Literati Style of Bonsai with Harvey Carapella

B
February 2015
Volume 44 Number 2
illboard
Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York
February Meeting
Literati Style of Bonsai
with Harvey Carapella
O
ur February meeting will feature Harvey
Carapella who will be talking about the
Literati style of bonsai. Harvey will discuss
this unique style and demonstrate on a Dwarf
Garden Juniper (Evergreen) that was donated
to the club by Rick Marriott . He will also
have two other smaller trees that will have
been made up a head of time by Harvey for additional Literati examples. One is
an American Larch (Deciduous Conifer) and the other is an Elm tree
(Deciduous). All three will be raffled off at the end of the demonstration,
winners choice. There will be a handout relating to the topic.
Harvey Carapella:
Literati Style of Bonsai
Brighton Town Lodge at Buckland Park
1341 Westfall Road, Rochester, New York
near corner of Westfall and Clinton
Billboard is brought to you by:
PRESIDENT:
Harvey Carapella,
President@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
CO-EDITORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Tom Friday & Irma Abu-Jumah
Harvey will be trying something a little different;
the demo will be set-up in the middle of the lodge
with everyone sitting around him.
The Literati style has its emphasis on trunk line
and movement. It is characterized with a few
branches at the top of a long, visually pleasing,
twisted trunk. The unglazed pots used for this style
are usually small, round and shallow to balance
the meager foliage. This style is inspired by the
paintings of pine trees that grew in harsh climates,
struggling to reach the light of the sun in their
rocky surroundings. The idea is to demonstrate that
the tree really has to make a great effort to survive.
Next Meeting:
Tuesday, February 24, 7:00 pm
Billboard@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
CONTRIBUTORS:
Mark Arpag, William N. Valavanis
Award winning Japanese
Red Pine by Will Hebert
Save the date and don’t miss this
informative meeting!
A Little About Harvey: Harvey Carapella is a retired
graphic designer and a former assistant professor at
the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the current
and a past president of our society. For over thirtyfive years he has worked to apply his knowledge of
design to the art of bonsai, and has made presentations
to several bonsai clubs, and at symposiums, and
conferences. He has also won the award for best
deciduous tree at the 2nd U.S. National Bonsai
Exhibition for his Japanese Maple.
2015 PROGRAMS

Mar. 24: Bill Valavanis, Hinoki
Cypress Demo & Workshop at
meeting

Apr. 28: Kathy Shaner (CA) Azaleas
& BYOT workshop

May 12: Bjorn Bjorholm (Japan)

