Bonsai Learning Center's

2007

Summertime Picnic &     Open House

June 15 - 16 - 17

The Bonsai Learning Center's 2007 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 Jim Doyle and Mike Hansen, hard at work doing their thing, plus exclusive photos of the BLC's second (and we hope annual)  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. 

The "hostess with the mostest."   And it was written that there should be a great gushing of lemonade and peached tea... and yea verily, there was a great gushing of lemonade and peached tea.  Also copious quantities of hot dogs, baked beans, chips, dips, cookies and a special Open House chocolate cake which we will tell you about later.  All this was brought to you by Randy's hard working spouse, Nancy, pictured here.  Thanks Nancy.  Ice cold drinks and sizzling hot dogs on an even more sizzling weekend were just what we needed. 

In The Beginning

Actually Open House got started a couple of weeks earlier with several of the Bonsai Learning Centers students and friends helping us to get the place spruced up.  At left Rusty Harris and Justin Nash work on getting the backgrounds in place for the student exhibition area.

 Below: Gene Martin and Chris Jenkins also spent a lot of time helping us get ready for the big weekend.  Here they can be seen covering benches in the shade house with burlap on which the student exhibition trees were to be displayed.  We think we got a shot of them from their best angle... don't you?

Randolph Lewis was one of the participants in Jim Doyle's  Black Pine Workshop, but he showed up a day early to help us pull weeds in the garden and trim back some the the wisteria which was threatening to eat the garden.  Thanks Randolph!  We certainly appreciated you assistance.  

Day One - Friday

An all day workshop on Japanese black pines with Jim Doyle

Friday, June 15 featured a closed workshop for nine lucky bonsai student with Jim Doyle.  The subject for this workshop was Japanese black pine and we were able to supply some dandy ones that Jim and Randy hand picked especially for this event when they were visiting Brussels Bonsai Nursery in Mississippi early in January.  Jim can be seen here working with Chip Griffin from South Carolina.  Jim looks fairly confident that the branch won't break.... but, judging from his expression, we not sure Chip shares that sentiment.   

At left:  Sage Smith came down from the North Carolina mountains to participate in Jim's workshop.  He can be seen here doing a little detail pruning on his pine while Jim tries to find just the right size diameter of wire. 

Pictured below: Allen Rushing drove all the way in from the Knoxville/ Johnson City, Tennessee area for a chance to work with Jim on black pine.  Allen is kind of a quiet guy... but the bonsai he and Jim made together made quite a statement.  Thanks for coming Allen.  We know it was quite a drive and we hope you felt it was worthwhile.  

Another mountain man, John Cook, works on his black pine on Friday, while workshop participant Billy McClain takes a close look at John's tree just to make sure he is getting it right. John and Billy were also participants in the student exhibition during the weekend.   

Dennis VanReener from the Augusta, Georgia area can be seen at left and Randolph Lewis from Charlotte, below working on their pines.  The trees selected for the workshop were of the mikawa variety which develop thicker trunks and more interesting bark more quickly than do regular black pines. 

Man does not live by bonsai alone.  Occasionally one must stop for food and drink.  In the case of the Friday workshop it was a gourmet luncheon of turkey and fish tacos with avacado bean salad, chips and dip prepared by that well known chef d'cusine Emeril laRandy.  Billy McClain (at left) doesn't look like he is having any problem choking it down and neither does Chip... Although in Chip's case is doesn't mean you have to stop shopping for bonsai just because you eating. 

Day Two - Saturday

Free Demonstrations By Jim Doyle And Mike Hansen

Well... the garden looks pretty good.  The tent didn't blow over last night, so the hot dogs and chips will stay dry if it rains... I guess we can open the doors and let the people in. 

This is a view from the Japanese Garden of some of the people gathered to see Mike Hansen's demonstration which began at 10 a.m. on Saturday. We were lucky this year to have a speaker system so that demonstrators could be miked and heard clearly by visitors.  The sound system also played "appropriate" music when not in use by the demonstrators.  A special "thank you"  goes out to our friend and student Jack Waligora from Statesville for providing us with the sound system.  

Mike Hansen is the owner of Midwest Bonsai Studio near Austin, Texas.  He is a past president of Bonsai Clubs International and a current board member with the American Bonsai Society.  Mike was passing through Charlotte on his way to an ABS convention the following week in Virginia Beach... so we drafted his services for the open house.  Mike's nursery in Texas is much larger than the BLC and keeps him quite busy.  He has been involved in the art of bonsai for more than 30 years and is both an accomplished artist and a knowledgeable horticulturist.  We were lucky to nab him at the last minute for our open house.  Mike can be seen here styling a 3 gallon Shimpaku juniper into a literati style bonsai. 

