Ikebana and us

(A report by Malathi sensei. Pictures from Chitra and Venkatesh. ) The Sogetsu Study Group decided to visit Coorg as their annual travel to some nature-spot. 8 members were able to take this trip,while the other members were commited to their family engagements. With Manasi's suggestion and Ambika's help via internet and email, " Kabbe Holidays" was chosen. Our trip begins On 24th we left on the Chennai-Mysore Shatabdi, alighted at Mysore and a taxi and Sitalaksmi's car were waiting for us, as well as Venkatesh who joined us from Tuticoron. After a small coffee break we set off by road. The highway was good till we took the turn towards Virajpet. We sighed at the thick forest on either side of the road, the mile long bamboo groves, and the signposts that read 'elephants crossway' further 'wild animals area'. Unfortunately we did not sight any wild animals on our drive. The main bungalow at Kabbe, with one room for guests. The cheerf...

At the Taj.  Ballroom. By Malathi sensei Taken with a mobile phone, so please forgive the quality. 

A photo a day We have a Facebook album where we will post a photo a day. Keep a watch!

Working with linear mass. Malathi sensei demonstrates with kora grass sticks and roses Prerana uses subabul pods and anthuriums Pushkala masses umbrella plant, and complements with colourful ixora Chitra complements the wall of bleached material with ixora and leaf Trishala highlights the design in her vase with tall carnations and slender bamboo Venkatesh draws focus to the Cale he found at the florist! Seethalakshmi highlights the space, as she masses up the red stalks Molly contrasts the blue of her vase with the pink of the flowers balanced by the massed lines

The flower shop! Dear members, Meenakshi Sarin, Prerana Mehta, Shobhaa Ramji and I visited the Bangalore Sogetsu Chapter on the 15th of September and a programme of interaction was organised. Upon our arrival in Bangalore, All 4 of us picked our flowers from a wholesale outlet on our way to Lal Bagh where we were to meet the Bangalore Chapter members.  I cannot convey to all of you the awe and joy at seeing the abundance of colourful flowers!  Not only were the buckets  full of colourful flowers, there were bunches on the floor waiting to be placed and another van of flowers was waiting outside to unload. You can imagine what a variety we had to choose from as they were half the price we pay for them herein Chennai! We did 4 free style arrangements. Meenu, using the coconuts with umbrella plants  jerberas Prerana wished her arrangement to be minimalistic and used dry bamboo and jerberas, Shobhaa used strong stems of heliconia with s...

Our September workshop was on Sep 12th at the ABK-AOTS Dosokai hall, on Nelson Manickam Road, and the them was unusual containers. It was very nice to see three new faces, students brought by Meenu, and we do hope to see them more often. Malathi sensei started off proceedings by quickly showing us the use of the old, discarded woven cane pieces from her home chairs, and converting them into a lovely vase! The cane used as vases Molly used a gift bag The completed arrangement by sensei Malathi Members had brought various materials and containers to work with.  Chitra brought her child's toy train, and see below for the full arrangement Shobhaa brought an old pickle jar, and also used a plaiting technique for the green material, details of which can be seen below. Nirmala worked with a copper kitchen vessel Pushkala placed a whitecoral/shell on top of an ollock measure and created a striking linear arrangment that can be seen be...