Kusamura Club Calendar
April 2008
• April 18 — Prepare for show with Tokonoma setup.
• April 26-27 - Kusamura Bonsai Show
May 2008
• Satsuki Azalea – Jim Ransohoff
June 2008
• Working with Olives – Jerry Carpenter
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It is Show Time!Kusamura’s 48^th Annual Bonsai Show and Prep Meeting

Special Guest Demonstration by Bob Hilvers:
Bob Hilvers first took up the art of bonsai almost thirty years ago as a hobby.  He quickly found that bonsai was a great way to deal with the stress of his job as a police captain.  Bob is a past and current president of the Hanford Bonsai Society and holds an adult teaching credential for the instruction of bonsai at the college level. He was one of the first “Bonsai Basics” instructors certified by the Golden State Bonsai Federation.  He has written many articles for bonsai and art publications, and presents lectures and demonstration programs for various bonsai organizations around the State. Bob has several Penjing (a Chinese form of bonsai) included in the permanent collection the Huntington Library, Gardens and Art Museum.

Now retired after a 36 year career in Public Safety Bob keeps very busy as the Curator of the Bonsai Collection at the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture, and as the current 1^st Vice-president of GSBF where he is Chairperson of the Convention Planning and Oversight Committee.  One of his goals for future conventions is the development of a judged bonsai exhibition.

Bob makes his home in Visalia, California where he lives with his wife, three cats; Mr. Red, Booka, and Summer, a Boston “Terror” named Pete and a couple hundred bonsai.

Now More about the show for Members:

Who shows? We all show. I need to know who is showing. I expect all members (new and long time members) to show 3 trees.

What do we show? We show a formal Tokonoma with of our best tree(s), a running display, and a “Work In Progress” area. There will be a Shohin Display against the back wall of the room.

How do we show? We show in a formal space with formal stand that complements the tree, an accent plant, and a scroll if desired. Pots must be cleaned of salts, oiled to show color, no weeds, and soil firmed. Moss can be used in the display. A bamboo divider must be used on the table to mark your display space and allow another member to use the rest of the table.

This year we will be carefully watching the tree placement. We will place trees by texture and type that complement each other. We will design a display that flows in the correct direction. Trees should not angle of the table, (i.e. a tree leaning left does not sit on the left side of the table, rather sits on the right with an upright tree next to it  or a slant in the opposite direction, to complement the display.

Running displays can have trees sitting on bamboo mats and divided by bamboo spacers. Running displays may use accent plants as well.

Work In Process trees will have more freedom and may not require a stand but should be cleaned and prepped like formal displays. We encourage long time members and beginners to display trees that may need refinement but display the art well and can encourage others to see what can be done in a short period of time.

What about stands? Some stands will be provided by Kusamura and other members. Be sure to mark your stands on the bottom with a marker so we know who they belong to. Make sure stands get return when the show is over. A stand may be your personal stand as well. We use all kinds of stands that are appropriate for the tree. Cascades must be on cascade stands. The simple designed stands provide a better environment for trees that are not too complex. The more complex the stand with ornamentation the more complex the tree may be to display correctly. Do not use a fancy scroll work stand if what you see when you look at your tree is “how pretty the stand is.” Each stand will need to be taken home and cleaned up. Polishing with Old English, Lemon Oil and furniture polish is a great idea. Just like the pots we need all the be clean and ready.

What Scroll should I use? Use a scroll that is appropriate to the season. Spring offers an array of flower focused scrolls. Do not use fall color scrolls for the show. You may use scenery related to spring as well. Scroll are not mandatory and we have been seeing more shows that use fewer scrolls, but formal displays show them more often. Running displays do not require and may not accommodate a scroll.

How do I clean my pots? This to me a million dollar question. We use a tool cleaning eraser (Japanese Rust Eraser) to remove those nasty salt marks on the pots. These take some work to get the worst off of the pot. So I always start early with that step. Bring the pot inside and dry the pot well to see what salt are present. Some use White Vinegar on a soft cloth to wipe away the white area. I have hear of some using CLR on a white cloth but be very careful of that material around your plants. After a cleaning, oil the pot with a very light oil such as walnut oil, PAM, but not Olive oil. The heavier the oil the stickier it gets and the more slippery the pot. Remember clean of weeds, moss, and tamp down the soil to finish the display.

