Summer Poetry and Maples

Michi no be ni
shimizu nagaruru
yanagi kage
shibashi tote koso
tachidomaritsure

In willow shade
where clear water flows
by the wayside-
"Just awhile!" I said
as I stopped to rest

-Saigyo, Poems of a Mountain Home

Summer is here, with a large lack of spring. Today was the first day in a month in a half that I've had to water the bonsai myself. I shall not miss the rain, I promise you that. We didn't really have a spring this year, and summer is launching right in to the thick of things with the wet, humid heat that breeds fungus and pests in bonsai and discontent in bonsaists. Watch here for the next installment of the Closer Look, Bonsai Pests. We'll be hitting Scale insects next.

My species sheet on Japanese Maples has hit the newstands at KOB, check it out!
http://knowledgeofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=117&t=2937

Article Contest 2009

http://knowledgeofbonsai.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=146&t=4298
AoB/KoB article contest for 2009 has begun. They're sponsored by Bonsai Focus Magazine. An excerpt from the above linked rules:

The contest objective is for participants to write an original article
about bonsai in a professional and educational manner. The goal of this contest
is educational and is meant to bring out the author in all who participate, as
well as to encourage the creation of much needed articles for the bonsai
community not only during the contest, but indeed after the contest as well. It
is our hope that the participants of this contest will continue to write and
publish articles afterward and in doing so, add to the knowledge base.


You need not be a member of The Art of Bonsai Project or The Knowledge of
Bonsai Forum to enter. This contest, like all of the content on AoB and KoB, is
free, viewable, and open to all who are interested. Those that wish to
participate in discussions on the contest or other topics on the forums will be
required to join in order to comment.

Bonsai Focus has
graciously agreed to publish the wining article, as well as to consider
publication of other quality articles submitted.

Follow the link above for complete official rules. We look forward to seeing your articles!

Knowledge of Bonsai contests

So the 2007 Green Award, the Indonesian bonsai photo contest sponsored by KoB has come to an end, and the winners have been announced. The quality of trees entered in the contest were fantastic, well done to everyone who entered! You can check out the contest, all of the entries, and the winners here:
2007 Green Award

There are also three other contests running, one at KoB, one at AoB and one running congruently at both:

*****
KoB/Bonsai Focus Progressive Styling contest 2008

The Knowledge of Bonsai Forum
Proudly Presents Our Second Annual
Progressive Styling Contest
Sponsored by Bonsai Focus Magazine

The contest objective is to obtain stock and style it into a presentable
bonsai within the time frame allotted by the rules below. In order to include
all levels of enthusiasts and all levels of stock, we have created a
professional and a non-professional category and sub-divided these into
different stock categories. There is no price limit on stock.

Continuing
our goal of presenting a contest that is educational for all, we have continued
the modified “before and after photo” styling contest common on most forums with
our original progression requirement addition.

Each entry will consist
of three parts containing the following as outlined in the rules below:

• Three before photographs submitted with accompanying descriptive text,
as outlined in the rules below.
• Three progression photographs submitted
with accompanying descriptive text, as outlined in the rules below.
• Three
final photographs submitted with accompanying descriptive text as outlined in
the rules below.

This year we have decided to expand the parameters of
the contest by allowing the submission of tanukis, groups, and forests. These
will have their own category and will be judged against others of the same
styling.

You need not be a member of The Knowledge of Bonsai Forums to
enter. This contest, like all of the content on KoB, is free, viewable, and open
to all who are interested. Those that wish to participate in discussions on the
contest or other topics on the forum will be required to join in order to
comment.

Please read all rules before submitting your entry and refer
back to them before submitting your before, progression or final photographs in
order to prevent misunderstandings or needless disqualification. Most of all,
enjoy yourselves and have fun.

*****
AoB/KoB Article Contest

The AoB / KoB ARTICLE CONTEST
Sponsored by The American Bonsai Society
Journal


RULES


The contest objective is for participants
to write an original article about bonsai in a professional and educational
manner. The goal of this contest is educational and is meant to bring out the
author in all who participate, as well as to encourage the creation of much
needed articles for the bonsai community not only during the contest, but indeed
after the contest as well. It is our hope that the participants of this contest
will continue to write and publish articles afterward and in doing so, add to
the knowledge base.

You need not be a member of The Knowledge of Bonsai
Forum or The Art of Bonsai Project to enter. This contest, like all of the
content on KoB and AoB, is free, viewable, and open to all who are interested.
Those that wish to participate in discussions on the contest or other topics on
the forum will be required to join in order to comment.

The American
Bonsai Society Journal has graciously agreed to consider publication for all
winning entries as well as for other quality articles submitted.

Please
read all rules before submitting your entry and refer back to them before
submitting your article in order to prevent misunderstandings or needless
disqualification. Most of all; enjoy yourselves and have fun.

****
AoB Photo Contest

The Art of Bonsai Awards
Sponsored by International Bonsai


After careful deliberation, the staff at AoB has decided to focus
on one contest only
each year. It is our hope that by doing so, we can bring
together a larger
representation of bonsai from around the world, while
continuing to offer a
respectable prize list and maintain our high standard
of professional judging.

