FEBRUARY 2020 MEETING

BONSAI CLIPPER VOLUME 32 ISSUE 2

IS IT SPRING, YET?

ABOUT US:

We meet every third Satur-day of each month at the Berne Davis Botanical Gar-den building located just north of the Edison Estates at 2166 Virginia Avenue. Parking is located on Larch-mont street located one block south of Virginia off McGregor Boulevard.

Our website is:

www.bonsaiswfl.org

We welcome everybody inter-ested in this ancient art form to take advantage of our many experienced artists and teachers.

See you soon...

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

NOTES JANU-

ARY METTING

2

SUMMARY OF

WINDSWEPT

3

BOARD MEET-

ING MINUTES

4

FLYER SHO FU

AUCTION

7

BONSAI SOCIETY OF SW FLORIDA, INC.

2020 PROGRAMS

This year we are adding something new! Every month there will be a brief (15 minutes) presentation by a club member on a selected bonsai topic. Topics will include

Jim Bremmer will talk about clip and grow.

2020 Monthly Programs

March Special program for the three bonsai clubs of southwest Florida at Wigert’s Nursery. Demonstration by Erik Wigert, Jason Osborne and Mike Lane. One of a kind program . March 21 1 to 4 PM. Save the date and time now.

April - Annual auction and picnic

May—Presentation by Mike Knowlton, “The Art of Display”

June—Jason Osborne on wiring He will give a 2 hour presentation and then we get to practice. BYOT

July—Process Development Stage 1. Bring your own tree or purchase a pre-bonsai blue-berry. During the next three months we will follow the process from initial concept through styling . An optional program (TBD) will also be offered..

Contiinued next page

Program note: The root stand carving is postponed to give more time to work out the logistics.

Gary McFall will conduct a workshop on making bonsai pots. Have you seen some of his pots? They are very creative. Here is Gary’s description:

“We are going to have a “hands-on” session for making a ceramic Bonsai Pot. Each person will fabricate his own pot. We will supply the clay and all the equipment to roll it. This will not be a potter’s wheel project. We will use thin slabs of clay to form the pots. If you have a bowl or shape you would like to use as a mold (M or F) bring it along. It would be good if you bring a flat, hard surface to put your pot on when finished. Until the clay dries out it’s quite flimsy. “ Gary suggests a strong piece of cardboard to support your new creation.

IS IT SPRING, YET? PAGE 2

PRESIDENT

Sam Wollard

VICE-PRESIDENT

Phil Krieg

SECRETARY

Judy Giandelone

TREASURER

Hamilton Agnew

BOARD MEMBERS

Gail Gehring

Linda Rodriguez

Bill Smith

David Bovio

Gary McFall

2020 CLUB OFFICERS

2020 Programs Continued

August—Ramification with Adam Lavigne. Process Development Stage 2.

September—Round Robin styling contest. Development Process Stage 3.

October—Mike Lane. Exposed root “bottle trees” using premna

November—Preparation for our annual show

December—Holiday Party

Notes from January 18,2020 club meeting

We will develop an attendance sheet with a column to opt in to sharing email or phone number

We are the biggest users of the Garden Council space. We pay dues of $45/year and we will make a donation of $155 to cover our use of utilities and paper products.

Garden Council is offering CPR and AED training on Friday January 25, 2020, from 9AM to noon. Each club is asked to send two people to the training. Linda Rodriquez and Rick Simon will represent us. Training will be provided by the American Red Cross.

Unanimous agreement that the dates of our Annual Show should coincide with the dates of the Edison Ford Garden plant sale. In 2020, probably, that will be our regular meeting date, 3rd weekend of November.

Treasury balance as of January is $8237 The 2020 budget is a work in progress. Heron’s Glen community is holding a home and garden show March 1, 2020, from

12-3PM. We are invited to have a table to display some trees and answer ques-tions about bonsai and our club. Jim Bremer, Jim Gehring, and Judy Giandelo-ne volunteered

Jim Gehring is soliciting ideas and help for club night at the BSF convention. BSF convention will be Memorial Day weekend (May 22-25) at the Florida Hotel in the Florida Mall in Orlando.

Program: Phil Krieg talked about the windswept style and then gave us a lesson in sketching.

PAGE 3 IS IT SPRING, YET?

WINDSWEPT, A BRIEF SUMMARY BY PHIL KRIEG JANUARY 13, 2020

Fukinagashi is the Japanese term...a brief description of the development of the Windswept style.

John Yoshio Naka, Father of American Bonsai

TECHNIQUES I, 1973: “This style is a very interesting study of branch arrange-ments. There are two types of windswept. One is showing the wind actually blowing on the tree. The other is showing the result of many years of wind. The trunk of a windswept is never placed in a horizontal position.” (Keep in mind that the “rules” have since changed.)

Herb Gustafson

THE BONSAI WORKSHOP 1996: “The trunk does not necessarily have to lean with the wind as do the branches. In many seacoast settings, the trunk leans into the wind and the branches fly away in the opposite direction. A good windswept design should have three main design elements that are obvious to the viewer: 1.) Beach or mountain setting. 2.) Heavy or light wind. 3.) Wind direction.”

Craig Coussins

BONSAI MASTER CLASS 2006: “The windswept image is probably one of the most difficult images to deliver. It is easy to slant a group of trees and to say that they are windswept, but unless it really feels as though the wind is pushing the trees along its path, the image does not work. It’s about emotion, about energy and about understanding nature. You should almost feel that force and shiver.”

