The Gulf Coast Bonsai Foundation is continuing its
membership drive, with a focus on preserving legacy specimen bonsai for the
next generation. This will begin with a permanent public bonsai exhibit at the
Burden Museum and Gardens, 4560 Essen Lane, Baton Rouge, for which members are
needed for bonsai care and visitor education. The first step is to help members
develop their own bonsai collection, so you will have bonsai to show and loan
to the collection. With enough members, this specimen bonsai collection
can function on a rotational basis to keep the display fresh and interesting,
thereby attracting members into joining not only the Foundation, but local
bonsai clubs, like the Louisiana Bonsai Society, Bonsai Society of the
Acadiana, Greater New Orleans Bonsai, and others as well to support the
exhibit. An agreement with the LSU AgCenter and Foundation has already been
established, providing space for the exhibit and tax-deductible donations for
garden maintenance. When we grow enough, they will hire a curator.
To help you develop your bonsai collection, you can improve
one or more of your specimens over the course of several workshops hosted by
the foundation and guided by some of the best bonsai-teaching experts in the
world: Lawrence LeClaire specializes in pine and juniper bonsai, Joe Day
specializes in broadleaf evergreen and deciduous (including azaleas) bonsai,
and Randy Bennett will teaching Japanese maples and bald cypress. Saturday
November 16th we will host a three “bring your own tree” workshops,
with special attention given to Japanese black pine/juniper, broadleaf, and
Japanese maple. These Continuing Bonsai Workshops will take place at Waddill
Outdoor Educational Center, 4142 Flannery Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70814.
Registration starts at 8:00 and workshops start at 9:00, Saturday, November 16.
The workshops will be divided into three sections, pines,
broadleaf bonsai, and Japanese maples so everyone can participate in all three
sections. The workshops will start at 9:00 AM. We will start the
workshops by having three short lectures/seminars reviewing the workshop trees,
discussing specific bonsai development plans and caring for bonsai. Each
participant can listen to any or all the lectures, while silently working on
their tree, then as each lecturer is finished with his lecture he will be
coming around to assist each participant. This is setup so all
participants can listen to all the lectures and maximize the learning
experience for the observers. We are trying increase bonsai information
exchange while not boring anyone or wasting their time.
Lawrence LeClaire, who has many years’ experience and an
impressive Japanese black pine and juniper bonsai collection, will conduct the
“bring your own tree” pine/juniper workshop. He has concentrated his study on
the needs and habits of pines and junipers at each stage and season of
development to bring your bonsai to the next stage. He will spend one to
two hours reviewing each pine/juniper tree and conducting a class/seminar on
pine/juniper bonsai explaining development, horticulture, and specific
development plans for your trees
Then Joe Day, who has over thirty years’ experience teaching
bonsai workshops and has developed many innovative techniques – you would be
hard-pressed to find someone who knows more about caring for bonsai in our
climate, much less developing them step-by-step into very fine specimens –
something exemplified by his large, and high-quality collection. He will
spend one to two hours reviewing the trees in broadleaf workshop and conduct
the broadleaf bonsai class/seminar.
Randy Bennett, who learned bonsai by participating in Vaughn
Banting workshops and bonsai study groups. He has conducted workshops, classes,
and study groups for decades and developed a very impressive bonsai collection
that was unfortunately destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He specializes in
Japanese maple bonsai and has grown pre-bonsai Japanese maples for more than
thirty years. As most of you know, growing and developing Japanese maples in
our climate is a challenge and there is no one more capable of ensuring your
success.
We encourage you to bring your pine or juniper, broadleaf,
and/or Japanese maple bonsai you have worked on in previous classes to develop
them to the next level, but you are also able to start a new bonsai. This makes
it possible for new students to start at any stage and continue to Stage Nine.
These workshops/seminars are designed for both observers and participants to
learn new bonsai techniques regardless of experience level. While you may bring
more than one bonsai for each class, you may not be able to work on more than
one bonsai due to time constraints; however, you can get development
suggestions on the additional bonsai.
It’s advisable to bring the same bonsai back to the session
for the next step in its development, but anyone can start with a new or
different bonsai at any workshop/class. Likewise, there is no restriction on
attendance – if you miss one session, you can simply come to the next one. All
classes are open for new students, with the only requirement being that you
have a bonsai or pre-bonsai plant. These classes are custom-made for the bonsai
hobbyist (weekend warrior) with hands-on learning to help you develop your
collection.
The fees (payable at the door) are as follows:
$45 ($35 for members) to participate in one workshop
$70 ($60 for members) to participate in two workshops
$80 ($70 for members) to participate in three workshops
$12 to observe
Checks should be made payable to Gulf Coast Bonsai
Foundation. Lunch is included, and there will be door prizes and an auction, so
bringing additional cash money and anything you would like to donate for a door
prize will be appreciated. The proceeds will go to Gulf Coast Bonsai Foundation
to help maintain a bonsai collection and develop a bonsai exhibit garden.
These are remarkable workshops! Lawrence, Joe, and Randy are
excellent teachers and there will be an inspiring variety of bonsai. If you
need some material to use in the workshop, please let me know and I will help
you find some starter material. Please RSVP to reserve your spot in the
workshop, as space is limited!
For any further questions or suggestions, please contact
me.
Lowell Tilley: 225-272-6744 (Home) or 225-241-2396 (Cell)
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GULF COAST BONSAI
FOUNDATION
CONTINUING BONSAI WORKSHOPS
Saturday November 16th,
2019
Waddill Outdoor Educational Center
4142 Flannery
Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70814
Bring Your Own Tree for Each Workshop
Participation
Registration
starts at 8:00 am, Workshop 9:00 am
Featuring Expert Bonsai Artists:
Joe Day-Broadleaf Bonsai,
Randy Bennett-Japanese
Maple Bonsai, Lawrence LeClaire-Pine/Juniper
Bonsai
$45 ($35 for GCBF members) to
participate in one workshop.
$70
($60 for GCBF members) to participate in two workshops.
$80
($70 for GCBF members) to participate in three workshops.
$12 to observe workshops. Lunch is included in Fee.
Proceeds will go to Gulf Coast Bonsai Foundation to maintain
a permanent public bonsai exhibit at the Burden Museum and Gardens with a focus
on preserving legacy specimen bonsai for the next generation. Members are
needed for bonsai care and visitor education.
GCBF membership is $30/yr.
RSVP as space is limited
Lowell Tilley: 225-272-6744 (Home) or
225-241-2396 (Cell)
