HAPPY FACE IKEBANA

 Saturday. 30’s, Bone cold, windy, misty rain.

Dearest Readers,

I’ve turned into a sprig and twig thief. I’m loving the thrill of snipping a rogue shoot or breaking off a length of vine or dried berries right out in the open, and casually walking away with my treasure. On my walks my eyes imagine flower arrangements wherever I look. It’s becoming an addiction. Today I snatched a dogwood twig from a pile of discarded clippings on the street. The evergreen branch below was quickly snapped from a bush at the Decatur Post Office, and the nandina berries came from a neighbor's bush. (I'm guilty!)

Version 1

Here is my first attempt at Nageire Ikebana, or “tall container plant life arranging”. Up to this point I’ve been doing Moribana style in low dishes with the plants supported on weighted pin holders. This grouping in the pudgy pottery pitcher is simple, but I think a good first step. I feel like I’m learning my A-B-C’s, and this is maybe D-E- and F. What do you think?

Inside this little pot I’ve inserted some cross braces made out of sticks below the water level, and tight against the walls. This allows the plants to be supported near the top of the container, and cascade down over the side. I manipulated the evergreen by bending and curving the stem by hand. In this version the dogwood branch on the left is too straight.

Version 2

 In version two I relaxed the dogwood with a slight angle, and removed a couple redundant shoots. I added the happy face on a wooden skewer to humanize the piece. The arrangement is for a sick friend, so I felt it needed some humor and less calculated posing. I’m “happy” with it.