Hal-Con 2014

Added on November 10, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Thank you to everyone who visited our booth at Hal-Con!

You kept us very busy! :-)

We at the ikebana shop strive to introduce Japanese culture and aesthetics to you. Anime, manga and kawaii are very much part of it and so we are very thankful to the Hal-Con Sci-Fi/Fantasy Convention for the opportunity to be part of this great event!

Here are some of our favourite cosplays. We're sure we missed a lot more...maybe we'll see you next year!

Ninja!  He had good moves! — Ninja! He had good moves!

Princess Mononoke & Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul

"Sō" Magazine October 2014

Added on November 4, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Miyako's demonstration at St. Mary's University last February was featured in "Sō" (「草」) magazine, Oct 2014 edition. "Sō" is the official publication for the Sogetsu Teachers' Association. Thank you!

In the photo, (L-R) Dr. J. Colin Dodds, President of St. Mary's University; Miyako Ballesteros, ikebana artist; and Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal.

The demonstration was part of Japanesque, an event showcasing Japanese culture at St. Mary's University, Halifax NS.

My Ikebana: Not So Hallowe'en

Added on October 25, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

I thought I'd make an arrangement appropriate for Hallowe'en. Something spooky. This bare mountain ash branch devoid of berries looked ghoulish enough, I thought.

I put more weight on the dark side of my black-and-white container to show asymmetry.

But the chrysanthemums and eucalyptus branches looked more cheerful than "scary"!

So it became my not-so-Hallowe'en arrangement!

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Nocturne: Art At Night 2014

Added on October 20, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Once again, on one magical night, our shop was transformed into a little ikebana gallery.

It was hard work to put all the merchandise away and set the stage.

But it was harder work to design the arrangements! All worth it.

On October 18th, 2014, from 6 p.m. to midnight, we were there to show and explain ikebana.

We also served some cake to show our appreciation. :-)

Here are the work of Miyako and her students.

The outside installation was a collaborative effort by Miyako and Val Spencer. Hemlock greens, magnolia & willow branches, spray mums and bamboo.

The big willow branch was actually given to us by a friend last winter. She said her neighbour's tree had fallen in a storm. She thought we might like it so she hauled it all the way to our shop. That was probably a good 3 blocks away! Thank you Joan!

Left:: "Autumn Happiness" by Patti Vaison. Patti could not join us on Nocturne so she had prepared her arrangement in advance using dried material: Chinese lantern, cattails and eryngium. Glass beads on blue glass containers gave calming balance to the vivid orange!

Right: "Paintbrush" by Val Spencer. Anthurium and hosta stems. Now, you couldn't have guessed those "sticks" were from hosta, right? :-) A couple of sheets of square paper underneath may seem inconsequential but they complete the picture.

Left: "Moonlight" by Avril Yu. Stargazer lilies and alder branches. Like a bright moonlit night!

Right: "Kabu-Wake" (That's the style of arrangement having 2 "islands" in one moribana container) by Jean Henshall. Yellow roses and pincushion protea.

Left: Basic upright moribana by Randa Bdeir (L) and Abeer Sabanekh (R). Pink anastasias, alder branches and eryngium. The two friends' works had been done separately but came together perfectly as a pair!

Right: "No-Mind" by Miyako. Dendrobium, yellow mums, grape vine and Japanese rose branches. For this arrangement, Miyako said she wasn't thinking at all. Her hands just moved!

Left: "Discord" by Miyako. Silver Dollars, dried hydrangea and hemlock. We don't know what the branches are. We picked them up on the sidewalk after a storm had blown by! This arrangement went through countless iterations as if there were opposing forces pulling it back and forth.

Right: "Hope" by Miyako. Mountain ash branches, Japanese rose hips and craspedia. It looked like it just crested a steep peak!

Left: "Tall Gladiola" by Sydney Feng. Gladiola, cattail leaves and pine. The heavy vertical presence of the gladiola was contrasted by the light sprinkling of pine needles.

Right: "Dawning" by Val Spencer. Begonias and climbing hydrangea...and meticulously sculptured branches!

We thank everyone who came all the way to Quinpool to visit us...even as the bulk of Nocturne festivities were happening in downtown. We hope you enjoyed our little exhibit. Time flew by very quickly!

Thank you to the ikebana students who participated. We hope you also had an enriching experience. Everybody loved your work!

A more complete set of Nocturne images can be found on our flickr album.

My Ikebana: Mountain Ash And Mums

Added on October 12, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

The big branches were from a mountain ash tree that had been felled by a recent storm.

I put together the red berries of mountain ash with bright yellow chrysanthemums to show a contrast.

The hips on the Japanese rose branch are turning orange--a preview of the coming autumn.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

My Ikebana: Dried Pine and Horsetail

Added on October 5, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Another pine branch I had picked up last winter was all dried up. All the needles were gone. The tiny bare branches looked like sparklers to me!

I cut up this branch into smaller pieces and re-assembled it around the vase. I used the horsetail to show some movement.

Then, to further emphasize the fine patterns of the dried pine twigs, I embedded some roses among them.

Here is the whole arrangement.

I hope you like it. --Miyako

Japanesque September 2014, At SMU

Added on September 30, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

September 28th was a beautiful Halifax Sunday afternoon. The organizers of Japanesque decided Mother Nature's offering of good weather was too good to pass and the event was moved to the gardens of The Oaks on the southern tip of the St. Mary's University campus.

Japanesque was co-organized by the Japanese Language and Culture Program, Department of Modern Languages and Classics of St. Mary's University and the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal, with the support of the Japan Foundation.

Festivities were opened with a taiko performance. That got everyone's attention!

The event was graced with the presence of Dr. David Gauthier, Vice President, Academic and Research at St. Mary's University and Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal.

