Unconventional Material- Swimming Pool Noodles

Materials used

In Sogetsu Ikebana, arrangements can be made with both plant materials and man-made unconventional materials. Swimming pool noodles are one of my favourite unconventional materials to use and also one of my favourite materials to use in children’s ikebana classes.

Slicing the pool noodle with a bread knife

Cutting through the noodle to form a 'c'.

Pool noodles come in a variety of bright colours and are very easy for even the youngest of children to cut. For this arrangement, my daughter cut different coloured pool noodles into 1.5 cm width circles, using a serrated bread knife. She then made a single cut through each circle to form a ‘c’.

Attaching the first pool noodle to the vase.

Creating a mass by intersecting the slices of pool noodles.

Having chosen a vase, she attached the pool noodles onto the vase and created a mass by intersecting slices of pool noodles at different angles. She was careful not to cover the entire mouth of the vase and left open ‘negative’ space to the side of the arrangement.

Adding different coloured slices of noodles to create more of a mass.

Once she was happy with her structure of pool noodles, she added a flower. The stem of the flower was inserted through the holes in the noodles and was kept stable by using the noodles as an armature.

Finally adding a flower- using the noodles to keep the flower stable.