President's Message
Glenda Konopka
Now is the time of year when I say to myself "Why did I ever leave Long
Island? It was so much cooler there in the summer!" We have to be tougher,
they complain it's hot when the thermometer reads 85 degrees - whusies!!
The July monthly meeting was our RSVP tropical saikei workshop, and no less
than 26 members attended - just goes to show what can happen when you put your
mind to it. It was a wonderful opportunity for our "newbies" to get
down and dirty, our experienced members to exercise their creativity with great
materials, and everyone to interact on the way to a special addition to their
collection; that's what bonsai is all about - getting dirt under our fingernails,
learning, creating, and sharing. Now, if we can only keep our moss alive through
this heat . . .
Many of our club members attended the LSBF convention and I was very proud
of our good turnout. I learned a lot from the workshops with Ted Matson and
his lecture/demo (all the time I could spare) and I'm sure everyone who attended
or observed any workshop or lecture/demo expanded their knowledge and artful
eye from all our guest artists and fine native teachers. The raffle was fun
for all and the opportunity to meet people from all over Texas was fantastic. I was able to meet the presidents of other clubs, which was very exciting. Mealtimes were an especially fun way to meet new people, swap stories, and make
new friendships.
The August joint meeting with San Antonio on August 9th is going
to be a blast. For the first time, a workshop with Mary Miller is being offered
in addition to her lecture/demo during the meeting. Remember - even if you're
not taking the workshop yourself, come and observe - it's the next-best way
to learn from an excellent teacher. There will be bar-b-que and lots of other
food provided by our club (tell Stephanie Q. you're coming when she calls!),
so bring your appetite and readiness to socialize with the great folks from
S.A.
We always need to keep in the forefront of our practice that bonsai is art
- sculpture and painting in wood and leaf. Bonsai is not just a unique horticultural
challenge, but an opportunity to express ourselves artistically. As we run
around like crazy in our daily lives, even when we're frantically watering our
trees to beat the heat, we need to slow down and remember that we're doing this
for the sake of beauty and grace. Our bonsai shouldn't be just another burden
to deal with in our everyday lives, but a lifter of burdens and lightener of
hearts. So, take a cleansing breath and look at your trees every day from a
place of calm, harmony, and patience - they'll return ten-fold in joy and peace
of soul what you've put into them. They give more than they take. "Peace
through bonsai" is a phrase I think I've seen or heard somewhere (if you
know where it comes from, please let me know); it's very true, and very timely
given the chaos, violence, and upheaval around us and around the world. Take
care and see you all soon.
General Meeting Minutes
by Del De Los Santos
President Glenda Konopka called the Austin Bonsai Society general meeting to
order at 7:35 P.M. with a minor note that 27 members had RSVP to participate
in the evening workshop with Joe Wait. Thanks were offered to Jo Wait for hauling
all the soil, rocks and plants for the evening's workshop. Notice was provided
to participants that if their saikei was not complete, they could continue on
Wednesday, 07/23. Connie King and Mike Grafa provided refreshments.
Announcements:
Regarding the State convention; 1) for volunteers to see John Pittenger about
providing assistance, 2) Pat Ware could use assistance with raffle ticket sales
at convention and 3) a reiteration to stop by and observe, and provide support.
If you are in need of a nametag, please see Sheila Ward. Their cost is $6.00.
If you shop Randalls Grocery Store, and you use your Randalls Remarkable Card,
you can help the Texas State Bonsai Exhibit by informing the cashier at the
checkout you want your purchases to benefit Account Number 9893. Every time your Randalls Remarkable
Card cared is used, Randalls will credit up to 1% of the sale to the Exhibit
account. It's part of Randalls Good Neighbor Program.
Reminder that August 11th is the Mary Miller workshop, register
if you haven't.
New Members Bill Boytim and James Morgan were introduced. (James is now the
editor of the newsletter!). Because we will be working with "muck"tonight,
Glenda announced that she brought and is providing rubber gloves for members
to utilize in the workshop.
On to the workshop with Joe!. The meeting adjourned at around 9:10
and cleanup commenced to close the evening.
Board Meeting Minutes
by Carl Quisenberry
The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm.
Board members present: Glenda Konopka, Candy Hansen, Pat Ware, Connie King
and Carl Quisenberry. Other members present, Chuck Ware and Stephanie Quisenberry.
Old Business:
There are still some un-reimbursed vendor charges from the 2003 annual club
show that the club needs to pay. The total cost of the annual show was $1910.23,
of which $1745 was the new tablecloths. The dates requested for the 2004 show
are May 14 as the set up day and May 15-16 for the show. The Houston Convention
will be on May 21 & 23, 2004. The saikei workshop, at the July monthly
meeting, cost the club $453.60 for trees, soil, and other materials; a cost
of roughly $17 per member.
