Bonsai
Learning Center'sBonsai
Learning Center's
2006
Summertime Picnic & Open House
June 16 - 17 - 18
The Bonsai Learning Center's 2006 Open House is now a pleasant memory, but we did remember to take a few photos of the weekend's activities to share with you. They include our special guest artist's Brussel Martin, Steve Pilacik and Pat Rourke, hard at work doing their thing, plus exclusive photos of the BLC's very first Invitational Bonsai Exhibit. We extend a special thanks to all our students, customers and friends who joined us for the event and extend a special invitation to all of you who could not attend, to plan on joining us at next year's open house.
First
Things First!
Let's begin with a special "Thank You" to our good right arms (You didn't know we had two right arms, did you?) Robbin Skinner and Benny McKinzie gave above and beyond the call of duty, helping to write orders, solve problems, pull weeds, move plants, water trees and much, much, more. If you had a good time this weekend, much of it was due in large part to these two tireless friends of the BLC. Thanks guys... It's nice to know people like you.
Special Guest Artist: Brussel Martin, Memphis, Tennessee
Our special guest artist was Mr. Brussel Martin owner of
Brussel's Bonsai in Olive Branch, Mississippi (a suburb of Memphis, TN).
Brussel has been creating bonsai for more than three decades and has made his
nursery one of the outstanding centers in the world for bonsai. On
Saturday he worked on the Japanese Five Needle White Pine pictured at left.
Below you can see the results of the styling session two hours later. The
tree will be transplanted next spring.
At left, some of the Open House visitors enjoying Brussel's demonstration on Saturday afternoon.
Brussel didn't get off easy with one demo... he also worked on this Shimpaku juniper on Sunday afternoon. Our photographer took this special "deer caught in the headlights" expression as he began work on the juniper. The juniper was an old specimen with lots of dead wood and lots of growth going in the wrong direction. Still, Brussel felt he could make something interesting of it. The final results two hours later can be seen in the photo at right above. What do you think?
At left: Brussel is still struggling with
the task of getting the branches in the right place.
Special Guest Artist Number Two: Steve Pilacik
Another
honored guest was Mr. Steve Pilacik owner of Matsu Momiji Bonsai Nursery in the
Raleigh/Durham area. Steve not only was the "opening act" at 10
a.m. on Saturday morning when he presented a program on Japanese Black Pine (His
special area of expertise), but he also served as our resident bonsai guru on
Sunday and set up in the shade of an old oak tree to answer visitors
questions.
(Steve also took the time to de-candled and needle plucked several of Randy's black pines... Which don't mean much to you... but for which, Randy is very, very, grateful.) Randy and Steve have known each other for more than two decades and always enjoy making bonsai together.
Special Guest Artist Number Three: Pat Rourke, Ikebana International in Charlotte
Pat
Rourke of Charlotte is a past president and current program chairman for the
Charlotte chapter of Ikebana International. The Japanese art of flower
arranging known as Ikebana is even older than bonsai and has an extraordinary
number of similarities to bonsai. Concepts such as: negative space, linear
movement, triangulation, primary, secondary and tertiary placement are basic
elements both in the art of Ikebana and bonsai. Pat is an accredited
instructor and was kind enough to present a program for us on Sunday
morning. Thanks, Pat... we learned a lot.
At
left and below are photos of the Ikebana compositions which Pat created for us
on Sunday morning. Just as in bonsai, the selection of an understated and
yet striking container is critical to the total effect of the composition.
Ikebana is an art that any true student of bonsai would do well to learn a
little more about.
2006 Bonsai Learning Center
Invitational Bonsai Exposition
This year, for the first time, the BLC sponsored an Invitational Bonsai Exhibition. The purpose of the exhibit was to showcase the works of BLC students over the past decade. The response from our students was resounding. We were extremely proud to display more than 30 bonsai which included the works of students from High Point, Winston-Salem, Spruce Pine, Spartanburg, and throughout the Carolinas as well as the Charlotte metro area. A special thanks goes out to students, Rusty Harris, Gene Martin and Jack Waligora who took on the task of setting up, maintaining and tearing down the exhibit. Another vote of thanks goes to all the students who made one of the BLC's dreams come true by participating in the show.
A poster at the entrance announced the show's purpose to all who entered. We used the north shade house as the location to stage the show so that all trees could look their best in cool comfort and visitors could admire them in the same shady location.
An American Hornbeam grouping by Kitty Craig can be seen in the upper left of this photo. Note the whimsical accent plant which accompanies it at the right. Also in this photo is a Japanese dissectum maple by Jack Waligora on the right and a Brazilian Rain Tree by Billy McClain of Winston-Salem in the bottom center.
