President's Message
by
Candy Hansen
April. It makes one think of spring, but our changeable Texas weather the
past two days is screaming WINTER! Even if the calendar says it, it is way too
soon to move tropical plants out of their safe winter sites, unless you want to
move them back and forth as the weather does its thing on the way to permanent
warm.
Our April club meeting will feature an artist many have seen and a few of us
have worked with. Any time a visitor comes to speak to us is a good opportunity
to listen and to learn something new, and a chance to pick up some new ideas and
techniques. We may not always agree with a speaker, but almost everyone has a
bit of new information, or a new way of looking at things that we can adopt, and
maybe adapt to our own growing habits. Please read all the program information
elsewhere, consider meeting us for dinner to get to know Boon better, and maybe
doing a workshop with him. You can only grow!!
See you at the meeting.
Calendar of Events
Apr. 10 Monthly Meeting
Lecture/Demo by
Boon Manakitivipart
7:30 PM
Zilker Garden Center
Refreshments by:
Larry Gfeller
Jim Allan
Apr. 11 Workshop with Boon Manakitivipart
7:00 PM
Zilker Garden Center
Apr. 17 Board Meeting
7:00 PM
Zilker Garden Center
Apr. 24 Members Workshop (see pg. 5)
7:30 PM
Zilker Garden Center
Deciduous Trees with Chuck Ware
Apr. 20-21 Houston Bon. Soc. Spring show
May 8 TOOL SHARPENING
May 17-19 Int'l Scholarly Symposium on
Bonsai & Viewing Stones
U. S. Nat'l Arboretum, Wash. , DC
May17-19 Annual Austin Bon. Soc. Show
Jun27-30ABS Symposium
Milwaukee, Wi.
Jul. 3-6BCI 2002 Bonsai in the Sun
Orlando, Fl.
Nov15-17 State Bonsai Convention
New Braunfels, Tx.
General Meeting Minutes
by
David Gordon
The March meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society was called to order by
President Candy Hansen at 7:30 P. M. on March 13, 2002.
Guests were introduced; Curt Quinn and Peter Haxton. A new member was also
introduced: Jeff Shields.
The minutes for the February meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society were
accepted without corrections as printed in our newsletter.
Candy announced that in May there will be a drawing for a free registration
to the upcoming LSBF Convention in November. The drawing will be limited to paid
members. If the winner has already registered, they will be reimbursed.
Jim Baumann will co-chair our annual show in May. Del De Los Santos
volunteered to co-chair the event with Jim. Elaine will be doing the publicity
for the event and encouraged members to pick up flyers and place in hem in
nurseries, etc.
Gloria talked about upcoming programs. Mike will present the third class for
black pines on the fourth Wednesday, March 27, 2002. The class will be on
styling.
Boon Manakitiviipart will be presenting a lecture/demo at our next meeting,
April 10, 2002. He will present a workshop limited to eight members on April 11,
2002.
The Garden Council report was given by Charlotte Cranberg. Volunteers should
sign up for the Zilker Garden Festival, April 12th and 13th. Keep track of your
hours and give them to Charlotte.
The program for the evening was introduced by Gloria. Terry Ward conducted
the second part of his program on group planting. Members brought material to
actually make a group planting with assistance from Terry, Chuck and Mike.
The meeting was adjourned by President Candy Hansen at 9:15 P. M.
Board Meeting Minutes
by
David Gordon
The March Board Meeting for the Austin Bonsai Society was called to order by
Vice-president Gloria Norberg on March 20, 2002, at 7:00 P. M. Members
present were Gloria Norberg, Jim Baumann, Pat Ware, Carl Quisenberry, David
Gordon, Tammy Bieri and past president Alisan Clarke.
The board thanks Audrey Lanier for bringing the beautiful trees for the
formal display for the last two meetings, and also the beautiful maple tree she
brought to the last meeting. The board also thanks Elaine White for the
beautiful crabapple she brought for the refreshment table. Also, Elaine has
helped with several other "volunteer" duties that the board
appreciates greatly!
The board also thanks Terry Ward for the excellent program he presented on
group plantings. It provided a wonderful opportunity for members to learn about
group plantings including a "hands-on" experience.