New Business:
Glenda talked to Ted Matson, during the LSBF 2003 Symposium, about coming to
Austin for a workshop and lector/demo in March or April 2004. We could share
airfare with the Ft. Worth and Houston clubs, if we can coordinate the timing
of the workshops with them. Virgil Curtis, President of the Houston club, was
the contact person for this. It was suggested we should talk to Eli Rodriguez
about taping visiting artist lector/demos in the future.
John Denton is the new LSBF Visiting Artist Tour Coordinator. If anyone has
suggestions for a guest artist for the Texas Tour, contact John. We would
like to have Ted Matson back in late September or early October 2004 for this;
we will discuss this with John Denton. Glenda asked about the possibility of
changing board member and officer positions to two-year terms to facilitate
club programs. This would require a change to the club By-Laws. It may also
be difficult to get people to accept longer terms in office, so this is under
study and open to debate by the membership.
We need to select a club delegate to the BCI convention in Rochester, NY. Credentials will be required for whomever we send to the Sept 5-7 2003 (Labor
Day weekend) convention. We voted for the slate of BCI Officers. Nine people
were nominated for office, but we could only vote for seven. We picked Karl
Betke USA, Linda Brant USA, I. Chi Su Taiwan, Vic Ceballos Republic of the Philippines,
Frieda Joris Belgium, Chiara Padrini Italy, David Radlinski USA, Tony Tickle
Great Britain, Ed Trout USA, dropped Ron Solt USA, Willi Benz Germany. There
was also a BCI By-Law change regarding who can run for President. Pat made
a motion to accept change, Carl seconded. Motion carried.
Candy announced that Tokyo Electron (TEA) has leased 2 acres to the Texas State
Bonsai Exhibit for $20/year in perpetuity. LSBF must have a Grand Opening within
36 months of signing the lease, which is expected to take place in August. ABS has donated $500 to the exhibit in the past. Candy suggested the club increase
our contribution to the Permanent Texas Bonsai Exhibit to $1000. Carl made
a motion to increase our contribution, Connie seconded the motion. Motion carried.
AAGC, Inc. sent ABS a copy of the information that will appear in the AAGC
Yearbook, about ABS, for verification.
The club needs to approach different venues of the Austin artistic community,
in an attempt to get Bonsai perceived as an art rather than just a gardening
venture. We discussed places to put exhibits, such as the Austin Art Museum.
Stephanie suggested we investigate the possibility of club members pooling
their annual contributions to KUT and KLRU, and funneling the contributions
through ABS, to get seats in the Presidents Circle for wider marketing of bonsai
events. This will be brought up at the August club meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.
International Bonsai Arboretum Letter
[Letter from William N. Valavanis, Publisher and editor of International
Bonsai]
Unfortunately, because of the SARS epidemic, the organizers of the BCI Convention
in Taipei had to cancel their event. The bonsai world needs to work together
to promote and present educational programs on bonsai art. That is why I (have
invited the Officers, Directors and members of Bonsai Club International (BCI)
to join the subscribers of International BONSAI at our Collected Bonsai
II Symposium in Rochester, New York on September 5-7, 2003.
The Officers and Directors of BCI will have their annual meetings and award
ceremony at our September symposium. The board meeting and annual meetings
for BCI will be held on Thursday evening, September 4th, while the
award ceremony will take place at the Saturday evening banquet. BCI will also
have a special silent auction to benefit their educational activities and magazine.
I invite the members of BCI to join us at the Collected Bonsai II Symposium. This will be a special symposium celebrating the 25th year of publication
of International BONSAI and my 40th year of bonsai study. The Masterpiece Bonsai Exhibit will include collected bonsai and stones while
my Commemorative exhibit will feature some of my finest bonsai creations spanning
five decades. This is in addition to our seven lecture/demonstrations, workshops,
critiques and of course a sales area.
I am certain the members of BCI will be welcome at the Collected Bonsai
II Symposium and will enjoy the friendly hospitability of the Holiday Inn. In addition to our educational programs the City of Rochester is filled with
horticultural treasures and interesting sites. The Finger-lakes wine country,
George Eastman Museum of Photography, Highland Park, the International Bonsai
Arboretum and other sites are also well worth visiting during your Rochester
visit. Niagara Falls is a short one and a half hour ride from Rochester and
will surely add ot your total visit to Upstate New York.
