LAST MONTH'S MEETING: Keith Scott spent the evening critiquing member's trees, and where there ever a lot of them! Everyone enjoyed the informal atmosphere and learned a lot about how to improve on good trees to make them great. Thanks, Keith, for an informative evening!
THIS MONTH'S MEETING: The November meeting will be held on FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14 at the Pittsburgh Civic Garden Center. (Note the Friday evening date. No problems parking on Fridays!) The meeting will begin at 7:00 and after the business meeting, Shane Carey from Brussels Bonsai Nursery will be doing a lecture-demonstration using a Ponderosa Pine. On Saturday, November 15 from 9-12, Shane will be mentoring a styling workshop. The cost for the workshop is $25.00. Participants must bring their own material and tools. If you missed Guy Guidry in September, don't let this opportunity to learn from one of the best in the business slip away again. (Speaking of Guy, raffle tickets for the boulevard cypress that Guy styled at the September will be on sale. The drawing will be held at the December party.)
SPOTLIGHT TREES: Bring along your trees decked out in their fall colors (if they still have leaves left next week).
NEXT MONTH'S MEETING: On Monday, December 15, the Bonsai Society will be hosting it's annual Holiday Party. Barbara Nagy has been working very hard to provide us with a wonderful meal and great decorations. Please call Barbara at 220-8724 to RSVP. Barbara may need some volunteers to help or to provide desserts, so you can let her know what you're willing to do when you call her.
NOMINATIONS FOR 1998 OFFICERS
The slate of officers for 1998 has been prepared by the Nominating Committee. Unfortunately, the member who volunteered to be Corresponding Secretary has had to decline the nomination due to an impending out-of-state move. Soooo, if you've always wanted to edit a newsletter, here's your chance. It's not hard, and the commitment is only about 6 hours/month (usually one evening), and I will be more than happy to get you started. If you're interested, call Evelyn Christie at 224-9280.
The nominations are as follows:
PRESIDENT Fred Bruckman
VICE PRESIDENT Herb Geissler
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY tba
RECORDING SECRETARY Linda Veltri
TREASURER Ralph Dukstein
Winter Doldrums? It's kind of sad to put your trees away for the winter. Even though they may be dormant, your interest is not. There are a few things you can do over the winter to prepare for the next growing season. One thing you can do is wire trees. In fact, as long as it is warm enough to work, and the tree is not frozen, it is easier to wire trees when the leaves are off and they don't have new buds to worry about. Don't bring hardy trees inside, though, because they can theoretically suffer from breaking dormancy. Heavy pruning can also be done during dormancy; I prefer late February. Don't prune before dormancy because the trees are still storing energy from the branches. Don't wait until the buds swell either, because the tree will need all its energy to bud and grow instead of dealing with wounds. If it gets too late, wait until the new leaves have matured. This is also a good time to study your trees and pictures of bonsai you admire. Reflect on the styles you have created and try to see them with new eyes. Clear your mind, shut out all the "rules" and the words that come to mind and just try to get visual impressions of the trees and how they might look better, more exciting, exotic, majestic or peaceful. Only then think about how to accomplish the change. Most often, our mindset about how to "do" bonsai and our concern about mastering techniques get in the way of appreciating the picture the tree is trying to get across to us and the story it is telling. Bonsai is, after all, a contemplative art.