President's Message
by
Alisan Clarke
Our joint meeting is coming up soon, on Saturday,
August 5th.Bring a favorite dish to share, call a friend to car pool,
check this issue for the map and come to San Antonio 3 pm to 8 pm. This is
always fun and San Antonio does a great job. Gloria, Charlotte, and I will
try to call you all to remind you.
Next month will be our auction. I am trying to master
my watering techniques while I talk to my trees an encourage them to look ahead
to cooler weather.The should look good at auction time.This
is always fun and will add to our club activity funds.
Check your calendar for hands on club classes and new
workshops.
I sit cooling beneath it,
Looking up
At the great tree.
Kyoroku
Calendar of Events
Aug5 This is
Saturday!!!!
Joint Meeting with San Antonio
See map
on pg. 3 in Newsletter
Windcrest RecreationCenter
9806 Jim Seal Drive
San Antonio, Tx.78239
Refreshments by: Everyone
Aug
16 Board
Meeting
7:00 pm
Zilker Gardens
Aug
23 Members Workshop
Tropicals
7:30 pm
Zilker Garden Center
Aug. 25 - 27Austin
Home & Garden Show
Sept. 7 - 10 IBC -
Rochester, N.Y.
Sept. 15 - 17
Pacific Northwest Conv. XI Victoria, BC
Sept.25 & 26 Dennis
Makishima HERE
Dennis Makishima will be our guest artist in September brought in by the
Lone Star Bonsai Federation. We will have a "bring your own tree"
workshop on September 25 at a cost of $35.00 and limited to 8 people. Be
sure to sign up and learn from this experienced teacher. Pine,
juniper, deciduous or flowering trees would be fine to bring. He
does not work with power tools or native Texas trees. He has been in
bonsai for 20 years and was the past education chairman of Golden State Bonsai
Fed.
Nov. 3,4,5, & 6 Golden State Bonsai Fed. Oakland, California
2001
March 24-26
LSBF inDallas
April 12-15ABS in
New Orleans
May 31-June 44th World Conv. in
Germany
General Meeting Minutes
by
Charlotte Cranberg
President, Alisan Clarke, called the July 8,
2000 meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society to order at 6:30pm at the Zilker
Garden Center following a pot luck barbecue supper and afternoon workshop with
Boon Manakitivipart.
Jimbo spoke on the upcoming joint dinner meeting on
August 5th in San Antonio of the two combined clubs.He also mentioned
that there will be a meeting of the joint 2001 Convention meeting while there
and anyone who wants to join, please come.
Alisan reported on the meeting at Zilker Botanical
Gardens over the proposed permanent collection. Terry Ward provided
topography map of the area and members walked the site. Photos of the
Oakland, California, display were shown and an example.
Chuck Ware introduced Boon Manakitivipart, who
gave the lecture-demo on an old Yaupon Holly.The demo tree was raffled
off at the end of the meeting and won by one of our new members.
Saturday, August 5, 2000
Come be a part of the novel styling of a tree for raffle.
You might be lucky enough to win it and be the prize of your collection.
Bring your favorite covered dish!
Directions to Windcrest
Recreation Center
Take I 35 South, past 1604, Judson Road, and O'Conner Rd.
Exit Randolph
Blvd.
Continue South to Crestway and turn right.
Jim Seal and the
Recreation Center will be on your left just after the Stop Sign.
Board Meeting Minutes
by
Charlotte Cranberg
The regular meeting of the board of the Austin Bonsai
Society was called to order on Wednesday, July 19th at 7 PM by President, Alisan
Clarke. Present were Gloria Norberg, Pat and Chuck Ware, and Charlotte Cranberg.
Treasurer, Pat Ware reported the cost of the Boon workshop
and demo was $296.58 after all expenses were in.
Alisan reported on the Permanent
Collection. John Pittenger will survey the land.
Pat moved that we ask the membership to approve giving
increments of $1,000.00 to the Permanent Collection as funds become
available. The motion passed.
