Our ikebana workshop on  Sunday 10th July will be led by Sandi Hurnard. Sandi has sent through the following information about the workshop.

THEME: Arranging with containers which you tend to avoid because you find them difficult.

What makes containers difficult to work with?

(A) The openings are very small.
(B) The openings are too large and standard fixings don’t stay in place
(C) The shape of the container is asymmetrical or unusual so it is difficult to secure the drop stick.
(D) The opening is long and thin so you can’t use a standard cross-bar
(E) The colour is unappealing
(F) The pattern on the container is too dominant.

Many of these problems can be solved by using the Direct Fixing technique. This technique is only mentioned briefly in book 1 but is then not dealt with until book 5. Not all of you have your own copy of book 5 as yet but we will discuss some of the more useful methods that are explored in Book 5 lessons 2, 5 and 10).
Problems with container colour or pattern may be addressed by choosing the appropriate materials.

I will bring a hammer and nails for those of you who wish to use a direct fixing technique which is secure. You should bring:
(1) Lots of suitable drop stick and cross-bar material.  Remember this should be about a pencil thickness and “Fresh”!  If it is dry it will splinter and break and be inflexible.
(2) A container which you tend to avoid using
(3) Branch material of reasonable length
(4) A bag or newspaper for your scraps
(5) Hasami and cloth for wiping your table.