February 2002

President’s Message

by
Candy Hansen

February brings many special events. First, on February 6, Nick Lenz will be speaking to us as an unexpected bonus on developing trees we have been working on, especially collected specimens.  Because of scheduling conflicts, he will be speaking at the classroom of MBP Bonsai Studio.  More about him and a map are elsewhere in the newsletter.

On Jan. 23, Mike Hansen began a comprehensive class on Black Pine Bonsai at the Study Group meeting.  Sixteen people are getting a head start on working with these wonderful plants. On Feb. 27 they will be repotting their black pines. Come and watch, or take part!

At our regular meeting, Terry Ward will begin a two-part class on group plantings.  These are favorites of most people, so be sure to come and get an inside look at great group plantings.

Repotting and winter grooming of our trees is in full swing.  There is much to do, and it is so rewarding to see the trees refreshed and ready for spring!

Don't forget your dues, and e-mail addresses for our Club Directory.  These should be given to our treasurer, Pat Ware soonest.

Calendar of Events

Feb. 6  Nick Lenz
  7:30 PM
  MBP Nursery

Feb. 13 Monthly Meeting
  Lecture/Demo on Group Planting
  Terry Ward
  7:30 PM
  Zilker Garden Center
  Refreshments by:
  Charlotte Cranberg
  Audrey Lanier
Feb. 20 Board Meeting
  7:00 PM
  Zilker Garden Center

Feb. 27 Members Workshop
  7:30 PM
  Zilker Garden Center
  Black Pine Roots with Mike Hansen

Mar 21-24 California Bonsai Society
  Burbank, Ca.
Mar. 23-24 Lake Charles Bonsai Soc. Exhibit
  Burton Coliseum, Lake Charles,La.
May 17-19 Int’l Scholarly Symposium on
  Bonsai & Viewing Stones
  U.S. Nat’l Arboretum, Wash., DC
  originally scheduled Oct. 2001
May 17-19 Annual Austin Bon. Soc. Show
Jun27-30 ABS Symposium
  Milwaukee, Wi.
Jul.3-6 BCI 2002 Bonsai in the Sun
  Orlando, Fl.

Nov 15-17 State Bonsai Convention
  New Braunfels, Tx.

General Meeting Minutes

by David Gordon

The January 2002 meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society was called to order by President Candy Hansen at 7:30 P.M. on January 9, 2002.

New members were introduced. They are Eli and Barbara Rodriguez.

A motion was made that the secretaries report for the December 2001 meeting be accepted as written in the newsletter. Motion was seconded and approved by the membership.

The treasurer's report was given by Pat Ware. A copy of the year end report with a comparison to the budget for 2001 was given to the membership.

President Candy reported on a number of positions that need to be filled. Members were asked to contact Candy or a board member if they are interested.

Alisan discussed the digging trips that the club has a planned for the month of January.

Chuck Ware talked about the 2002 convention. Registration forms are completed and available for members.

Pat Ware gave the Garden Council report. Tickets for the Zilker Garden Festival are now available and were given to members.

Mike Hansen discussed the curriculum for our Fourth Wednesday Study Group. The study group will focus on Black Pines and Mike will take us through the year step by step on caring for Black Pines.

Bill Cody brought the tree for the formal display. It was a cedar elm which has beautiful ramification.

The presentation for the evening was given by Greg Setter on collecting. He gave an excellent overview of the trees commonly collected in Texas and collecting techniques.

Meeting was adjourned by President Candy Hansen at 9:15 P.M.

Board Meeting Minutes

by David Gordon

The treasurer's report was given by Pat Ware. We need to update our signature card with Wells Fargo Bank.  Also, it was agreed by board members to change the Wells Fargo Basic Business Account that charged a fee if the balance went below $3,000. to a Free Checking Account.

Pat Ware recommended that the excess tickets we have for the Zilker Garden Festival be given to the School for the Blind. Motion was made by Carl, seconded by Alisan and approved by the board.

The treasurer, Pat Ware, recommended that when our CD expires on January 28, 2002, that we roll the money over into a money market account until we decide what to do with the money. Board agreed with the recommendation and the treasurer will take the necessary action.

The Christmas party was discussed for 2002. Since there are no good dates available at the Garden Center for next December, we will consider a party at a member's house, or will consider having a New Year party the first meeting in January 2003. The board will get more information.

