President's Message
by Candy Hansen
Spring is here, and how! Where do all those weeds come from in my bonsai
pots? Actually, since we moved almost 2 years ago, many of the natural systems
we had in place for insect control, weed management, etc., have all had to be
re-created until we again achieve a balance we can live with. Until then, it
means weeding a lot more than I was used to.
Spring also means much activity for our club. At our May meeting we will have a
three part program. Most current, Del and Jimbo will discuss what they need of
you to help stage our annual show. Plan now to be actively involved by
exhibiting and hosting as well as setting up and tearing down.
Another vital part of our hobby is proper tool care. Mike Hansen will show us
and teach us how to sharpen tools and care for them so we get the most of our
investment in quality tools.
Chuck Ware will discus our coming visit by Mary Miller from Florida. You will be
offered an opportunity to sign up for a workshop with her, and Chuck will help
us understand what makes good workshop material for any bring -your- own- tree
event.
See you at the meeting - bring your thinking caps and notebooks!
Calendar of Events
May 8 Monthly Meeting
Tool Sharpening with Mike Hansen
7:30 PM Zilker Garden Center
Refreshments by: Mack Robertson Joe Wait
May 15 Board Meeting
7:00 PM Zilker Garden Center
May 22 Members Workshop (see pg.5)
7:30 PM Zilker Garden Center
Deciduous Trees with Chuck Ware
May 11-12 San Antonio Annual Show
Lions Field, 2809 Broadway, S.A.
May 17-19 Int'l Scholarly Symposium on Bonsai & Viewing Stones
U.S. Nat'l Arboretum, Wash., DC
May 17-19 Annual Austin Bon. Soc. Show
Jun. 11 WORKSHOP WITH (see pg. 4) MARY MILLER
Jun. 12 Lecture/Demo with (see pg. 4) Mary Miller
Jun 27-30 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 April meeting of the Austin Bonsai Society was called to order by
President Candy Hansen on April 10, 2001, at 7:30 P.M.
The regular announcements were omitted this evening so there would be more time
for our speaker, Boon Manakitivipart.
Announcements were handed out for members to read at their leisure. The
announcements were as follows:
Chuck Ware will be doing the Fourth Wednesday class on deciduous trees.
- In May there will be a drawing for a free LSBF convention registration
from the pool of members who have paid their dues.
- Gloria Norberg will help members with raffle books for the
convention.
- Del De Los Santos would like members to put flyers in nurseries about the
club show in May.
Garden Center News included:
- Please give Charlotte your volunteer hours.
- The garden center needs volunteers to work in a variety of positions.
- The Zilker Garden Festival will be this weekend.
The presentation for the evening was a styling of a formal upright juniper by
Boon Manakitivipart. The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 P.M.
The Four Seasons by Wanda Woods
Graceful, curving limbs
Black etchings on azure skies;
Winter's bare beauty...
Tiny curls unfurl
Emerald decorations
Signaling rebirth...
Shimmering yellow,
Hot, glowing sunshine saunas;
Bathing our world gold...
Nature's artistry
Painting speckled, russet leaves;
Clinging, brittle flecks...
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
THERE WILL BE A WORKSHOP ON JUNE 11TH (TUESDAY!) WITH MARY MILLER
It will be limited to 8 PEOPLE AT $40.00 EACH AND BRING YOUR OWN TREE
This is a FABULOUS OPPORTUNITY for Everyone! (See Next Column)
She SPECIALIZES on TROPICALS but is so TALENTED, she works on everything!
SIGN UP and PAY YOUR MONEY at the next meeting or mail your money to our
Treasurer!!!!
Do not wait until the last moment to get your material. Go to a BONSAI
NURSERY as it has material already prepared for you to take to a workshop!!!!!!!
Mary Miller
Mary Miller has been creating and teaching bonsai for over twenty-five years.
Born in Washington, DC, Mary moved to Miami, FL in the late 60s and began
experimenting with bonsai using tropical plants.
For many years she owned The Bonsai Bench nursery near Homestead, FL. During
those years she shipped tropical bonsai all over the US, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The business never fully recovered from the damage of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
Today the nursery is closed. Mary looks at it in a positive way and says,
"I now have the much needed time to refine my personal collection."
Some of her personal favorites include buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus),
tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and many of the figs (Ficus spp.) Another favorite
is one she introduced to the bonsai world: Bahama Berry (Nashia inaguensis).
Mary is eager to share her accumulated bonsai knowledge of tropical plants.
She was voted a life member of both the Bonsai Society of Miami and the Gold
Coast Bonsai Society, Ft. Lauderdale and teaches at Fairchild Tropical Garden,
Miami, FL and Miami Tropical Bonsai nursery, Goulds, FL.
