blending an assortment of thoughts and experiences for my friends, relations and kindred spirit

blending an assortment of thoughts and experiences for my friends, relations and kindred spirit
By Alison Hobbs, blending a mixture of thoughts and experiences for friends, relations and kindred spirits.

Thursday, March 3, 2011

A blaze of flowers

The theme was FIRE: "Ignite"!

I made a few notes on what was used in the flowery, twiggy Ikebana sculptures exhibited at the Museum of Nature last weekend, where three of my friends and I were visitors:
photo from ottawafood.blogspot.com
  • pine twig with cones and two orchids
  • wild vine, driftwood, hollow tree trunks
  • painted onion seed heads on a "tree" of chopped red reeds, like matchsticks
  • coals planted with sea holly painted red, palm leaves and mulberry branches
  • ginger flowers, dogwood twigs, birds of paradise flowers
  • ginger flowers, gladioli, golden rod, carnations, statice, monstera leaves
  • fire-coloured alstroemeria with coppery, wiry ribbons. Vases from tins and pipes covered with shiny, copper-coloured wrapping paper
  • a pair of antlers with orange roses
  • peacock feathers, pebbles, parsley ...
  • hydrangea roots, stripped, pointing upside down and painted red (not spray painted either; the artist, whom I knew, told me it took ages) with blackened logs and tropical flower heads (these pointing upwards)
  • yellow and maroon calla lilies with palms, orchids and driftwood
  • leather fern, calla lily, pussy willow, white carnations, leucadendron ... in 3 white pots
While we were at the museum, we explored the Mammal Gallery too, and I discovered that musk oxen don't belong to the ox family at all, really; they are rather an enormous kind of sheep. Their scientific name, ovibos, means "sheep-ox," so there you go!

1 comment:

One of Ottawa's Real Foodies said...

Hi Alison Hobbs! I am glad you were by to visit my blog. It sounds like you very much enjoyed the Ikebana exhibit too. They really are very talented at what they do.