The minutes from the previous board meeting were approved as written in the
newsletter.
The treasurer's report was given by Pat Ware. We currently have 45 paid
members for this year. The CD the club has that recently matured was rolled over
into our money market account.
The annual show will be discussed at the next meeting and Jim Baumann and Del
De Los Santos were requested to be at the meeting to discuss the show.
The format for the newsletter was discussed and some changes were suggested.
The formal display was discussed. We will take a picture of the display to
include in the newsletter along with a description of the tree. Members will be
encouraged to notify David Gordon when they have a tree they would like to bring
for the formal display. The board wants to encourage everyone to think about
bringing a tree to display. We can provide a stand and accent plant if
necessary.
Meeting was adjourned by Vice-president Gloria Norberg at 8:20 P. M.
The butterfly
Even when pursued,
Never appears in a hurry.
Garaku
Gloria Norberg requests:
All members who drink coffee
Please save the lids from your 3 lb. coffee cans! Cans are not needed,
JUST THE LIDS!!!!!!!
BE THERE!!!!!!
WHERE: TEXAS LAND
& CATTLE
WHEN: APRIL 10, 2002
TIME: 5:00 PM
WHY: MEET BOON
The restaurant is located on the northbound access road next to Mopac,. Get
off at the Rollingwood, Zilker Park, exit and go north a few hundred feet.
It is on the right hand side. Everyone pays for their own meal. They have
a large menu, besides steaks.
Sign Up at the
Meeting
or send your
Check payable to ABS
to the Treasurer
only 3 spots left
$35. 00
Bring your own tree
Workshop
with visiting artist,
Boon Manakitivipart on
April 11, 2002
Boon Manakitivipart
Boon's start in bonsai was the result of a birthday gift of a small
juniper bonsai. Before long, he joined the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, the
club through which he took his first beginner class in the spring of 1989.
Anxious to learn as much as possible about bonsai, Boon studied with as many
teacher as he could find in California.
Serious study began when he hosted Akio Kondo, Kihachiro Kamiya's
first apprentice. Mr. Kondo arrived as what the Japanese call a first-year
professional, and he stayed at Boon's home for one year.
In 1993, the Golden State Bonsai Federation awarded Boon a Teacher
Development Scholarship; two years later, he received the Ben Oki International
Design Award for styling a Sierra juniper.
In 1995, Boon received several informal offers to study bonsai in
Japan. Several months later, he traveled to Tokai En, Toyohasi, Japan, where he
studied bonsai as a formal apprentice with the Kokufu-prize-winning Yasuo
Mitsuya.
No longer an apprentice, Boon still returns every year to Japan for
prolonged work periods in the famous bonsai garden Tokai En.
In 1998, Boon founded and became the teacher of Bay Island
Bonsai. He also stared his service and styling company, Bonsai Boon. In
April 2000, Boon won the Grand Prize in the Kindai Bonsai Styling Contest in
Japan (sponsored by Kindai Bonsai Magazine). All contestants had to style a
large Japanese white pine. Boon was the only non-Japanese in the top ten. Today,
Boon makes his living as a full-time bonsai artist in Northern California. He
styles client trees, lectures, puts on demonstrations, holds workshops, and
finds sources for customers' show-quality bonsai.
Reprinted from website: www. bonsaiboon.
com
Editor's Note: Boon conducted a workshop for our club in July of 2000,
which was very well received and why he was asked to return. If you had taken
that workshop, it would be an idea to bring the tree back to have it refined.
April Study Group
This month we are going to grasp a deeper understanding of the
deciduous tree. They all have different personalities and we will try to look at
what makes them unique.
The first thing to consider will be the light requirements. Then we
will consider the soil as it relates to the tree and in the container.
Early spring pruning is important and this is particularly so with flowering
trees.
So bring your trees, with or without problems, and learn how all this
relates to your tree.
More Art
by
Lola Curtis
I believer the term art tends to spook most "non-artists". Art is often
associated with the eccentric or the wealthy. Actually, if you think about it,
we all start out as artists. Have you ever met a child that was totally
uninterested in coloring, painting, working with Play-doh, etc. ?I haven't.
Unfortunately, most of us give up art and finger paint at about the same time.
