The Hindu : Property Plus Chennai : Windswept gives a spark of light

The Hindu : Property Plus Chennai : Windswept gives a spark of light

In the world of ikebana, pink signifies grace and femininity, writes Hema Vijay

Special effect: The cream and pink shades of the ceramic jar serve as a great foil to the pink asters, enhancing their colour appeal

Bare branches take your mind to winter in foreign locales. The blooming pink flowers serve a pleasant contrast.

A case of roses in the middle of thorns? Or more appropriate to this arrangement, the pink flowers happen to be asters heaped along with dry branches. In the realm of ikebana, pink signifies grace and femininity.

But nevertheless, the arrangement conveys the same sense of discovering joy in the middle of sorrow, or a spark of light in the middle of desolation.

Molly Cherian, who created this arrangement, calls it ‘Windswept?.’ The cream and pink shades of the ceramic jar serve as a great foil to the pink asters, accentuating their colour appeal. Well actually, Molly has consciously used the pink asters to continue and complete the pink design on the vase.

But you could experiment with un-patterned ceramic vases or terracotta and other containers too. In case you are using a tall vase, the bird of paradise plant may be used too.

Windswept is a composition of form and colour, using line as a link. Come to think of it, it is a very simple arrangement, despite the profound psychological premise it suggests. The effect can be replicated with other colours and varieties of locally available spectacular flowers like chrysanthemums. However, the flower clusters should best remain small for maximum impact. The challenge is in arriving at a natural sway for the dry branch assembly.