Pat Ware requested $25 for refreshments for the Garden Center meeting. Motion to approve expenditure by Gloria Norberg, seconded by Jim Baumann and approved by the board.

Pat Ware discussed a donation request from the Garden Council for money that would be used to buy an ice machine. Pat will get more details regarding donation amount before we make a decision. The Garden Council would also like us to make a $250 donation for bricks for a walkway which will be placed next to the bridge that will be built in the Japanese Garden. Request was tabled for now. The board feels that money should be spent for the permanent collection.

Gloria discussed the Nick Lenz workshop. We will call members to remind them of the date, time and location.

Candy discussed the positions that need to be filled. The main positions are show chairman and raffle chairman.  Volunteers will be found. Carl Quisenberry was appointed as a backup alternate to the LSBF organization.

A letter will be sent to vendors around the state offering advertising space in membership rooster booklet.

The Boon workshop was discussed. The cost of the workshop will be $35 and will be restricted to eight people.  A no-host dinner at Texas Land and Cattle will be held prior to his club presentation.

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 P.M.

REMINDER
Start
NOW to find the material you will want to use in April when visiting artist, Boon Manakitivipart comes. Get it prepared so you will get the most out of the workshop with this talented man. He was “a big hit” last year and you sure don’t want to miss him this year!

February Program

The lecture will include principals, tree & pot selections, etc. There will be a show and tell using a few slides on how to design groups from three trees to fifteen or more. There will be a demo showing how to create several of the designs seen in the slides. Following the demo, attendees will be broken into small groups for “hands on” practice creating group plantings. Emphasis will be placed on what to bring to the March workshop.

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!!!!!!!

EXTRA
PROGRAM
FOR FEBRUARY

Lecture and Critique by Nick Lenz
7:30 PM
February 6, 2002
at MBP Bonsai Studio
map on this page

You have the opportunity to bring a tree or trees for a fee of $20.00 each tree and this gifted gentleman will discuss the possibilities you didn’t see. As it is always valuable to have another opinion, we are sure you will value his.

Do you enjoy Schlitterbahn Waterpark??
Would you like to
WIN
four all-day adult passes??
Can be used either in New Braunfels or South Padre Island!
You have two (2) opportunities!
Buy a (or as many as you like)raffle ticket for $1.00 each in February or in March and the lucky ticket will be drawn at the March meeting.
  Take your family!
  Take your grandchildren!
HAVE FUN IN THE SUN!!!!
 

Focus on the Grape

One of our Convention workshop trees is our own Mustang Grape (Vitis candicans). Although we see the long vine, up to 40 feet, draped in the trees along the roadside, we don’t think of it as traditional bonsai material. Trunks on old vines can get up to 6 inches in caliper. The workshop trees have 2+ inch trunks that have great potential for carving. Some of these have lots of movement, while others have a more substantial base. The vines were collected in the winter of 2001, so they are well established and growing vigorously.

The Mustang Grape grows well in the limestone soils along streams and in the bottomlands of Texas and western Louisiana. They will do well with untreated water, and the leaves can be reduced to make them more desirable.  The Mustang Grape can be distinguished from the many other grapes by the white wooly hairs that cover the bottom of the leaves.

Easily trained, the Mustang Grape has great potential. It grows well in our climate, is disease resistant and no two are the same. They should make some bodaceous bonsai.

DUES ARE DUE!
THIS IS YOUR LAST
  NEWSLETTER IF YOU HAVEN’T PAID
  so send them in NOW or pay at the meeting.
$25.00 for individuals
$30.00 for family
If you wish to continue to receive this informative newsletter, see the treasurer and pay your dues
.OR
check payable to: Austin Bonsai Soc.
and mail to our treasurer:
Pat Ware
12404 Ranch Road 12
Wimberley, Tx. 78676
 

Winter seclusion:
Once again I will lean against
This post..
  Basho

Alisan says:
We had two great collecting opportunities - hope everyone got something that we will eventually see at a future show.

Web site
for the
Convention
www.main.org/bonsai/2002

THE TEXAS STATE BONSAI EXHIBIT

by
Elaine White

I have found a money making project that we can all participate in, state wide.
  Randalls / Tom Thumb has a good neighbor program for non-profits that gives back 1% of total food sales.
  The number below is registered to The Texas State Bonsai Exhibit.