Future meetings were discussed. It was decided to
charge $35.00 for the Makishima workshop on Monday, September 25th.It
would be limited to 8 people and will be a bring your own tree workshop.The lecture/demo will be on Tuesday the 26th.
The Herb Gustafson afternoon workshop and evening
lecture/demo on Saturday, October 14th will feature saikei. The workshop
will be limited to 10 people who will pay $60.00 and bring their own pot or
tray, not larger than 24 inches, and bring no more than 7 or 9 trees. The
club will supply the soil. There will be a barbecue covered dish dinner in between this workshop and the
lecture/demo. We will, again,
charge non-members $5.00 for observing and $5.00 for eating & lecture/demo.
The August 5th joint meeting with San Antonio will be a
covered dish supper at 4pm, but come at 3pm, and the program will be at 5pm.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45pm
A Friendly Reminder
Start putting together items for our annual auction in September AND saving your
money so you can buy even more than you bring!
"De-Japanising" Bonsai
by
Fawzan Barrage
former Austin Member
The common bond between all masterpieces of art is
sincerity. It is this sincerity that invokes in us a moment of epiphany;
that moment of effortless discovery and joy, or what the Japanese call "Te"
(unthinking, unconscious ingenuity and creative power of our spontaneous natural
functioning - a power that is subdues when forces to conform to our
logic). Without this sincerity, creativity is reduced to method, art to
duplication and masterpieces to perfect replicas.
If we are to have a truly North American movement in
Bonsai, OUR contribution to the art has to be, in every way possible, reflective
of OUR reality and OUR understanding of the indigenous nature of OUR
continent. Just like it is easy for the trained eye to distinguish between
a bonsai trained in the Chinese method and one trained in the Japanese method,
our bonsai has to be clearly identifiable by the way we adapt the classical
"rules" to conform to our nature.
It is the image of our indigenous trees that must
inspire our art movement and not the photographs of bonsai from Japan. In
contemplating Maples, for instance, it is more natural for us to envision a
majestic Maple growing next to a farm house in New England than a Japanese grove
with Mount Fuji in the background. The same holds true for our Bald
Cypress, our Oaks, Elms, Figs, Junipers, Pines, etc...We all live
among those trees and their shade at different time in our lives. The
Japanese artists who create the bonsai at which we marvel in books and magazines
take their inspiration for the indigenous nature of their islands - as we must
take our's from the nature around us. I f all we do is copy the trees of
Japanese artists, we would do no better than a painter dedicating his art to
copying the great works of the Masters.
It is truly revealing how we will not give a second
thought to endowing our bonsai displays with Japanese and Chinese figures, but
scoff at the sight of a miniature tire hanging from a bonsai branch, reminiscent
of many of our own backyards. Which is more sincere to our collective
eye? Where in North America can you readily see a Japanese man dressed in
his traditional kimono and reading a book in the shade of a Bald Cypress,
Canadian Spruce or Cedar Elm?
We musty begin to understand that the Art of
Bonsai is no more exclusively Japanese or Chinese that theater and poetry are
exclusively Greek. These cultures created the art forms and should always
be honored for doing so. Yet, had we insisted on simply copying the Greek
drams without adapting the art form to our own culture, theater would have
remained stagnant and eventually disappeared. All of the masterpieces of
drama and film - from Shakespeare to Scorsese - would not have come about.
It is acceptable for a beginner to copy existing
works of art in order to learn technique and method. Once we are over
that
stage however, Nature should be our inspiration instead of pictures in
bonsai
books and magazines. If you want to create a Cedar Elm bonsai, for
example, visit the Hill Country of Texas and look at what Nature has
done with
those trees in their native setting. Barring an actual visit, have a
friend photograph some of them for you. Learn the tree's growth habits,
distinctive looks and study its natural shape. Take notes - all artists
do. Armed with that knowledge, let your creative genius take over. The
result will be on YOUR sincere interpretation of Nature, OUR bonsai art
and,
hopefully, our North American Bonsai Masterpiece.
