Giving Ikebana a modern feel

The light blue colour of dry vine and geometric shape make it an effective arrangement, writes Hema Vijay

Stay fresh: Dry vines retain their colour and texture for years.
The Hindu : Property Plus Chennai : Giving ikebana a modern feel

Tired of reading meanings or concepts from plant material? Looking for an arrangement that is not just decorative either? How about abstract ikebana? Apparently, abstract art can be configured with ikebana, as elucidated by this dry vine and orchid arrangement by Vaishali N. Vasa, Ikebana teacher and model maker.

The modern-looking chocolate brown Indian ceramic vase with its three tiny holes was the starting point. “The vase seemed too small and I wanted to make a big ikebana with dry material. So, I decided to arrange the dry vine (called mitsumata in Japanese) in a triangular format”, explains Vaishali. The vines, which are four times lengthier than the vase, are kept tied by soft metal wire. The vines enclose space and enlarge the ikebana.

The light blue colour of the vine and geometric shape lend a modern feel to the arrangement. Following this, Vaishali merely stuck orchid stalks in the vase, pouring in water to keep the orchids fresh. Well, this is a simple but effective arrangement.

Retain colour
The advantage of dry vines is that they retain their colour and texture for years. The orchids stay fresh for about four days in our hot weather. So, you can retain this ikebana perpetually by simply changing the orchid stalks.

In place of the orchids, you can also use flowers commonly available with florists like the gerberas, which come in a multitude of colours like pink, yellow, white, violet, and red

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