We have taken all of our groundbreaking and
record setting contests and
incorporated the best ideas from all into one
single photo contest format. This
new design includes multiple categories,
while creating a format where other
categories and subdivisions can be
easily added to meet the needs of our members
and sponsors in the future.

We have also decided to offer additional
awards, in cooperation with
other bonsai organizations and our sponsors, such
the American National
Bonsai Exhibition Award, and the ABFF award. These awards
are in addition to our
primary awards, which are designed to reward and
recognize the very best
bonsai in the world.

We have eliminated our
previous sub-categories
dividing professional and non-professional entrants. It
is our decision to
hold contests that reflect the philosophy of the Art of
Bonsai Project,
namely that all content here be of the highest caliber.

We sincerely
hope that you will help spread the word about this contest
and participate
yourself.
Good luck to all!

*****

Check out the links for further details on each of these contests. All cater to a different aspect of bonsai as a whole, and I am really looking forward to seeing this year's entries in all of them!

Though I lack bonsai with the finished capacity for the AoB photo contest, I am considering entering the Progressive styling contest as well as the article contest. I'm on the hunt for just that right piece of stock that I know I can work on during the time period alloted.

I've come across one such piece, but it would be a whole new beast for me. A species I've never worked on, and the sheer *size* of the stock is daunting. I would primarily in shohin and chuhin bonsai, mostly due to my own space restraints (though I've been teased that I like little bonsai because I am a small person). But this piece of stock is over four and a half tall, and would retain at least three to three and a half feet of that height, possibly a more, even after styling. This would be, in my mind, a suitable time to take on a task like this, a good time to challenge myself and break myself out of my small bonsai mold. Part of the issue is space however, and unless I can find a *place* to keep the hulking monster, a smaller piece of stock will have to be found!

Species Classroom at KoB

Chalk dust and homework?

Thank goodness not!

I've taken up the job of working on (and maybe ten years from now completing) the Species Care sheets for the Knowledge of Bonsai Forums. For those of you familiar with my website, the sheets at KoB will be more extensive, touching on the history, expanded anatomy, and interesting tidbits about individual species, as well as care, cultivation and specific techniques. The first two, Ginkgo and Bouganvillea have finally hit the public forum. Sheets for Olive and Flowering Cherry are currently in the works. More forthcoming, with a goal(personal goal) of one written each week. I'm looking foreward to this project, and hopefully you'll join me :)

KoB Species Classroom

Hana osage naru

On Mount Yoshino

Snoflakes scattering down

from cherry limbs-

one of those years

when blossoms come late.

Yoshinoyama

sakura ga eda ni

yuki chirite

hana osoge naru

toshi ni mo aru kana

Spring isn't actually late as it was the year Saigyo wrote this poem, but I am done with winter. It has never been a favorite season of mine (though making snowmen with Rowan is fun, it is really the only highlight). I am as sleepy as my trees thoughout this darker season, and I find myself continually turning toward the sun in hopes that it will be warming instead of merely bright.

News? No, this isn't news, merely a momentary musing as I wait for spring.

Here, however, is news.

The fundraiser for GB went well. Everyone who came had a good time, good laughs, and most walked away with some nice auction prizes, ranging from gift certificates, to handmade jewlery, from tools to trees. Even some of the bar patrons got in on the act, several of them walking out with bonsai trees of their own, instructions in their care, and contact info if they have further questions. All in all, it was a fun day.

I mentioned some exciting news in my last post. I have been invited to be an editor at the Knowledge of Bonsai, and the Art of Bonsai forums. This came as a bit of a surprise, though admittedly a very pleasant one. I have been enjoying the content, as well as the posters there for some time now, and am very excited about the chance to participate on a more in depth level.

Golden Bonsai

Rich Perricone and I will be at Golden Bonsai in Farmingdale today from about 10:30 to 3:00. We'll be photographing most of the store and I'll be finishing his website for him.... that primary distraction that has kept me from updates to my site and this blog. Between that, work, and company from out of town for the last few days, the trees have been getting their daily care and no serious work done, so no fun updates there. If you're free, stop by the shop today and say hello, browse, make suggestions on the website *as* I'm coding it, or just generally hang out. Over the summer it was often difficult to work out appointments at the shop, but it should be easier as the summer season winds down.

Golden Bonsai is located at:
1242 Melville rd.
Farmingdale, NY 11735

Some other news. The BSGNY will be at the Hostra Show at Farmingdale University this weekend. I'll be getting more info today on booth and times, and I'll update that here. Definately stop on in, we'll look foreward to seeing you!

Also the winners of the Progressive Styling Contest at the Knowledge of Bonsai forum, http://www.knowledgeofbonsai.org/forum/viewforum.php?f=88&sid=5fed5b26e14917722e7fd424cd8a328a have been announced. Some of the work was fantastic, the stock sometimes presented some real challenges, and even those trees that didn't have that extra something, seeing the progression on works like these is one of my favorite things about bonsai on the internet. I invite you to check out the winners and the other entrants alike, each one has something different to offer.