Working together will only strengthen the friendly bond of the bonsai community
and I personally look forward to welcoming and sharing our symposium and special
events with many new and longtime friends in Rochester.
I look forward to greeting you at the Collected Bonsai II Symposium,
have a safe trip.
Sincerely,
William N. Valavanis
Publisher & Editor
International BONSAI
Green Garden Network's "Green Garden Award"
There is a new yard of the week program happening in Austin. Yards in this
program are not honored solely for their beauty but also for being maintained
in an earth friendly manner. Winners receive a "Green Garden Award"
sign to display in their yard, photos on the City of Austin web site, and free
admission to a Green Gardening Workshop.
This program honors gardeners who keep beautiful yards without harming the
environment. In order to win gardeners must practice at least seven of 14 environmentally
sound methods of gardening that are listed on the nomination forms that are
available online at www.cityofaustin.org/greengarden
and at Grow Green displays.
Here are some ways of maintaining your garden in an earth-friendly manner:
Conserving Water
- Use mulch to prevent water from evaporating and to prevent weed seeds from
sprouting.
- Water your landscape every five days because it takes five days for the
water in your soil to evaporate.
- Collect rainwater in rain barrels in order to reduce your demand on Austin's
water supply.
Clean Water
- Reduce your reliance on pesticides. Pesticides poison aquatic life and
beneficial bugs. Use pesticides only as a last resort; try less toxic alternatives
first.
- Prevent soil run-off by using mulch, decomposed granite, or stepping stones
for paths in your yard. This allows your soil to absorb more water.
Healthy Soil for Healthy Plants
- Use grass clippings on your lawn in order to return nitrogen, phosphorous,
and potassium to your soil. This may eliminate your need for fertilizer.
- Use compost instead of fertilizers. Compost improves the soil, acts as
a weed killer, and reduces the need to water.
- Use organic and natural fertilizers. In a study performed by the City of
Austin and Texas A&M, organic fertilizers out-performed synthetic fertilizers.
- Never over-fertilize nor fertilize before a rain. Your should apply fertilizer
no more than two times per year at a rate of lb. of nitrogen per 1000 square
feet.
- Make your own compost. Use leaves, green yard waste and some food scraps.
The Right Plant for the Right Place
- Grow plants that are native to the area or will do well in our climate. There is a wide variety of plants to choose from.
- Use less grass in your yard. Grass is high-maintenance. It requires more
care and resources than many other plants.
- Use your garden to create habitat for birds, butterflies, or other wildlife
that are losing habitat because of city growth.
- Plant good shade trees to cool your house and reduce your electric bill.
[Compiled from the Green Garden Network's Nomination Form for the Green Garden
Award]
Saikei Workshop
(Compiled by James Morgan with excerpts from Joe Wait's saikei worksheet)
The Saikei workshop on July 9th was an incredible success. The
trees, plants, moss, wire, rocks, pebbles, etc. provided by Joe Wait and the
Austin Bonsai Society allowed members of all abilities to experiment with and
learn about saikei. Many beautiful saikei landscapes emerged from the workshop. The turnout for the workshop was impressive (but of course it had to be; who
can turn down free trees and all the other goodies mentioned above?).
To remind all of those who attended but might have felt overwhelmed by the
vast amounts of information provided to them on saikei and the mad rush to get
trees (as I know I was) here is a review of what we learned.
Saikei means landscape or planting in Japanese. In Chinese, it is Penjing. In either case, it is the art of creating landscapes using bonsai-style trees
plus stones and other plants (plus ornaments for some Penjing).
Saikei is more than just the tree; it represents a miniature landscape. Saikei
should represent a "scene;" a vivid scene on a miniature level.
If there is one simple aspect of saikei to remember, it has to be the importance
of the triangle. Everything in saikei is triangulated: tree heights and sizes,
tree placement, tree silhouettes. Individual trees should have a triangular
shape to them as well as groups of trees.
Probably the second most important quality of saikei (if not equally important)
is asymmetry. If triangles should be suggested throughout the landscape, so
should an asymmetrical value. Remember, we are creating a natural scene, nothing
in nature is symmetrical. So in our saikei's we should strive for balance, not
symmetry.
One should not arrange their trees in straight lines. We are not recreating
a tame orchard. We are trying to create a scene that nature could generate. The landscape should be rolling. A stream or path should wind through the landscape
(not go straight through it).
These are some of the basic qualities of saikei. Thanks to the Austin Bonsai
Society and Joe Wait many members of our club were able to experience the excitement
and satisfaction of creating our own unique saikei landscapes.