At 1 p.m. our longtime friend and noted bonsai artist, Jim Doyle took the state for his demo.  Jim is the owner of Nature's Way Bonsai Nursery near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and has been our guest artist at past open houses.  Jim has been teaching and practicing the art of bonsai for more than three decades and has traveled extensively throughout the United States and in Europe as a guest artist and speaker.  His mild mannered and respectful approach to the art is offset by his bold and innovative styling techniques.  It is always a pleasure to have him with us.  Jim styled a Japanese Five Needle White pine on Saturday afternoon, but for some reason we failed to get a shot of him doing so.  This photo shows Jim working on his Sunday demo material. 

While Mike did his demo on Saturday morning, Jim Doyle got the job of judging the trees entered in the Invitational Exhibition.  Jim is assisted here by show chairman, Rusty Harris.  This is the second year that the BLC has sponsored an exhibition of bonsai designed to showcase the work of our students.  We've got more photos of the trees entered in the show along with shots of the three which Jim liked the most.  Just keep scrolling down. 

One of the highlights of the weekend (for Randy at least) was a special sheet cake with the BLC logo on it.  Most of those attending the weekend festivities were here for the bonsai.... but Randy was in it for the CAKE.  Chocolate with butter cream icing no less and there wasn't much left when the last guest departed late Sunday afternoon. In this photo, our "hostess with the mostest" Nancy and guest artist, Jim Doyle get ready to help Randy make the first cut.  By Sunday afternoon, most people who had a slice had cut their piece from around the logo and left it intact.  Randy though that was very respectful of them. 

In honor of our visiting artist, Randy displayed one of his Japanese Black pines in the tokonoma inside the studio building.  The accent plant is an alpine dandelion which was a gift from John Cook and the container the tree is planted in was made by Ohio potter Bob Galick.  Randy tells us the tree is more than 800 years old and that he grew it from a seed. 

Good friend are what these events are really about, and our good friends Bob and Jan Wymer visited with us on Saturday.  Janice even found a few weeds that we missed in our plantings and volunteered to pluck them out for us.  Thank's Jan.  We definitely need all the help we can get. 

One of the more popular features at each year's open house is this fountain which was made in China.  The rock is made of "Ying Tak," a kind of stone that is only found in the southern mountain regions of China.  Not only does it bubble a steady stream of water, but it also "smokes."  The fountain is always able to delight the children. 

Day Three - Sunday

More Fun And Food And Another Demonstration By Jim Doyle

Well... its two days now and the garden is still looking pretty good.  The tent is still up.  The water feature hasn't started growing slime and bugs yet and it looks like it is not going to rain today either.  What the heck... Get out the hot dogs, open the gates and let 'em in. 

Poor old Mike Hansen didn't have a demo to do on Sunday and he was getting a little "antsy" so we put him to work pruning and wiring a few of the shimpaku's for our upcoming Detail's Workshop schedule for this fall.  That's pretty fancy talent to have doing Randy's job... and the bum didn't even offer to pay him. 

While Randy was running around "schmoozing" with all his bonsai buddies, people like Chris Jenkins, pictured here, were doing all the work.  Chris is a BLC student and volunteered to help us out during open house weekend.  Chris shoveled bark chips, pulled weeds, wrote up customer's orders, and generally did anything that was ask of him with a pleasant smile and a cherrie "Sure... no problem."  We're lucky to have friends like Chris.  Thanks. 

As long as we're speaking of friends, we might as well mention these two no-account gentlemen.  Guest artist, Mike Hansen (left) and Bonsai Society of the Carolina's member, Jim Hanley were taking advantage of a patch of shade near the pot shed when our roving photographer managed to snap this very "candid" photo of them.  

Since Shimpakus seemed to be the order of the day, we put this very special one on display in a makeshift tokonoma outside the Studio near the demo area.  The planting was created from the same type of stock that both Mike and Jim used in their demos.  It was originally styled by Japanese artist, Hiroshi Yamagi at a Charlotte club meeting about five years ago and has been in Randy's care ever since.  But no more... Doyle liked it so much he decided to take it home with him.  Let's hope it likes living in Pennsylvania as much as it did in North Carolina. 