May 16-17: BSUNY Spring Show/
Demos

June 23: BSUNY Picnic/Auction/
Sale

TBD: Bus trip to Montreal, Canada

Aug. 25: Open Bonsai Workshop
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
2
No lower branches? Make
it a Literati Style Bonsai
T
ypically lower branches are
highly valued when making
a bonsai tree. However, there is
a style that is available that
works perfectly with trees that
aren’t lucky enough to have
strong lower branches or thick
trunk calipers.
The Literati style makes use of
higher branches and thinner
trunk calipers. To begin creating
a Literati style tree, study the tree to find where the branch
structure is the best utilized. Ensure that the front of the
tree bows toward you while still exposing the movement
of the trunk. Tilt the tree on blocks for a better view of the
movement or in order to have the tree bow toward you.
Arranging the branches on a Literati style tree is also
different from traditional forms of Bonsai. Literati style
trees make use of lengthy long branches that drape down
elegantly around the trunk. Arrange the branches to
accentuate the flow of the branches. The overall design
should be soft and gentle.
When choosing a Bonsai tree pot for your Literati style
tree, choose a pot that is round as Literati style trees are
always placed in round pots to further emphasize the soft
gentle flowing nature of the tree.
The Literati style can be applied
to most types of Bonsai tree
species. So next time you have a
tree that doesn’t have the desired
lower branches, take a closer
look to see if you might be able
to make it Literati Style tree.
http://www.easternleaf.com
Pictures: Joe Noga, trees from BSUNY
members at the 2014 Spring Exhibition
and Sale
Flower
& Garden
Showcase
The society would like to
thank Nick Montanaro
for the job he has done
over the past five years as
our Librarian. It has been a
tremendous undertaking
but went smoothly and
efficiently! Nick was able
to catalog most of the
books and videos, and with
the help of Irma Abu-Jumah, our webmaster, put
them online at our society website. He also helped
setup an email method to request library items. We
all appreciate your activities.
We also welcome Joe Lentner as our new Librarian.
He too has some great ideas and plans to further
improve and add to what Nick started. Please tell
them how much you
appreciate their efforts on
our behalf. We wouldn’t
be the great bonsai society
that we are if it wasn’t for
the work of members like
Nick and Joe.
Thank You, Thank You!
Officer Election Reminder
Last Chance
At the March meeting we will be electing our society
officers. During the business meeting, the candidates
for the offices will be presented and voted on. If anyone
has any nominations give one of the nominating
committee a call and let them know. Just make sure
the person you are nominating knows about it before
you call.
Nominating Committee:
Joe Galley, Chair, 334-9472;
Rick Marriott, 247-3401
and Will Hebert, 413-0346
T
he Garden Factory will be having its Fourth Annual Flower & Garden Showcase on March 28-29,
2015, 10:00am—4:00pm. BSUNY has been asked to participate and provide advice and answer
questions on the art of bonsai. The society will have a combined display of bonsai trees with the
International Bonsai Arboretum for people to look at.
It's going to be like last year with no formal bonsai programs, but they would like to have us
demonstrate in our booth. The event is FREE and open to the public! We will need member trees for
the society display. If you have a tree or trees for our society display please contact Bill Valavanis at
334-2595. Please contact Bob Pfromm to schedule your time to help during the show.
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
3
O
January Meeting Highlights
ur January meeting featured a presentation by Ryan Bell on the classification,
history, and identification of Japanese made bonsai containers. He also brought
many pots as examples.
Ryan talked extensively about his goal is to encourage appreciation of the art of
bonsai pottery through accurate information, images, and history. Ryan realized
there truly was a lack of information available on Bonsai containers, so he set out to
rectify that situation through a Seal and Signature database and website with pottery
artist profiles and biographies. Lots of outstanding information. To learn more
about Japanese pottery visit his blog at Http://JapaneseBonsaiPots.net
After the presentation there was a question and answer period. Ryan provided a very
nice Tokoname quality Japanese pot for the raffle. It was won by Bill Valavanis.
Three bundles of
bonsai books and
magazines were won
by Joe Galley, Joe
Schueckler, And Ron
Maggio. The Society
appreciates everyone
who purchased tickets
for the raffle.
Many thanks Ryan
for your interesting
and very informative
presentation!
Reminder about workshop after the MARCH meeting!
The workshop with Bill Valavanis is FREE but the participants must pay for the very fine Dwarf
Hinoki Cypress tree. Tree cost for this workshop is $75 payable to the society. Trees to be selected in
order of reservations and payment received. Register
early and be certain to be at meeting ON TIME if you
want to select your tree in order of payment receipt.
Bring your own tools and wire, no repotting. Members
not participating in the workshop are welcome to
observe. There is a limited number of openings and
trees available so register and pay early to avoid
disappointment. Sign up by contacting Ron Maggio at
treasurer@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org or calling
him at: (585) 872-0382 .
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
4
"Local Members Do Good"
The past year has been a good one for some of our BSUNY members. They have been
recognized for their talents in the art of bonsai, not only here at home but also in Japan.
34th Nippon Taikan Bonsai Exhibition
W
hile at the 34th Nippon Taikan Bonsai Exhibition in Japan last November, Bill Valavanis happen to notice
photos of trees being assembled for a special exhibit. The photos were recognized but he wondered where they
got them. So Bill asked and was told that Toru Suzuki asked for photos for a special World Bonsai Corner photo
display. Then he remembered that he did send the photos months ago. In the photos below are pictures of trees by
Harvey Carapella, Mark Arpag, Ron Maggio, and William Valavanis.
Photos of bonsai by members of the Bonsai Society of Upstate New York displayed at
The 34th Nippon Taikan Bonsai Exhibition in November 2014
Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo 2014
J
oe Noga also received the First Place “Best Fruiting Bonsai” Award at the Winter
Silhouette Bonsai Expo 2014 for his Princess Persimmon bonsai. The show
took place at the North Carolina Research Campus, near Charlotte, North Carolina.
Joe also took pictures of each of the trees in the Expo to capture the beauty of
each bonsai in formal portrait photographs.
Nashville Tennessee Bonsai Society Regional Show 2014
H
ere at home at the Nashville Tennessee
Bonsai Society Regional Expo 2014,
at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens, two of
our members were able to take home
awards for their display and tree. Joe
Noga won “Best Shohin” award for his
great display. William Valavanis was able
to take home the “Professional Award”
for his Koto Hime Japanese Maple.
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
5
World Shohin Photo Award 2015
O
n the 40th anniversary of the Gafu Ten, Japanese Shohin Association organized the
World Shohin Photo Award 2015. Selected photos (one per participant), whether
individual or exhibit trees were on display at the
exhibition. This was the first time the Gafu show
opened up a separate competition for the rest of the
world to enter. All the entries were on one huge wall
next to the main exhibits, with the blown up picture
and name card. Photos of a Japanese Maple by Mark
Arpag, and a shohin display by William Valavanis
were accepted in this competition. A great honor for
both of our members.
4th US National Bonsai Exhibition 2014
L
astly but not least, we must commend Mark Arpag for winning
the ‘Bonsai Travel Award’ for Finest
Bonsai & Companion Combination at
the 4th US National Bonsai Exhibition
2014 held here in Rochester, NY. THE
most important Bonsai Exhibition in
the USA. Great looking presentation
Mark.
Highlights of the 4th US National Bonsai Exhibition 2014
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org