Reprinted from Texas Bonsai, LSBF publication, Summer, 1991
Lightening Rod
by
Jan Davidson & Wanda Woods
There was once a storm raging higher and higher,
Which accidentally caught my bonsai afire.
We were all amazed,
To see such a blaze!
Oh, could I have wrapped it with too much wire?
Don't forget to give your volunteer hours to Don Rehberg
BCI 2000 Hawaii
by
Elaine White
Bonsai Clubs International and Hawaii Bonsai
Association wee the hosts for "International Friendship into the 21st
Century". The convention hotel was on the Waikiki beach of Oahu with
flowering trees and
huge banyans everywhere.
The large exhibit was a refined image of the outdoor
landscape. Banyans with aerial roots and many trees planted on lava
rock.A few landscapes needed four men to lift them. The four main
islands of Hawaii had a team of 3 men each creating a landscape at the same
time. Spectacular!
There were local bonsai garden tours every
afternoon, 6 total; but a very small bazaar with only 6 vendors, no trees
---surprise!---the Chinese couple selling stones that were at our Corpus Christi
Convention.
The three headliners each conducted an hour critique of
the exhibit trees. I signed up for Susumu Nakamura's critique and found
it very informative. Terry Ward will be interested to know that he
critiqued all accent plans also and changed sides of almost all of them.
Warren Hill, curator of the National Bonsai Penjing
Museum in Washington, D. C. created a forest of 43 trees called "shortie"
banyan. Yunhau Hu, director of the Shanghai Garden Administration Bureau,
created 2 penjing on a marble slab at the same time. One showed the
domination of the tree and, in the other, the rocks were dominant. In both
penjing the rocks used were carved feather stone (grey lava rock). I found
it very strange that Mr. Hu was even taller than Nakamura san.
A very good convention in a beautiful state.
Chicago has withdrawn its bid for BCI 2001; so BCI will
sponsor a cruise, (yes, workshops on a ship) leaving from Miami to Nassau and
some points in between.
Our good friend, Solita Rosade was elected by the
Directors to serve an unprecedented 2nd term as President of BCI and, another
good friend, Alan Walker of Lake Charles, La. will be Executive Director.
I will bring pictures to the Austin/San Antonio
meeting on August 5, 2000.
November 15, 16, 17, 2002
Put this date on your calender and circle it!
Plan your vacation at that time!
Austin and San Antonio are combining with LSBF to
have the State Convention at that time. It will be held at the Civic
Center in New Braunfels. LSBF has formed a convention committee to have an
active participation. Committee chairpersons are being named as we go to
print. BUT, all members in BOTH clubs will be working with each other to
make this a success. Everyone is excited about this new concept initiated
at this Convention.
Come to the combined meeting with San Antonio and Meet the people who will
be planning the above mentioned Convention!!!!!!!!!!!!
Show Chairpersons: Chuck & Pat Ware
Registration Chairpersons: Greg & Shelia Setter
Treasurer: Arlene Hastings
Vendor Chairpersons: Mike & Candy Hansen
Goodie Bag Chairperson: Libby Huffman
Exhibit Chairperson: Marty Klajnowski
Transport/Hospitality Chairperson: Gary Martilla
Co-Chairperson: Rachel Cynwinski
Raffle Chairperson: Loria Norberg
Co-chairperson: Alfred Lopez
Monitor Chairperson: Jeff Holmes
Co-chairpersons: Audrey Lanier & Charlotte Cranberg
Food Chairperson: Sandra Vitone
Co-chairperson: Mary Martini
Offer your help and support!!!!!!
Hello!
Hello!
We need ideas for a name or theme for the convention Please give your ideas to Chuck Ware
Attention New Members of ONE year
We are having a special free
workshop just for you to encourage you to stay with us Check with Alisan to be sure
you are on the list.