Our guest artist, Mr. Brussel Martin, (pictured above) is the owner of Brussel's Bonsai in Olive Branch, Mississippi and was kind enough to judge the trees on exhibit. It was a tough job. There were a number of excellent entries such as this Informal Upright Japanese Garden Juniper pictured at right which was entered by Billy McClain in Winston Salem.
Three bonsai entered by newer students included these two Kingsville boxwoods and the windswept style juniper in the center. Brussel awarded the Best In Show prize to the Japanese Cork Bark Maple (arakawa) pictured at right. The tree was designed by John Dixon. John is president of the Bonsai Society of the Carolinas here in Charlotte. Congrats John! A job well done.
A grove of Japanese maples owned by Dan O'Neil in Greenville/Spartanburg can be seen in the center of the photo above. At right: A Chinese Elm created by John Cook from Spruce Pine, NC received an Honorable Mention from the judge. Nice going John!
Britt Johnson and sister Carmen can be seen enjoying the exhibit on Sunday afternoon. Britt also brought two of his bonsai to show in the exhibit, a cascade Japanese Garden Juniper and a Kingsville boxwood. Only two Honorable Mention awards were given and the winner of the second award was Benny McKinzie. He can be seen in the photo at right posing alongside his winning Japanese "mikawa" black pine along with Sidney, his granddaughter. Sidney was very proud of grandpa... as were we all. Nice going Macky!
Photo above: Top row: left to right: A Shimpaku juniper by Martin Sweeney, Waxhaw, NC; A Firethorn, Keith Safrit, China Grove, NC; A Japanese White Pine, John Dixon, Charlotte. Bottom row: A Japanese maple informal upright by Frank Camp (Note: Mr. and Mrs. Camp can be seen posing with their maple in the photo at right) and a cascade style Japanese Garden Juniper by Britt Johnson, High Point. NC.
Table: top left: A Japanese Five Needle White Pine in the informal upright style entered by Billy McClain in Winston-Salem. top right: A Kingsville boxwood entered by Frank Camp in Huntersville. Bottom left: A Brazilian Rain Tree entered by David Ozbun in Charlotte. The corner section of the shade house was used to display a large domestic White Pine (Pinus strobus) created in the semicascade style by John Cook in Spruce Pine, NC. John used one of his many excellent suiseki stones as an accent for his creation. Nice job everyone.
Dan O'Neal from Greenville/Spartanburg placed three forest in exhibit. The charming grove pictured above is a composition using Japanese Maple's. In the photo at right, a forest of Trident Maples created by Erwin Holbein from Spartanburg, SC, was one of the larger and more impressive entries. We're not sure, but it may be the one he did in our Trident forest class several years ago. A good job by both Erwin and Dan.
A Few More Parting Shots
Ken Baxter, Robbin Skinner and Bob Wymer look like they are having a good time. Special deals for the day included discounts on virtually everything the Bonsai Learning Center had to sell.... some as much as fifty percent.
Randy displayed this Green Atlas Cedar (Cedrus atlantacia) in the BLC's tokonoma in honor of our guest artists. The tree is one of Randy's original bonsai (all the other are dead and gone) and was created more than 30 years ago.
If you were hungry, the Open House was the place to be. Nancy Harris worked hard to keep visitors well supplied with hot dogs, chips, baked beans, cold slaw and lemonade. She also provided bagels, cream cheese, coffee and danish for our morning visitors, and Chocolate chip cookies, carrot cake, and peach pie for those with a sweet tooth. Yum Yum ! Nice job Nancy.
One of Nancy's planting beds all spruced up for the Open House. A Wisteria and a Satsuki azalea can be seen in the background.
We also had a large number of accent plantings and kusomono bonsai for purchase at this year's open house. Here are just a few of them... along with Randy's favorite crab apple.
The Chinese style garden table inside the shade house proved to be a great place for visitors to have lunch and get away from the hot North Carolina sunshine.
Several water features have been added to the garden at the Bonsai Learning Center over the past two years. This is Nancy's favorite. It is a shrine to a concrete cat which she had Randy haul all the way from the Philadelphia Flower Show two years ago. Looking pretty good, don't you think?
Last... But Certainly Not Least.
One of the real reasons the open house was the success it was is because of the long suffering individual at right. It has been said that behind every successful man stands a women. (Usually telling him to get off his butt and get back to work.) In this case that woman is Nancy Harris, wife of BLC's owner, Randy Clark. Not only is she adept at keeping us up and moving... she fills in a tremendous amount of the work herself. All the planting beds and garden features you liked, and all the food and drink you put in you mouth was all due to Nancy. She can be seen in this photo, still pulling weeds out of Randy's bonsai even as the Open House begins. How could we get along without her? We have no idea... and frankly, would not really like to try. Thanks Luv... I owe ya big time... but you already knew that didn't you.