Day 4 - Chris Lim demonstrates

Feb 29th

The Chennai Study Group was a relaxed bunch this morning, and the mood of anticipation was quite different from the nervous energy of the previous morning.

We looked forward to Singapore's Christopher Lim's demonstration, and he did not disappoint with drama, speed and creative flair.

He was helped by an efficient team comprising some members of the Delhi chapter as well as a support staff when muscle was needed!

A colourful start

The composition away from the spotlight.  Every arrangement that was done, would be moved to a side table for us to view later.

In this second arrangement, we learnt how to quickly balance and stabilise materials, and
how key the technique of binding  is.

For his third piece, Lim used the woven mats found in our markets, which seem to have fascinated him.

He actually used the cutter to make "holes" in the mats through which the material passed into the vase.

The final composition, with the mats providing a linear mass, balanced by the colours of the crotons.

We quickly moved to the fourth piece, with a large gorgeous urn vase.  the black painted design of the vase was mirrored in the driftwood used.

The gold painted Monstera leaves were an interesting use, with the bold hydrangeas for drama.

Composition five again illustrated the process of balancing and stabilising material.  The top heavy banana stem was
stabilised by lashing firmly with the rather light wooden container.  The Asia lilies and the pine branches together made for an interesting composition.

Chris Lim regaled his audience with stories of cutting the kumquat branches from
Mrs Kantha Bukhari's garden.  he was delighted to be able to use this material as
it is very expensive back in Singapore.

He then speedily moved on to a different kind of composition, without kenzn or vase.  These bleached branches were balanced against each other, and under his instruction the ladies deftly bound them together.

In a few minutes, he had created a structure with the branches.  The maidenhair fern was then expertly draped through, and the roses and anthuriums placed to create a table floral piece.  Chris Lim explained how this could be made to last long by spraying the fern with a hair lacquer spray, to prevent the leaves from falling, and the flowers could keep changing as per the colour requirements.

Using the bending technique that both he and Iemoto Akane demonstrated, the cypress branch was given a lovely flow in this composition.  The white lines on the vase complemented by the peach blossoms.

The team then moved to the side table for this composition with large palm leaves

The large hanging heliconias adding drama and line.

The final composition

A basket-shaped vase with handle transformed with this arrangement with
painted leaves and creeper.

Combining of vases increases the scale of a composition.  

After eleven large compositions, the stage was cleared for the final large stage piece.

We witnessed the creation of such a large piece from the placing of the white rectangles to the manipulation of the large branch material, their wiring and stabilising and the placement of the flowers and fresh material.

Lim directing the team.

View from the right side

The straight view

View from left of stage

And so the demonstration ended, with Chris Lim acknowledging the team and earning a huge applause.

As Sensei Meenakshi said, "He worked in a systematic manner showcasing how one can keep  audience  alive and involved. The use of bright material adds to it. The arrangement i loved was the one with the cane mats."

Sensei Prerana had this to say, "This was also a show which can reach out to a diverse audience who does not understand Ikebana. And he was a master at that.I really liked some of his arrangements a lot."

Thank you Chris Lim and let us hope we see you again!