Ryan Bell: Japanese Bonsai Pottery

B
January 2015
Volume 44 Number 1
illboard
Newsletter of The Bonsai Society of Upstate New York
Ryan Bell:
Japanese Bonsai Pottery
A
t our next meeting Ryan Bell from Jackson,
MS, will give a PowerPoint presentation
on the classification, history, and identification
of Japanese made bonsai containers. He is
bringing pots as examples. After the presentation
there will be a question and answer period for
as long as it takes to get to everyone. Ryan
will identify and appraise member's containers, and also bring your trees to
discuss container selection. A Tokoname quality pot donated by Ryan will be
raffled at meeting end. You will not want to miss Ryan’s very informative talk
and see some of his pots.
Come and find out all about Japanese bonsai containers!
NEXT MEETING
Tuesday
January 27, 2015 at 7:00 pm
Ryan Bell:
Japanese Bonsai Pottery
Brighton Town Lodge at Buckland Park.
1341 Westfall Road, Rochester, New York
14618 - near corner of Westfall and Clinton.
Billboard is brought to you by:
PRESIDENT:
Harvey Carapella,
President@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
CO-EDITORS & PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Ryan has been collecting Japanese Bonsai
pots since 2009, and has an extensive
collection. He feels that the famous pot
artists and some of the lesser known but
great Japanese pot artists could do with
more exposure. 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 artist profiles
and biographies. Lots of great information.
To learn more about Ryan, visit his blog at
Http://JapaneseBonsaiPots.net/
Tom Friday & Irma Abu-Jumah
Billboard@bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
CONTRIBUTORS:
Mark Arpag, William N. Valavanis
Officer Election Soon
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
 Will Hebert, 413-0346
Visit
our
Society
website
Collection of Takemoto pots
Bonsai pot seals on
bottom of Japanese
containers
Click on the
link below
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
2
Holiday Party Highlights
O
ur annual Holiday Party was another enormous success. Over forty members attended and enjoyed the
large variety of very scrumptious goodies, deserts and beverages. After the munching and eating the
next event was the showing of photos by Bill Valavanis photos from his recent multiple trips to Japan
(Satsuki Bonsai Tour, and Kokufu & Sakufu Bonsai Exhibitions); to Indonesia (International Bonsai Art &
Culture Biennial), and from his trip to China (National Penjing Exhibition).
Thanks Bill for your great photos, interesting comments and information
on the places you have visited this year!
After a brief break for some more great goodies, Harvey Carapella, started our annual Mystery Auction.
Glenn Morton took bids on the wrapped and donated items. These included: books, magazines, bonsai
pots, wine, calendars, bonsai trees, plants, and lots of other great items. As usual our generous members
donated some really wonderful items. The Holiday Mystery Auction is one of our income producing
activities each year. The funds raised will be used to bring superior, educational programs to our members.
A great big thank you to all our members who brought in goodies, items for the auction, and to those who
bid and were lucky to get a special item. Thanks also go to Rick Marriott for another great job with
the refreshments setup.
Many thanks to Glenn our auctioneer, and to Harvey, his assistant, for making the auction a success.
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org
3
Winter Workload
The Positives and
Negatives of Moss
Colin Lewis
December / January
ranted, there are times
when the phrase "grip
of wi nt er " bec o mes
painfully apt.
The cold and the sheer
volume of snow controls
every aspect of life and you
are less concerned with
bonsai than you are with
making sure all four wheels
are going in the same
direction! But when the fire's burning, the shoveling is
over, and the power has come back on... it's time to
dream, time to get creative. It's time to drag that weird
stump inside and get to know it better, let your
imagination run wild for a while. Next thing you know
you'll be reaching for your carving tools and having a
ball! And now you're into carving, you might as well
take a look and see what else you have to work on.
What better time to study our developing deciduous trees
and plan their structure than winter? And there's no better
time to appreciate established deciduous bonsai either,
winter is when their true beauty shines. Now is the ideal
time - the only time, really - to prune deciduous species,
whether for initial structure, branch development or
refinement of established bonsai.
Message from our President
Hi To All,
I would like to thank everyone for continuing
to support the club, especially at the Holiday
meeting and auction last month. You all
helped to make it a great success. A special
thanks for: coming, donating, bidding,
bringing treats and helping cleanup.
All proceeds from the auction go into the
society treasury so that we can continue to
bring world class speakers to our meetings to
increase our knowledge of the great art of
Bonsai.
Hope you and your families had a great
Holiday Season.
Harvey
M
oss is beautiful giving a bonsai a finished look.
With the summer heat and dry spells that moss
could actually “finish” your bonsai. Bonsai that are
planted high on a hill in the container, Planted on a rock,
in a rock or on a slab are
always difficult to water. If
the surface of the soil is
completely covered with
moss almost all the water
from your watering will be
shed off not into the soil.
Even if your bonsai is in a flat container if the surface is
covered with moss the water will move to the edge of the
container and down
leaving most of the
interior of the soil
dryer than the
edges. Some moss,
mostly the velvet
type, does not block as much water as the moss type that
tends to have runners and grown up the side of pots and
on the roots and trunks of the bonsai.
When you put moss on a
bonsai you should remove
most of the original soil.
Moss loves dense soil that
holds moisture. This dense
soil blocks water flow.
Now is the time to check
all your bonsai. No bonsai need moss covering all the
soil. Remove moss to the bonsai soil level in places all
over the container surface to allow water to soak in. It
wouldn’t hurt to take a chop stick and probe the soil a bit
to encourage water flow.
SOUTHERN BONSAIST, May 2007, Volume 26, Issue 5, Page 2
2015 Programs
G
Joe Day

