Playing with straight vs curly lines!
I hope you like it. —Miyako
My Ikebana: Dinner Plates
I used some of my favourite plates as vases. They were quite shallow so the arrangement was made without the use of kenzans.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
My Ikebana: Palming It
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
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
"Sō" Magazine April 2022
An arrangement featuring Morris East, a pizza restaurant in our neighbourhood, is featured in the April 2022 edition of "Sō" (「草」) magazine, the official publication of the Sogetsu Teachers' Association. This arrangement was part of our virtual exhibition that featured different businesses on our street, Quinpool Road.
My Ikebana: Basket Balancing Act
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
My Ikebana: Juniper
Our dear friend, Susan, brought us some lovely juniper branches from her backyard.
Photo courtesy of Susan R.
I remembered that I had this vase whose colour and texture were very similar to the juniper. The arrangement seeks to merge the container and material into one unity.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
Face Masks Now Optional & Encouraged
Mar 21st, 2022, COVID-19 restrictions are eased in NS. Masks are now optional, but still very much welcome and encouraged inside the shop.
We continue to offer curbside pick-up and delivery (fees apply) options if that's more comfortable for you.
Respect. No judgement, no argument.
My Ikebana: Small And Big Pine
In this arrangement, I wanted to show both the young pine cones that were just coming out as well as the big pine branch where they were attached to. By disassembling and re-assembling the big pine branch, both could be shown in an arrangement.
By the way, we used very old hida konro (a tabletop charcoal grill traditionally from the city of Hida in Gifu Prefecture) to hold the arrangement.
Here is the whole arrangement.
I hope you like it. —Miyako
My Ikebana: At The 24th ACJLSC
The 24th Annual Atlantic Canada Japanese Language Speech Contest (ACJLSC) was held on Saturday, Mar 12th, 2022. This year, the contest was held at two locations—St. Mary’s University in Halifax NS and Mount Allison University in Sackville NB—connected via Zoom link! We congratulate the winners and applaud all the participants who gave it their best!
We were honoured to provide an ikebana arrangement at the entrance of the SMU venue to welcome the participants from Halifax.