Dried Cycad Leaves

For another arrangement where the Cycad Leaves play the main role, see this post: Cycad Leaves and Deep Time

Ikebana without Plants or Flowers: Arranging Unconventional Materials

I had great fun in this week's lesson. Before the lesson, all week I have searched the house for objects and materials that can be used for a 'quasi' Ikebana arrangement. I have looked at the things around me with a new gaze and searched for qualities that can be interesting and to a certain extent liberating to use in an Ikebana setting. I have arrived the course with two bags of materials including a ceramic objects, boxes, biscuit tins, chopsticks, fans, wires, paintbrushes, tissues, plastic wraps etc... then I have let my imagination get loose.
Here below are some of the arrangements I have come up with.

A year ago, we made another arrangement combining unconventional materials with plants and flowers. Time to time adding a different material to an Ikebana is quite refreshing and fun. However arranging only with unconventional materials is another story. It forces you to open up, experiment and create differently. I love it.

Composing With Branches

Expressing your creativity in Ikebana requires a certain skill set and techniques without which reaching a higher level is not possible. Therefore, in the recently-published 5th book of Sogetsu School Curriculum, the technical side of Ikebana is highly emphasized. The methods of binding, fixing, wiring, weaving, interlacing, in short, composing with various materials in a better way have been taught systematically. 

So this week, we studied once again "composing with branches" which requires at first to create a stable structure with the branches themselves. The branches could be fixed together by wire, nail or screws to be a self standing composition. Only after then, you can choose your flowers and vases to go with the branches. You can see these steps in the following photos. 

Check this other arrangement of the same method with wonderful protea from South Africa.

First, composing with branches only

Self standing branches fixed with wire and
the willows thin and flexible ends

Gerberas added to the arrangement afterwards