Sensei Chitra and her arrangements | Top left: Fan palms, lotus pods, and a white gerbera in a ceramic blue container. Top right: Umbrella plant leaves, monstera leaves, and pink carnations on eco friendly egg cartons

Participant demos:

Left: Divya Selvam | Driftwood arranged in a crescent shaped container with a gerbera for contrast  Right: Luna Bose | Painted sticks and chrysanthemums in fiberglass containers

Sensei Molly Cherian | Three small containers in a single arrangement to depict the overall shape of the containers. Caladium leaves and aglonema buds in a flat pot; curved branch of Song of India and jatropha flowers in a milk pot; variegated dracaena branch and small anthurium flower in a ring-like container

Left: Zeenath | Asparagus and dracaena leaves with a gerbera flower to emphasize the shape of the container, gypsophila flowers to add volume in a round basket container. Right: Sensei Prerana | Round red acrylic sheet, a sunflower, and a bunch of gypsophila in a circular-shaped container

Demo

Sensei Dalley's one arrangement was striking in its weaving together of natural elements - azeleas and geranium stalks against the backdrop of calm waters, pebbles and open space in a plain white container (far left in picture).  The other arrangement depicted the harmonious relationship of elegant lines (far right in picture). The calla lily and canna leaves blended well with the antique stone container. The simplicity was stark and beautiful. It was then time for Sensei Chitra Rajan's demo with two arrangements focusing on meditation. Sensei Chitra brought a sense of peace and calm to her arrangements. Her first one focused on the meditative journey - from base passions rooted to the earth (aptly represented by red chrysanthemums and driftwood), to the contemplative stage of settling the mind (represented by a few red flowers intermingled with purple michaelmas daisies), to the final stage of bliss where focus is intense and thoughts are minimal (represented by white baby's breath). The second arrangement used a single material - the lotus. The flowers standing tall and proud in water appeared to symbolize the beauty of self reliance and inner strength. Riji Sensei Malathi Pandurang appreciated the demos and commented on how well the presenters had understood the theme of the day. The floor was then open for the members to practice and showcase their arrangements.  All in all, it was a wonderful morning of camaraderie, celebration of talent, and a harmonious coming together of art and creativity. Arrangements by members

Clockwise from top left:  1. Sensei Chitra Thiagarajan: Tecoma flowers, canna leaves and building material tape in a red, ceramic vase 2. Sensei Meenu: Golden rods, caladium leaves and a dry vine in a ceramic container 3. Susan: Birds of paradise and crocosmia flowers, along with African princess branches in a ceramic vase 4. Luna: Painted dry coconut fronds and chrysanthemums in a hand-made container 5. Sensei Trishala: Sunflower and dried twigs in a ceramic container 6. Susan: Orange and brown chrysanthemums with dried twigs in a ceramic plate 7. Chelvi: Chrysanthemums, a bunch of dried heliconia stalks and cypress in a ceramic container

   

It was that time of the month - the 3rd Saturday when the Chennai Sogetsu branch would meet to demo and practice their Ikebana skills. The theme for this month of August was "Showing Surface with Leaves".

14 members of the group gathered at the ABK Hall. The original demonstrators Senseis Meenu and Chitra T had personal emergencies; Senseis Pushkala and Prerana stepped in to ensure that the demonstration was conducted with no hitch.

Demos by Senseis

Sensei Pushkala’s first composition was created purely with coconut fronds. She improvised a central structure with a banana stem and covered it with coconut fronds. Ingenious! Next she created circular structures, and fixed them all together with pins. She finished with artistic stars also created from coconut fronds - a joyous arrangement springing with life. To complement the arrangement, she chose a coconut leaf-based moribana container - dried and painted.

Sensei Pushkala at work on her arrangement

Arrangement with coconut fronds

Sensei Pushkala's second composition was with elephant vine (Argyreia nervosa), in a glass bowl, using the front and rear surfaces to create a graceful arrangement.

Sensei Pushkala - arrangement with elephant vine leaves

Over to Sensei Prerana, who was her spontaneous self, bringing her favourite banana leaf into play, and twisting it to give it drama and shape.