We cease to make it an everyday part of our lives and it becomes unfamiliar.
As we become less cozy with art we tend to venerate "artist" and
deny our own innate artistic sense. As we are reminded, bonsai IS an art. So how
can we rekindle OURSELVES as artists?One way is by spending time with art,
become familiar with it again.
All the visual arts (including bonsai) use proportion, balance, unity
and harmony. The more you see these in any art, the more you will recognize them
in the other arts. Can this help you design bonsai? You better believe it.
I was attempting to design my first pine, doing a namby-pamby job, and
was told to "draw what I saw in the tree". I did. It clarified by thinking
and gave me a goal. I had used one visual art to fine tune another.
I believe that looking at sketches, paintings and sculpture, in
addition to other people's bonsai will help the artistic YOU!
Excerpted from Texas Bonsai, Summer 1992
Editor's Note: Keep this in mind and take the sketching workshop offered
at the State Convention in November offered by our own Donna Dobberfuhl.
Encourage anyone you know that hasn't paid their dues as yet, to do so!
There is going to be a drawing at the May meeting for all paid members.
The :prize" will be a FREE Registration to the
State Bonsai Convention
in November
Do not worry if you have already
registered, and win, you will still get the registration.
The Why, When, What, and How Much
By Butch Wilken
Part 2 of 2
Pruning Extent
Pruning can be divided into mild, moderate, and severe. Mild pruning
would include leaf pruning and bud pinching. Moderate pruning would include
refinement pruning, selective, and structural pruning. Severe pruning would
involve regeneration pruning.
Leaf pruning and bud pinching refines the growth of the tree, producing
smaller leaves, shorter internodes, and twiggier, finer branches.
Moderate pruning is the selective removal of some branches that don't add
to the refinement or structural design of the tree.
After years of leaf pruning, bud pinching, and refinement pruning, bonsai
often lose their shape and character. They often become too coarse and unrefined
with branches out of scale to the tree size. Regeneration pruning is needed to
basically start branch development all over. On trees that bud back readily, all
branches can be removed in late winter just before buds begin to swell and to
open. The resultant vigorous growth begins the new branch development.
What Part To Prune
The part of the tree pruned affects the tree response because growth
regulators or hormones are present in trees. Young trees are trying to gain size
rapidly and grow long, widely spaced branches with long internodes. This type of
growth is referred to as apical growth and is stimulated by the growth hormone
auxin. Apical refers to the top or apex of the tree and the ends of branches.
Another group of growth regulators, cytokinins, do the opposite. They stimulate
side branching and back budding with slower growth. Auxin is the dominant growth
regulator. Therefore, if you want to promote more compact finer branching,
shorter internodes, and smaller leaves, the effects of auxin must be reduced to
allow cytokinins to express themselves. You accomplish this by pruning the areas
where auxin is in the highest concentration---the apex and branch tips. This
allows cytokinins to dominate until the new growth restores the auxin
concentrations in the apex and branch tips. The overall growth of the tree is
slowed down, but the growth is redistributed away from the apex and branch tips.
This renews the vigor of the tree. The tree has the same volume of nutrient
supply, but now has many more buds, branchlets, and growth points to nourish.
Thus, smaller branches and leaves.
The Others
Evergreen trees and tropicals don't lose all their leaves at one time like
deciduous trees. They do partially replace their needles and leaves during the
growth cycle. They have different levels of dormancy than we see on deciduous
trees. One sees a change in needle color in pines and junipers when they go into
their dormancy. Tropicals' growth rate varies during the growth cycle, but they
don't usually lose all their leaves at one time. They partially shed them at
different times during the growth cycle. The same timing principles can be
applied to these groups of trees during their growth cycles.
Bibliography
Pieter Loubser, Understanding Bonsai, 1993, Delta Publishing;
John Yoshio Naka, Bonsai Techniques 1, 1973, Dennis Landman
Publishing;
Deborah Koreshoff, Bonsai, Its Art, Science, History, & Philosophy,
1984, Macmillan.
Editor's Note: This article was published in the February, 2002 issue
of the Houston Bonsai Society's newsletter and the first part was in our March
newsletter. Also, the 2nd & 3rd books in the bibliography are in our
library.