David De Groot

PRINCIPLES OF BONSAI DESIGN 2015: “Fengdongshi There is another kind of wind-influenced style the I call “Windblown”. My distinction is based on the idea that whereas the “windswept” style represents a tree that has been perma-nently shaped by years of prevailing wind or cold air flow, “windblown” repre-sents a tree with a normally shaped crown—branches distributed all around the trunk—but arranged so that they appear to be actively blowing in the wind. It is an image of a tree captured “in the moment”, rather than a photograph. This style is popular in the Lingnan area of China—particularly Guandong Prov-ince—but rarely elsewhere, although trees styled thus present a dramatic and appealing image. The windblown style is usually used with broadleaf trees, most of which have ascending branches, so that branches growing into the wind are swept upward and over, rather than down and around or killed off, as in the case of most conifers that become windswept.”

NOTES FROM THE LIBRARY In the latest issue of Bonsai Focus (1/2020Jan/Feb. 162/185) Tony Tickle’s column is about how trees inspire us and bring a sense of calm and strength to many of us. “They (trees) rejuvenate the soul and spirit when one is tired and down.” He quotes three poems about trees. Do you have a favorite bit of tree inspired literature or song you would like to share?

PAGE 4 IS IT SPRING, YET?

MINUTES FROM JANUARY BOARD MEETING

NOTE: The budget is preliminary and has not been approved.

PRESENT: Sam Wollard, Phil Krieg, Judy Giandelone, Ham Agnew, Gail Gehring, Linda Rodriquez, Bill Smith, Dave Bo-vio, Gary McFall

At January meeting of club we will ask members to complete a membership form so that we can get an accurate list of members and email address. Judy will bring 40 copies to meeting. Judy will also remind members who have not paid their dues to bring a check or cash to the meeting. Ham would prefer not to take credit cards because it cre-ates a bookkeeping nightmare.

Heron’s Glen community is hosting a Home and Garden Show on March 1, 2020. We are invited to have a table there. Phil will confirm our attendance, remind them that we don’t sell stuff. We will have 2-3 members present with some trees and lots of brochures. Event is from 12-3 PM; we can start setting up as early at 9 AM.

Next year, to accommodate BSF’s needs we will start our membership renewal process in September. New members who join mid year will pay half of membership dues. New members who join in last quarter of the year will not pay dues for current year; their dues will be applied to the next year.

2020 budget Hospitality $240 Program costs $1425 Rent for storage $0 (paid through early 2021) Insurance $402 Website $300 Annual show $2500 (estimate, exact show budget TBD later) Visiting masters (2) $1100 Garden Council $45 dues plus $155 donation PO Box $130 Telephone $62.16 Library $200. Do not renew subscriptions to BCI, ABS, or Bonsai Focus TOTAL EXPENSES $6559.16

Review of 2019 show income and expenses: Raffle income was less than previous years. We had less quality items to raffle; not enough trees for either $1 or $5 raf-

fles. $5 raffle brought in around $300. This is first year in which we paid for material for club member demos. Previously the material was donated by whom-

ever was doing the demo. We had the extra expense ($935) for the rented pipe and drape. Ideas to improve cash flow next year

Search for cheaper security guard (Do we really need?) Encourage members to develop trees for the raffle during the year. Potential program activity. Trim expenses of the sign spinners and the help from Ham’s employees in set up and take down.

NOTES FROM BOARD MEETING CONT’D

Date for next year show: Pros and Cons of timing to coincide with Edison Ford event

Pros: better attendance, less need for publicity (sign spinners)

Cons: maybe late in year for some trees, parking, timing relative to Thanksgiving (will members be away)

Will discuss at next meeting. Sam to check with Edison Ford Estates to see if they have set a date.

Up Coming Events at Wigert

Wigert's Bonsai Class Schedule. Please Contact Andrea to sign up. 239-543-2234 or email info@wigertsbonsai.com

Beginner Class - All day Feb 8 Shohin Elm Feb 16 Chinese Elm Feb 29 Beginner Class 2 Part - March 7 /14 Bunjin March 8 Wiring March 14 Pyracantha March 15 Triple Demo "Mike Lane, Jason Os-borne, Erik Wigert"- March 21

PAGE 6 IS IT SPRING, YET?

BONSAI GLOSSARY

Concave cutters: a bonsai tool used to remove branches with a flush or slightly depression cut. C on-cave cutters are one of the most important bonsai tools you can own. Also known as Mataeda Hasanmi, they are necessary to style bonsai and pre-bonsai nursery stock. There are specifically designed to cut branches flush to the trunk. This type of cut allows the wound to heal quickly and smoothly, and without creating an unsightly bump on the trunk of your bonsai tree.

Canopy: The peripheral foliage of the upper branches and those on the outer part of the tree.

Crown: Upper part of a tree where branches spread out from the trunk and define your bonsai silhou-ette.

Conifer: A tree that bears cones; mainly evergreen trees such as: pines, cedars, spruces and junipers. Coniferous trees have small and waxy leaves, sometimes needles, which are usually kept all year.

https://www.bonsaioutlet.com/bonsai-glossary/

Gator Bait by Phil Krieg

Here is a space reserved for you to share your hard work. Please send me photos or sketches of the work that you are doing