ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

AGM of Melbourne Chapter was held on Tuesday 13 August. 

The presidency was handed over from Nobuko Kobayashi (right) to Jenny Loo (left), supported by the members’ approval. Nobuko Kobayashi thanked all members and congratulated them on the achievements that they had made in the past year. Jenny Loo was congratulated on her appointment as President, and given a Presidential pin.

Christopher James was thanked for his service as a committee member for many years as he is retiring from his role as Web/Blog  Manager and Chapter Coordinator.

The formal Meeting was followed with a demonstration by the Heads of four Schools represented at the meeting.  Chieko Yazaki (Sogetsudo koryu), Felicia Huang (Ohara), Naomi Cullen (Ichiyo) and Christopher James (Sogetsu). Each created a beautiful arrangement that represented the style of their school. The completed ikebana arrangements added a special ambiance to this meeting. 

After each photograph of the Head of School at work is the completed ikebana. 

Chieko Yazaki, Shogetsudo koryu

Felicia Huang, Ohara School

 

Naomi Cullen, Ichiyo School

   

 

Christopher James, Sogetsu School

Members’ also made arrangements of a theme of their own choice which were introduced at the end of the meeting. 

Elizabeth Angell made the welcoming ikebana arrangement.

Thea Sartori

Margaret Leung

Jo Tan

Emily Karanikolopoulos

Akemi Suzuki

Lucy Papas

JUNE MEETING

The June meeting was attended by Mrs Shimada the Co-patron of the Chapter and 23 members. The guest speaker was  Mr Eijiro Fukuda of Kumiko Woodworking. 

Mr Fukuda gave a presentation about this unique Japanese wood-craft of making fine decorative lattice. He explained its development in the context of Japanese traditional architecture. Finely grained timber is used without nails or screws to fix timber, allowing flexibility for structures to be able to resist earthquakes. He showed a number of examples of his work demonstrating a variety of traditional designs which are also to be found in other Japanese crafts.

Following Mr Fukuda's presentation Lucy Papas gave a demonstration of a sculptural ikebana using two large pieces of timber as the principle design element.

This photo shows her completed work. 

A number of members present also completed an ikebana which featured wood ranging from the raw material to processed wood. They are shown below.

Chieko Yazaki

Christopher James

Elizabeth Angell

Marjorie Campkin-Smith

Karen Thode

Lucy Papas

Emily Karanikolopoulos

Toula Karanikolopoulos

Betty Karanikolopoulos

Thea Sartori
 

MAY WORKSHOP MEETING

 

The meeting for May took the form of a Saturday afternoon workshop. It was led by Chieko Yazaki, the Head of Shogetsudo Koryu in Melbourne, who had set the theme of making an ikebana in a basket or traditional wooden bucket. The members were encouraged to explore the balance between vessels and materials, discovering the harmony they create. Chieko was assisted in her demonstration by two of her senior students, Helen Marriott and Giselle Kett.

Chieko used a tall bamboo basket in which she made a freestyle Nageire arrangement.

In her arrangement Chieko used a white Camellia and a branch of Pomegranate with two ripening fruit.

Chieko also created a second arrangement, a moribana style in a shallow bamboo dish-shaped vessel. This vessel was a gift to her by our late member Doreen Schofield.

For this ikebana she first made a Chrysanthemum only arrangement. Chieko then added Gentian and Physalis, and finally Miscanthus.

Gisellle Kett created a seika ikebana arrangement in a traditional Japanese wooden bucket.

This is a close-up of her finished arragement in which she used a variety of materials.

Helen Marriott used a bamboo basket to make an informal arrangement.

This is Helen's completed arrangement which she created with material gathered from her own garden.

The Chapter members at the workshop were delighted when our Patrons, the Consul-General Japan, Mr and Mrs Shimada made a surprise visit as the arrangements were being appraised. Here Giselle is explaining her ikebana to Mr and Mrs Shimada. 

The following are the ikebana arrangements made by the members at the workshop.