Mr. Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan at Montreal sharing a few words.

Shihobarai--the purification of the four directions.

Serene and graceful bugaku dance (Japanese court dance).

Chanoyu (tea ceremony) demonstrated by Dr. Alexandre Avdulov, coordinator of the Japanese Language and Culture Program at SMU.

Our very own, Miyako, creating ikebana arrangements.

We were lucky that it was not a windy day! All the arrangements stayed put. :-)

Matcha green tea was served. They made a LOT of bowls so everyone could enjoy tea in this peaceful setting.

Learning about calligraphy and Japanese paper inside the Oaks Mansion.

Miyako chatting with Consul General Arai.

Alexandre-sensei making tea late in the afternoon.

We hope you all enjoyed the afternoon of Japanesque. Till next time!

Arrangement At The McNally Theatre, SMU

Added on September 29, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

This past few days, if you've walked through the doors to enter the McNally Theatre at St. Mary's University in Halifax NS, this ikebana arrangement would have greeted you.

The arrangement was created as part of the Japanesque activity, celebrating Japanese culture. At the McNally Theatre, there were free screenings of two Japanese films last Saturday, Sep 27th.

Miyako and three of her advanced students--Jean, Patti, and Val--worked hard to put this together. That includes enduring the freezing cold working on the design in our garage! :-)

Other friends also contributed. The silver dollar medallions (top left of the photo) were a gift from Beverly. Every year, when she prunes her garden, she delivers silver dollar branches to us! Thank you, Beverly!

These tall branches were courtesy of our friend, Sheila. She graciously let us walk around her cottage and gather whatever branches we needed. See the action photo below! :-)

So, this is what an ikebanista will do just to get that perfect branch! :-)

We show our appreciation too!

And... here are the four ladies who made this possible. (L-R Jean, Patti, Val, and Miyako.) Thank you all for the wonderful work!

We'd like to thank St. Mary's University for kindly allowing us to use the space for this arrangement!

N.B. The date stamp on the last two photos say "09/27/2014" but in fact they prepared this on Sep 26th. The camera came from Japan and was still on the Japanese clock where the dateline had already been crossed! :-)

The Meisen Kimono Exhibit

Added on September 25, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

Halifax had a rare opportunity to view vintage meisen (銘仙) kimonos. The Anna Leonowens Gallery recently exhibited the kimono collection of Haruko Watanabe, a noted collector of Japanese antique and vintage textiles from Tokyo, Japan.

Many beautiful kimonos and haoris were on display.

What is immediately noticeable with the meisen kimonos is the patterns' disengagement from traditional kimono motifs of flowers, cranes, pine, etc. Indeed the meisen kimono shows very bold and vivid designs!

They are like pop art. Very refreshing, very modern.

Meisen silk became popular around the 1910's to the 1950's. The era of art deco!

The designs are adventurous and daring.

Some were mesmerizing too!

With the introduction of a new weaving technique called "hogushi-ori" (解し織) in the early 1900's, meisen silk became easier to produce and thus became affordable to more people.

“At the beginning, the warp is held by an interim weaving. The fabric is removed from the loom and a stencil is used to print the pattern. When the printing process is complete, the real weft is woven, while the interim weft is untied. This process is called “Hogushi”.

The defining characteristics of Hogushi fabric are its lightness and durability. Both sides of the fabric can be used. Due to the warp printing, the patterns are soft and blurred, despite the bold, vivid colours.”

— Arakei Textile

There were also obi at the exhibit.

The meisen kimono remained popular until around the 1950's. After the war, fashion tastes shifted to more Western style clothing. Also, wool became popular. Sadly, by the 1960's, the meisen kimono had all but disappeared.

Thank you to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), with special mention to faculty member, Nancy Price and retired professor, Naoko Furue, for making this exhibition possible.

The exhibit was also featured in the Chronicle Herald.

Sources:

Japanesque Schedule

Added on September 22, 2014 by the ikebana shop.

September 27-28 is the weekend mini-festival of Japanese culture to be held at St. Mary's University in Halifax NS.

September 27th (Saturday) is movie night at the McNally Theatre. Entrance is free! Two Japanese movies will be shown:

6:00 p.m. 歓待 Kantai (Hospitalité) , 2010, 96 min, comedy.

Tokyo is bigger and different from what people often think. Some neighbourhoods are like forgotten villages. One of these is home to a hard-working family with a small printing business. A man arrives who will not leave. The unease of hospitality. Xenophobia exists in Japan too. As does humour.

8:00 p.m. ツナグ Tsunagu (Until The Break Of Dawn), 2012, 129 min, drama.

たった一人と一度だけ、死者との再会を叶えてくれる人がいるらしい―。半信半疑で依頼をしてくる人たちの前に現れる使者は、ごく普通の高校生・歩美（松坂桃李）だった。横柄な態度で、癌で亡くなった母・ツル（八千草薫）に会うことを希望する中年男性・畠田（遠藤憲一）。喧嘩別れをしたまま自転車事故で死んでしまった親友・御園（大野いと）に聞きたいことがある女子高生・嵐（橋本愛）。プロポーズ直後に突然失踪した恋...

For a trailer with English subtitles, please click here. (Sorry, we could not embed the video in the blog post.)

September 28th (Sunday) is a day of cultural presentations including tea ceremony, bugaku performance (court dance & music), kyudo (Japanese archery), taiko (drums), calligraphy, washi (Japanese paper), incense, and of course, ikebana! Entrance is free. Venue is also the McNally Theatre.

We will be doing the ikebana part. :-) Hope to see you there!

The Japanesque event is co-organized by St. Mary's University and the Consulate General of Japan at Montreal, with the support of The Japan Foundation.