"Winter - Inspiring Images and Ikebana"

"New Hope Art embraces the season and celebrates two forms of visual art in the themed exhibition from January 21-29. The exhibition, featuring paintings and photographs by invited member- artists, also showcases unique inspired Winter floral by the Sogetsu Bux- Mont Study Group- a regional non profit organization of teachers and students of Ikebana- Japanese flower arranging."

We had five arrangements in total along with artists' paintings and photographers' pictures exhibited in the New Hope Art Center. Each arrangement was displayed on its own grey platform and pedestal, except the one on the stage.
1) "Window's Pane and Beauty" by June Wu, Betty Tsai, Ying Chen. There were several individual arrangements put together as a whole on the stage by three of our study group members.
2) "A Midwinter Night's Dream" by Lynn J. Lee. A rather big arrangement by me. It should be viewed from all around. In my imagination or dream, the silvery alliums could be snow flakes, fairies or stars on a winter night.
Materials: bitter sweet, mum, carnation, Winter berry, Siberian dogwood, Statice, Hinoki, Nadina, dried allium and hydrangea.
3) "New Year, New Hope" The year of the rooster, by Chih Huang
4) "Three Friends of Winter" Pine, Bamboo and Plum 松竹梅 歲寒三友（Suihan Sanyou), by Doris C. Liu, Mary Swierczynski
5) "Stillness, Calm" by  Grazynka Shaarani

1) Stage Arrangement

2) front view

2) Silvery Allium as snow flake

2) Back view is beautiful too

4) "Three Friends of Winter"

3) "New Year, New Hope"

5) "Stillness, Calm"

Martha Washington Garden Club Gala

On January 26, MWGC held a fundraising gala for college scholarships. I got there too late to participate in the raffle, but I was so fortunate to win the drawing where they called out a gala ticket number. I was one of the first numbers they called and I could choose an arrangement to take home, all designed by Deborah Moyer, owner of a flower shop and instructor at Mercer County CC. I was hoping to use the many materials in my ikebana.

I brought home this big arrangement

January Orchid Bloom

I brought three orchid plants to the January meeting on 1/19/2017 and was lucky enough to win a raffle for a budded Cattleya orchid. January is the month of cymbidium blooms. I gave away the biggest among them to the orchid society to avoid dividing them myself and because they took up so much room. This year, out of the five I have left, only two are blooming.

Cym. "Moonstone". Three stems, easy to bloom and dependable.

Cym. 2nd stem is growing in the back.

This is my raffled compact Cat. (no I.D.)

Large Cat, fragrant

Cat," Hawaiian Lightening". Too bad! only one flower.

The 2nd stem in back

Pinocchio keep going...

3 Basic Style Variation

Again, we review and refresh the basic style in Hata Sensei's class this month.(1/16/2017)
1) Basic Slanting Style Moribana ( Shin45 degree,Soe15 degree, Hikae75 degree)
2) Basic Slanting  Style Nageire    (Same as above)
3) Variation No.1 Upright Style, Moribana or Nageire of your choice (Shin 15, Soe 45 Hikae 75)
I think I have been very good at all the fundamental arrangements. To make each basic style arrangement requires not only placing the 3 main stems (Shin, Soe and Hikae) right in all angles but also to make them pretty, balanced and harmonious.

Hata sensei's basic slanting style (1)

 My basic slanting style (1)

My basic slanting style (2)

Marcia's basic slanting (2)

My basic upright style (3)

Welcome the Year of 2017

The year of 2016 has faded away so as some of my December Cattleya orchids. But there will always be other new blooms!

 Wishing you all a happy, healthy and peaceful 2017! 

The two kinds of Cattleya, the flowers are 4" and 5.5" in size. (Fragrant)