The very reverend James  Doyle began his demonstration on Sunday with the official "Blessing Of The Bonsai."  Well.... not really.  This shot was taken near the end of his demo and he was explaining to onlookers the relationship between height and width in creating a balanced bonsai. Still... he looks like he might have made a good Baptist minister... dontcha think?

You can tell that Jim is  highly skilled and well practiced bonsai artist.  Notice, please, how he always keeps that pinky finger up when smoothing out the details in his wiring job.  Jim's subject for the afternoon was a three gallon Shimpaku juniper which he styled into a multi-trunk windswept style bonsai. 

Another shot of Jim during the demo... this time creating a little jin and shari to give his creation a rugged, wind blown look.  We didn't have a body mike to put on Jim's lapel, so we just wrapped the hand mike with a piece of 7 mm bonsai wire and stapled the whole thing to Jim's chest.  It seemed to work out well.  Very little bleeding too. 

BLC Invitational Student Exhibition II

Our Students And Friends Show Us What They Can Do

The second (and we hope annual) BLC Student Invitational Bonsai Exhibition open to the public officially at noon on Friday.  More than 30 trees were exhibited from Winston Salem; Spruce Pine; China Grove; Wilmington; Charlotte; Statesville; Huntersville and Spartanburg.  The exhibit was staged in the shade house area at the BLC which had been especially prepared for the show.  Rusty Harris served as the show chairman and was assisted by Gene Martin, Chris Jenkins and Justin Nash. 

This is a special saikei planting created by John Cook in Spruce Pine.  The planting contains Cotoneaster, copperii juniper, golden cone chamaecyparis and red star juniper.  John tells us that he based the design of this striking composition on a place in the mountains he has often visited.

This Korean boxwood (Buxus koreana "wintergreen") received the Best In Show Award.  The tree is owned by John Cook of Spruce Pine, NC.  It stands about 14 inches high and is planted into a red tokoname ware container with brown highlights.  John estimates the age of the planting to be about 40 years and has been in training for the past 25 years.  Sorry... but John didn't tell us what the accent planting was... but it's delicate beauty accents the boxwood nicely... and we're willing to bet its a Richard Boggs pot that its planted in.  Congratulation, John.  Good job. 

The first of two Awards Of Merit were given to this Dwarf Hinoki Cypress (Chamaecyperis obtusa "nana")  The planting was created by Anne Chase in Winston Salem and is estimated to be about 14 years old.  It has been in training as bonsai for the past 8 years.  Well developed foliage pads and a gentle curving grace are the most notable aspects of this informal upright style bonsai which is planted into an unglazed, brown tokoname ware container.  It is an exceptional tree in every respect and is proof that good bonsai don't have to be exceptionally old, exceptionally large or exceptionally complicated to be considered a prize winner.  Remember the old Japanese saying, "Less is more."  Well done, Anne!  We might also add that in our opinion the morning light filtering through the screen house roof give this outstanding bonsai just the mood it needs. 

The second Award Of Merit was given to this excellent Japanese maple (Acer palmatum "deshojo") which was exhibited by Billy McClain in Winston Salem.  It is an informal upright style bonsai which stands about 15 inches high and is planted into a white glazed Chinese container.  Billy tells us that the tree is about 15 years old and has been in training as bonsai for the past 10 years.  Deshojo's are the most striking in the spring time when they issue forth with bright red leaves.  This tree, in mid-summer foliage is mostly green, but hints of red on the new growth tips can still be seen.  It is a delicate, feminine  planting and Billy has managed to keep the leaves from becoming too large which enhances its delicate beauty even more.  The accent grass in the small pot adds to the light airy feeling of the composition.  A job well done Mr. McClain.  Cudos to you sir!

After the judging, Jim Doyle took a few minutes to jot down some notes on several of the trees in exhibit, which he later shared with the students.  Jim noted there were several trees in the exhibit which could well have won awards, but that Randy only provided him with three plaques to pass out.  Even so, you did a great job, Jim and we thank you for your time and efforts on the behalf of our students and the BLC. 

One final shot of the exhibit area and one parting thought........... 

 "A friend is someone who will help you move.  A good friend is someone who will help you move a body."  Open house weekend we didn't have any bodies that needed moving.... but we are nonetheless very thankful that we seem to have a lot of good friends.  Heartfelt thanks to all who came, all who saw, all who exhibited trees and all who helped us make the good times roll.  

Good Friends!    Good Times!    Good Bonsai!