Halloween Ikebana for Children

Last weekend the perimeter lockdown of Madrid was lifted, so we ventured out of the city to a small pick-your-own pumpkin farm. My daughters loved wading through the mud on the farm and we all enjoyed searching for unusually shaped pumpkins.

The pick-your-own pumpkin farm near Madrid, Spain.

Vegetables and fruit can also be used in Sogetsu Ikebana arrangements. In the Sogetsu Curriculum Book 4, lesson 10, vegetables and fruit are used in Morimono arrangements. In these arrangements, the vegetables and fruit can be used alone or combined with branches and flowers. The main objective in Morimono is to disconnect from seeing the material as items of food and to view their beautiful colours, shapes and textures.

Examining the interesting shapes and colours of pumpkins to place in the arrangement

With plenty of interesting Morimono supplies, my daughters also decided to take up Ilse Beunen's Pumpkin Challenge #funwithpumpkins.

Placing the pumpkins together so that their gnarled shapes fit together.

They selected their vases and a variety of pumpkins. It was interesting to watch them piece the pumpkins together, like a jigsaw puzzle, so that the gnarled shapes fit together.

Adding a small amount of greenery and a flower.

Once they had formed a structure with their pumpkins, they added a small amount of greenery and some flowers.