally got around to doing it!

We hope you enjoyed the workshop!

Thank you everyone for coming. Our special thanks to Shannon P. who organized the whole thing. We really appreciate it!

Learn more about ikebana workshops here.

My Ikebana: Bridging Containers

Added on April 7, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Today, I used two containers that have very strong flat surfaces. I made them to lie on their sides, one overlapping the other, to form a kind of bridge.

I used a mix of pink anastasia, dark red carnation and orange lily to make a low (not tall) composition.

Plus, some white hypericum to draw out a light and gentle line.

Here is the whole arrangement.

....and viewed another angle.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Thank You, Leonora!

Added on March 21, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Our good friend, Leonora, from Ottawa sent us a photograph of her work. This was her contribution to Momentum, the Ikebana International Ottawa Centennial Chapter 120's exhibit at the Canadian Museum of Nature.

The brittle & dry branches, the smooth & soft leaves, plus the wrinkly and shiny foil. Three different textures combined into one beautiful piece!

And the icing on the cake... a sign was displayed beside the work. A place of honour. Thank you!

The Momentum exhibit is on-going until March 23rd, Sunday at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Please visit if you can!

Photos courtesy of Leonara Duffield.

The Origami Workshop Was Fun

Added on March 18, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

A big THANK-YOU to everyone who participated in our origami workshops last Saturday (Mar 15th). We had only planned one session but had to add one more to accommodate everybody! We hope everyone enjoyed.

Until the next workshop, please continue with your origami pursuits!

If you missed it and wish to be informed of future origami workshops, please give us your email address and we will put you on our "origami mail list"!

Find out more about our origami workshops here.

Momentum - Ikebana Exhibit

Added on March 16, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

We are a proud sponsor of Momentum, the 2014 exhibit of the Ikebana International, Ottawa Centennial Chapter 120. Please visit if you are in the area!

Ikebana At The Speech Contest

Added on March 9, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Our ikebana activity this weekend was at the 16th Atlantic Canada Japanese Language Speech Contest held at St. Mary's University last Saturday, March 8th.

Ikebana, of course, was not the main event. It was a speech contest! But we were happy for the opportunity to create ikebana arrangements for the event. The speech contest was co-organized by St. Mary's University and the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal, with support from the Japan Foundation and Mitsui Canada.

Miyako called some of her advanced students to help create a few arrangements. Here they are in action!

And here are their works, displayed in various places around the Scotia Bank Theatre in the Sobey Building.

...and two more.

A collaborative effort by Miyako and Susan Robertson, who could not be there during the actual preparations.

As the contestants battled it out, we hope the flowers made the battleground a bit more welcoming. :-) We salute all the students who joined the contest. Their speeches were high calibre, made even more commendable because we knew they had not been learning Japanese language for a long time...and we could only imagine the efforts of their teachers to help them reach such a high level! Congratulations to the winners!

Speech contest winners with Consul General Tatsuo Arai.

Our special thanks to Dr. Alexandre Avdulov of the Japanese Language and Culture Program, Department of Modern Languages and Classics of St. Mary's University, for giving us this opportunity.

Thank you Val, Patti and Jean for your time and wonderful work! Like all true ikebanistas, we know you enjoy creating arrangements...whenever and wherever!