In this tip I show you how to get really fun creative with wiring in Ikenobo Ikebana. My students love to find out how to make their arrangements just that bit different.
lovely, these videos are really helpful, i was wondering how you prune a pine branch in Rikka style Ikebana because they look so beautiful and i cant find any pine trees that have the same irregular form and tiny needles.
Hi Liam, thanks for your appreciation; so glad you like my tips. Pine trees come in different varieties and each has unique needle' structures, so choosing the type with the needles you like is the starting point. You may want to snip out some of the needles individually, just to get the effect you want. For the branch shapes with bends and curves, these are done by taking a branch that already has something approaching the shape you want, then bending. Most trees have irregular shaes and forms, so look carefully and you will often find something interesting that may not be immediately obvious. In a later tip I plan to show you how to create angular bends in quite heavy branches, using a bit of tree surgery and wires. This is an advanced technique that I teach in my rikka classes, but usually only to senior students. Enjoy your Ikebana!
Oh did you add any wiring tips for tree materials as you mentioned in this reply? That would be so helpful to view. I have your book on Rikka and perhaps there is wiring tips in that as well. You’re a major help to our community. Thank you!
Hello Norm, Thank yo for your message. This container is quite old and I have had it for years. I bought it in a corner shop in London. There is a website address on the base www.thangtho.com. I hope this helps. Junko