I’ve often been asked what kind of vases are suitable for children to use for ikebana. My daughters often use the vases in my atelier. However, even though they are careful, there are some vases that are just too precious or sentimental for them to use.
Just like adults, with a little imagination, anything can be used as a vase. My daughters have used toothbrush holders, egg shells and even shells as vases. While spring cleaning our freezer, I found a couple of yellow Dragon Fruit skins. I had put them in the freezer, over a year ago, in the hope of someday using them for ikebana. Once thawed, the skins remained hard and dry and were the perfect size for small ikebana arrangements. To ensure that the skins were watertight I painted them with tile sealer.
My daughter chose two small kenzans to use in her new ‘vases’. Carefully going through the leftovers from class, she selected the plant material for her arrangement.
After cutting the variegated Maple to size, she placed a small branch in each of the vases.
Once she was happy with the placement of the vases and the space between them, she added the flowers. After being reminded of the need for asymmetry and depth, she added a small stem towards the back of one of the vases.
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