The ninth annual exhibition of ikebana and ceramics at Qdos Gallery in Lorne, on the Great Ocean Road, will take place during the school holidays (23rd September to 7th October). I have therefore visited the gallery to talk to the ceramic artist Graeme Wilkie and recently drove around a corner in the road to be confronted by a large 'black wattle' in full bloom looking like a wall of gold and green. It was a most spectacular and uplifting sight. The tree pictured below must be at least eight metres high.
Below is a picture of an unusual wattle planted by a local resident who has a large variety of wattles. I don't think I have seen this one before and I think the long sweeping branches have great ikebana possibilities.
A couple of weeks ago I bought some orange roses to use in a demonstration for my new students. They have a lovely touch of green on the outer petals. Here is a single bloom in a small vase I brought in Seto City, Aichi Prefecture Japan, a few years ago.
I made this freestyle using the roses and a dead boxthorn branch that was heavily encrusted with yellowish lichen. (Boxthorn is not native to Australia and is a problematic weed.)
Here is the work again after I removed a leaf on the left side that was interfering with the space created by the boxthorn. The six sided ceramic vase has a temoku glaze and is from Japan.
A visitor really liked it on this shelf because of the shadow made by the boxthorn.
Greetings from Christopher
8th September 2012.
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