All you have to do is:

Fill out an application at the courtesy booth at any Randalls, recording your Remarkable card number. ( 3 minutes of your time)

Every time you use your card the number is automatically credited to our account so you do not need to remember the number.

A painless way to raise funds!
  Eat more from Randalls”

Our number is: 9893

Thank you for participating.

Nick Lenz - Guest Artist

Andrew N. Lenz (Nick) of Leverett, MA has been practicing bonsai for about 40 years. In addition to being a superb bonsai artist, he is one of the finest potters producing bonsai containers in the U.S. He received his B.A. from Stanford University, graduating with honors, and his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin. His bonsai career was begun at Stanford and continued in what he calls, "dismal Wisconsin," and later, in Massachusetts. He was the first environmental designer at Smith College for the first Earth Day, and for a number of years, he has been a restorer of domestic colonial architecture.

Nick is a former member of the ABS board and has had more than 40 articles published in various bonsai journals. His book, Bonsai From the Wild, was published in 1997 by the American Bonsai Society. It deals with the collecting of native material with emphasis on the northeastern United States and eastern Canada. His attention to detail in the collection process and his training of collected materials into bonsai is impressive. He is the founder of the first line of quality American bonsai pottery known as "Mirkware," and he continues creating exquisite containers today. His trees are represented in several public collections, including the Weyerhaeuser Collection in Federal Way, WA. Currently, he is preparing several bonsai for a new home in a Canadian collection. Nick has had private bonsai shows in art galleries and at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He lectures and teaches when he can be "cajoled into breaking his hermit habits," and he is a regular contributor to the online magazine Bonsai Enthusiast.

BONSAI BRIDGES TO 2002

by
Elaine White

You have all received your registration forms by now. If you have just given them a cursory glance and put it aside for later ? later is NOW!

I can’t begin to tell you how excited we (committee members) are, thinking of this new convention concept. This is a different venue, more material and artists, (20 workshops) lower costs and a chance to spend the weekend with the good friends of our bonsai family doing the things we obsess about.

One of our guest artists, Marc Noelanders of Belgium has studied with Masahiko Kimura and shares his extensive knowledge and creativity throughout Europe and North America. International Bonsai, No.4, 2001 p.22-27  features a neglected Juniper Prostrata that most of us would have thrown on the burn pile. You must see this article to appreciate the artistic ability of Marc Noelanders. Bonsai Today, No. 76, p.25-30 features Marc and an article on the same tree. Marc will be working with the Scots Pine, Japanese Yew and Native Grape.

Our local talent:
  Mike Hansen will instruct on tool sharpening. I know you all have tools that need help.

Buddy Hensley will instruct on the Ficus Nerifolia, provided by the Houston Bonsai Society, a great tree for those beginning students of bonsai.

There are 191 workshop spaces available so sign up for yours while there are choices!

ATTENTION ALL MEMBERS

There will be a new “wrinkle” to our meetings. Please bring a tree that you may have a question on and would like someone to give you an answer between 7:00 and 7:30 PM. Whether you want help with a styling problem or an insect problem - whatever you want help with!

November 15, 16, 17, 2002
Put this date on your calendar 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. 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.

Show Chairpersons: Chuck & Pat Ware
Registration Chairpersons: Greg & Sheila Setter
Treasurer: Arlene Hastings
Vendor Chairpersons: Mike & Candy Hansen
Goodie Bag Chairperson:  Libby Huffman
  Co-Chairperson: Sherry Westra
Exhibit Chairperson: Marty Klajnowski
  Co-Chairperson: David Gordon
Transport/Hospitality Ch.: Paul Tyler
  Co-Chairperson: Larry Gfeller
Publicity Chairperson: Elaine White
Raffle Chairperson: Gloria Norberg
  Co-chairperson: Alfred Lopez
Monitor Chairperson: Donna Dobberfuhl
  Co-chairpersons: Audrey Lanier & Charlotte Cranberg
Food Chairperson: Sandra Vitone
  Co-chairperson: Mary Martini
Logo/theme Chairperson: Jim Baumann (Jimbo)
  Co-chairpersons: Jordan Merson & Alisan Clarke
On Site Logistics Ch.: Ron Westra
Webpage Design:Jim Allan
Fun Shop Chairperson: Terry Ward