What kind of accent plants and how should they be made? Recently I have read articles and heard from the masters that accent plants should be prepared years in advance and in exciting expensive pots. That is a great thing to aim for. If you are like the, keeping the small potted plants alive for a long time may be a challenge in a window sill or on a balcony where they can dry up quickly. Accent plants should be small items that contain elements of the bog (wind blowing element and short green or blooming plant with it) in a small formal pot.  Going to the nursery and looking for a miniature blooming flower, miniature bamboo, or grass is a great way to start. Sometimes we can find candidates for that in our yards as well. The accent plant can be a blend of plants in a single pot, a miniature orchid, or a small setting of bamboo. Make them in advanced so that it looks like things have been growing together for some time.

What is the show schedule? We will begin setting up the hall tables and dividers Friday evening as quickly as we can. Bring your SALE and no more than 5 Consignment trees (if you plan to sell on consignment) Friday night. DO NOT BRING SHOW TREES until Saturday morning. I will be directing trees and people to tables so please be aware that I will be creating a view on each table. Running displays may not need special placement but formal displays will be controlled by type and texture. Do not just claim a table for your formal display.

Other Events
May 3-4 Sacramento, California
Sacramento Bonsai Club: 62nd Annual Bonsai and Suiseki Show at the Sacramento Buddhist Church, 2401 Riverside Blvd.  Show hours are Saturday 12noon-5PM and Sunday 10AM-4PM.  Demonstrations at 2PM both days by Boon Manatikivipart.  Raffles to follow.  Free admission.  Plants and bonsai related items for sale.  For further information, contact Gary Judd (916) 630-1340, email juddbonsai@starstream.net.

May 4  Watsonville, California
Watsonville Bonsai Club: 34th Annual Bonsai Show at the Watsonville Buddhist Temple, 423 Bridge St.  Show hours are 10AM-4PM.  Demonstration at 2PM by Katsumi Kinoshita from Monterey.  Raffle and plant sales. Plenty of bus parking for groups.  For more information call, Don White (831) 724-9283, or Iwao Yamashita (831) 724-5332.

More Events
(from Golden State Bonsai Federation)

April 18, 2008 MEETING
7PM- 9:30PM Demonstration and Workshop
Sandy Planting and Jerry Carpenter will be discuss and show display and accessory plant techniques for the upcoming April show. Stands, scrolls, and supplies will be available for pick up for your settings. All those intending to show trees should be at this meeting.

NO Show and Tell this month.

Refreshments for April will be provided by: Bob Jensen and Callie Jerman. If you cannot make it please be sure to call for a replacement.

News
Dues Now Due
Hard to believe but another year has gone by and our membership dues are up for renewal. We hope you all choose to continue with us and bring a check to John or Helen valued at $25 for a Single and $35 for Couple. Name badges and club pins are available from Helen as well.

Important Notices:
Ed Poggensee, past President and long time member of our club has been hospitalized recently battling Leukemia. Our thoughts, prayers, and energy are with him wishing a speedy stable manageable condition.

It is with regrets we announce the passing of Sam Iki, husband of Jane Iki a few weeks ago. He will be greatly missed and we offer our support to Jane as she struggles with her loss.

Board Notice: The August outing this year will be a day at the Golden State Bonsai Northern Collection, as a work day for the collection. Many clubs go as a group to the collection to work in the collection doing grounds work, weeding trees, and general maintenance as needed. Kusamura will give its August meeting for this purpose. For those of you who have never been there or not recently at least, this will be a great occasion to see a crown jewel of the north bay area and get a feel for volunteering at the garden.

Officers: We need a few good folks!
This time of year the Nomination Committee chaired by Bill Scott, assisted by Barbara Murray, and Janet Refvem will be approaching members of the organization to server on the board for two year terms. This year we will see a change in our leadership as John Planting and Lonnie McCormick leave office after serving a wonderful two years as President and Vice President respectively.

We are also looking for a new Treasurer this year as Helen Reist will assist but we need the position filled.

This is a great way to serve the club, grow the organization, and your chance to plan programs for the coming year.

Tree of the Month

Tosh’s Oak at the Northern Collection. Repotted a few weeks ago by J. Carpenter and K. Shaner. Tree root area was severely reworked to remove hardwood and allow more room for root development. The tree is a Kusamura donated tree developed by one of our founders and kept by the Plantings for many years.
 

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