Feb. 24: Harvey Carapella, Literati Style Bonsai

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
4
The Art of Bonsai
by Kora E. Dalager, San Diego Bonsai Club
B
onsai have become enormously popular throughout the world in the last ten
years, and yet, the art of bonsai is very little understood. Even the word bonsai
is commonly mispronounced. The first syllable should be pronounced as in bone, the
second syllable as in sigh.
Bonsai, meaning tree in a pot or tray in Japanese, is an art form which has evolved
over 4000 years. We have pictorial records from ancient Egypt and know that
Hindus grew trees in pots (mainly for medicinal purposes) and that in China the
rudiments of bonsai go as far back as 2000 BC.
The name bonsai is said to have been coined in
Japan in the early 19th century when a group of
Japanese and Chinese scholars met to discuss the
latest styles of "artistic potted trees"- as bonsai was known until then.
Bonsai was most likely introduced to Japan coincident with Buddhism around the
6th century A.D. The idea of miniaturizing trees probably came from observing
trees growing in rugged mountain areas, where they are subject to adverse
conditions and very limited soil for root development.
A tree becomes a bonsai by applying a variety
of horticultural techniques to "miniaturize" the
plant. By growing a tree in a pot, we restrict the
root growth. When we limit the root growth we also restrict the size a plant will
reach, as root and crown are usually about the same size in nature. We also reduce
the size of a tree by frequent pruning and pinching back of new growth. Contrary
to popular belief, bonsai are not tortured trees. With adequate water, fertilizer and
proper growing conditions, such as the amount of sun, temperature, bonsais grow
well within the small amount of space in the container.
Trees are shaped by wiring the branches and
pruning and carving the trunk and dead
branches. Some of the most popular styles of
bonsai include formal upright, informal upright slanting, windswept, literati and
group plantings. Bonsai are also classified according to size, ranging from about 4
feet all the way down to microscopic or "poppy seed" size.
The most often asked question about a bonsai is: "How old is this tree?" The age of
a bonsai is not important and bears very little relationship to the value of a tree. A
tree should look old, but need not be old to be prized for its beauty. In Japan
however, many bonsai have been handed down from generation to generation.
Bonsai potters look for a pleasing
relationship between container and tree. Though most bonsai pots come
from either Japan or China, but there are now a number of potters in
America and all over the world, who make beautiful bonsai pots.
In general, bonsai must be kept outdoors and are brought indoors only for
display. There are a few species that can be successfully grown indoors.
Also not all species grow in all climates; some trees need a mild frost to
thrive while others cannot tolerate temperatures below 50°F.
Enjoy the Art of Bonsai!
http://www.bonsaisocietyofupstateny.org