Mary has been guest speaker at many clubs including the Long Island Bonsai
Society, Gold Coast Bonsai Society, Lighthouse Bonsai Society, Greater
Cincinnati Bonsai Society and the Detroit Bonsai Club. She gave workshops at the
'96 Bonsai Societies of Florida convention, the '98 Lone Star Bonsai Federation,
Houston, Texas and the Lone Star convention 2000 in Corpus Christi. Three
private collectors (one in NY and two in Miami) value her bonsai talents in
maintaining their personal bonsai collections.
In addition to lectures, demonstrations and workshops, Mary writes about
tropicals as bonsai for Bonsai Today magazine.
Study Group
The study group in May will focus on refinement. Most bonsaiists have the
tendency to pinch off the tips and look at the general outline of the tree so
that over a period of time the trees get bigger and leggy. Refinement is needed
to correct that situation.
We will look at deciduous trees that are ready for a good haircut after the
Spring growth. This is also the last chance to do leaf defoliation if that is
appropriate for your tree.
If you are starting on your tropicals, bring those out and do some hard
pruning prior to repotting.
The Club Bonsai Exhibit
The bonsai club exhibit is a very important event. Not only do club members
get to show their trees, but it is a time when the club can recruit new members,
raise funds for club expenses, get free publicity and community recognition,
celebrate an anniversary, and educate. Good planning and a corps of reliable
members will make the club exhibit fun and rewarding.
Reprinted from Diplomatic Mailbag, The BCI Ambassador's Newsletter, April
2002
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 (yes, this meeting!) 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.
Our Annual Show is May 18 & 19, 2002
Please start deciding which trees you will show and start grooming them for
that date. We will have sign-up sheets at the May meeting for you to volunteer
to help!
Editor's Note: It was thought that this might be helpful being that our
annual show is this month. Also, do to the length of this article, it has been
condensed to fit our space.
The Art of Displaying Bonsai
by Cliff Chappell
While doing research for this paper, I was dismayed to fine, again and again,
the "Paint-By-Numbers"mentality which seems so prevalent in bonsai. I will
be the first to agree that there is an excellent reason behind every one of the
things which the Japanese do when displaying bonsai. However, just because I
agree with the principles, that does not mean that I agree with the
implementations of these principles. The purpose of this paper is to explain
some of the principles which need to be considered in the display of a work of
art. The interplay of these principles will determine the degree of impact which
your bonsai display has upon the viewer. Innovation, when implementing these
principles, is to be encouraged. Simply reproducing a display which you have
seen in a book, magazine or bonsai show is impossible, unless you are
reproducing a reproduction. The display should be thought out to the same degree
as the styling of the bonsai itself, and is no less important.
One of the first elements to be considered in the design of a bonsai display
is the mood of the tree. The bonsai artist must examine his or her own feelings
which are evoked by the tree. The tree will make its personality known by the
way it grows and changes throughout the seasons. The tree's mood must be
reflected and enhanced by the manner in which it is displayed.
The background to be used in the display is composed of three elements.
Color, contrast and texture. All three of these elements are closely
interconnected. If you should get one, or even two of these elements correct and
fail to do so with the third, the background and the foreground will compete
with each other.
All bonsai, regardless of size, should be displayed on some sort of stand,
even if the stand is no more than a reed mat. The stand is as important to the
bonsai as a frame is to a painting. The purpose of the stand primarily is to
raise the bonsai to a proper viewing height and to give the bonsai a feeling of
importance. According to tradition, the stand is made of wood, unless the bonsai
is to be displayed on slab of rock. If the bonsai is styled formally, then the
stand should be one of a formal design. If the bonsai is informal, then the
stand should be informal in design, and so on. The stand should never be smaller
or of the same size as the pot. Bamboo or reed mats should be used only with
smaller and medium sized, delicate bonsai or accents and never with powerful,
primary trees. The apex of the bonsai should b e above the center of the stand.
Once the major components have been decided upon, the task of properly
accenting the bonsai must be addressed. This can be a complicated task and is of
no less importance than any other item composing the display. These accents can
be plants, driftwood, carvings, viewing stones or items meant to relate to the
bonsai subject. The accent should blend in with, or gently contrast, the mood of
the bonsai. The purpose of the accent is subtle and should not be a literal
restatement or mirror the mood of the bonsai. Sometimes you might want to
utilize a viewing stone so that an impression of the tree's distant
surrounding are hinted at. Remember the mood of the tree as this will help you
to determining the correct type of stone. If you are a beginner or intermediate
bonsaiist, do not be afraid to show a tree which is not yet finished. No tree is
ever finished, unless it is ready for the fireplace.
If your tree is not finished , then it is always as some stage of training or
the other. I do not mean that you should show a tree which was in a nursery
container yesterday, but if your tree has been in training six months, a year or
two years, then by all means show it! You can pick out flaws in every tree. My
opinion is that not enough "trees-in-training" are available for the public
to view at these shows. Let's bring it down to earth and show what these
bonsai look like at every stage of development.
Reprinted in part from Texas Bonsai, Summer, 1992