Sensei Prerna - Banana leaf arrangement

Members' Arrangements

Sensei Ambika: Crab claw leaves and brown dracena in a grey boat-shaped fibre glass vase	Sensei Ambika: Teak leaves and dracena in a red nagiere fibre glass vase
Sensei Molly: Palmyra palm leaf, caladium, and  Song of India branch in a metal container	Sensei Trishala: Lily, yellow croton and dracena leaves in a metal container
Sensei Bhuvana: Dracena and dieffenbachia leaves with chrysanthemums in a ceramic container	Sensei Chitra R: Philodendron leaves and statis flowers in a fiber glass vase
Chelvi: Bird of paradise and philodendron leaves with daises in a ceramic vase	Gnanambikai: Spider lily and yellow shampoo ginger leaves in a fiber plastic container
Zeenath: Banana leaves, canna leaves & pods, and lily leaves in a ceramic container	Mohan: Caladium leaves and dracena stem in a moribana container

Christine: Dieffenbachia leaves and carnations in a ceramic moribana vase

   

Seventeen members of the  Sogetsu Chennai branch met on Saturday, July 26th, after a long summer break. The enthusiasm to meet and enjoy each other's company was palpable at the ABK Hall. By 10.45am, the room was filled with loud conversations and occasional peels of laughter. Summer was almost done (well, almost), and the branch was set to start its activities for the rest of the year.

Riji Malathi Pandurang welcomed Ms. Mami Teraoka, Researcher/Adviser, Culture & Information, Consulate-General of Japan to the gathering of 17 members, and set the ball rolling with important announcements. She briefed the group about the Japan trip in April where a few of the members had attended a Sogetsu workshop in Tokyo with Master Instructor Sumide. Ma'am also spoke about the exhibition held earlier this year in March and the good experiences from the 5-day event.

New members Zeenath Kadir, Christine Arati Fernando, and Ragini Prakash were welcomed.

The workshop theme of the day was "Mass." Senseis Ambika Chandrasekar and Molly Cherian presented beautiful, innovative demos on the day's theme.

Demo by Sensei Ambika

Sensei Ambika started the workshop with an intricate arrangement using circular mass, created from shredded paper. She demonstrated a massed theme by arranging the white artificial "flowers" with deep pink carnations in a repurposed brown bottle. The end result was a beautiful and aesthetic presentation that depicted mass in a harmonized line.

Sensei Ambika then demonstrated a vibrant arrangement in morimono with tomatoes, lemons, and ladies finger. The creation was unique and was complemented by the simplicity of the vase. Sensei Ambika remembered Sensei Janaki in her choice of glass vase, that sensei Janaki had gifted to Sensei Malathi. The arrangement beautifully demonstrated mass in a vertical format, topped off with a bunch of ladies finger.                                                                            

  

Demo by Sensei Molly Cherian

Sensei Molly Cherian then demonstrated two arrangements based on the theme of the day.

                                  

Arrangement with bunches of Australian equisetifolia and aralia leaves with ixora flowers in ceramic vases

The first was a profusion of massed greenery offset by yellow and red ixora flowers. The arrangement was stunning in its use of vibrant colours, with the strategic bunching of leaves and flowers to give the arrangement a sense of bountiful beauty.  

Arrangement with Buddha Belly bamboo and hydrangea flowers in a ceramic container

The second arrangement was created without a kenzan and used fresh and dry materials with different textures. The many lines of Buddha belly bamboo branches were used to create mass while the natural mass of hydrangeas added volume. The ceramic container with no kenzan added to the natural and minimalistic appearance.     

After the demos, the floor was open to the members to work on their arrangements. Refreshments sponsored by Senseis Divya, Prerana, Meenu, and Trishala were a welcome finale to the camaraderie and good cheer enjoyed by this closely-knit group of Ikebana enthusiasts.

Arrangements by Members

Arrangement by Sensei Meenu Materials: Dried banana leaves, chrysanthemum flowers in a ceramic vase Arrangement by Sensei Chitra Rajan Materials: Dried lemonia flowers,  tree fern, chrysanthemums,  and gerberas in a  ceramic vase Arrangement by Chelvi Materials: Two types of dracena  with pink chrysanthemums in a ceramic nageire container Arrangement by Mami Teraoka Materials: Green chrysanthemums  in a ceramic container Arrangement by Sensei Dalley Materials: Gerberas, crinium lily,  and mandarin orange in a  ceramic container with  metallic frame Arrangement by Sensei Pushkala Materials: Chrysanthemums to express mass and  Argyreia nervosa vine  to represent line also  made to a mass	Arrangement by Sensei Prerana Materials: Air-dried corn husk and  red berries in a fiberglass container Arrangement by Sensei Trishala Materials: Aralia leaves with a bunch of chrysanthemums in two ceramic vases Arrangement by Sensei Divya Materials: Garden leaves and  sunflower in a moribana container Arrangement by Sensei Bhuvana Materials: Ixora branches and yellow chrysanthemums in a ceramic container Arrangement by Ambikai Materials: Bunches of gerbera flowers  and cypress leaves in a ceramic container Arrangement by Susan Materials: Bunches of gerberas  and aspidistra leaves  in a metal container