Bonsai Northwest Inc Melbourne

Established: 1973 A-19332L

April 2018 Newsletter

In this Issue: • Next meeting

• 2018 AABC National BonsaiConvention July

• Upcoming events

• Last meetings

• Sponsors

• The Art of Bonsai DisplayPart 3

Club Details www.bonsainorthwest.com.au

bonsainorthwest@hotmail.com

PO Box 1091 Niddrie Victoria 3042

President: David Nassar Contact: Barry 0422 619 641

Meetings are held at the Aberfeldie Community Club, 7B Batman St Essendon at 7:30pm on the first Monday of the month (no meeting in January)

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Next meeting 9 April 2018 - Workshop This month we’ll be having a workshop. Just a reminder on how workshops are conducted: if you bring along your tree, remember to bring your own tools and wire so that you can work on your tree once the experienced person or designated helper has given you instructions/ideas/advice on what to do.

Look for Maria in the yellow vest if you need help.

The Library will be open from 7.00pm and will close at 8.00pm. The Sales table will be open

2018 AABC National Bonsai Convention July Our club will be hosting the 2018 AABC National Bonsai Convention. Our website has all the information you need.

Bjorn is a fantastic bonsai artist and demonstrator, which is clearly evident with only a few workshop spots remaining of the 64 spots of on offer.

Don’t miss out on all the great events planned!

Upcoming events Victorian Native Bonsai Club Exhibition 2018

Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 April 2018 from 9am to 4pm

Venue - Domain House, Dallas Brooks Drive, Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne.

Adults $5, children under 15 free

Last meeting Our March meeting night saw Craig Wilson give a great talk on Casurinas and Port Jackson figs as bonsai. He shared some great insights into how to treat them, especially around their root treatment.

Sponsors:

The Art of Bonsai Display (and How to Look at Bonsai on Display) by Ian Barnes Part 3

In Part 1, we considered how to view a bonsai on display, as a way of understanding how to create a successful bonsai. In Part 2, we determined the guidelines for choosing the right pot to bring together the tree and pot in visual harmony. In Part 3, we will look at the criteria for choosing an appropriate stand to enhance the appearance of the bonsai on display. Future Parts will examine the elements of a Tokonoma (or alcove) display.

The Stand Bonsai are usually displayed on a stand. The role of the stand is to be an extension of the pot and elevate the tree into a more formal and dignified position. It adds dignity and prominence. The stand enhances the appearance of the bonsai; sets it up as a thing to be admired and appreciated. However, the stand should not dominate the display. The bonsai is the main feature and the stand should harmonise with it. A stand that is too elaborate will detract from the tree.

The stand should be chosen to complement the pot and tree together rather than just the tree.

When you look at a bonsai on display, ask yourself: “Is the stand appropriate?”

Formality:

If the bonsai is styled formally, the stand should be of formal design.

If the bonsai is informal, the stand should be informal in design.

Straight lines are more formal than curves.

Tall is more formal than short.

Dark colours are more formal than light.

Stands with legs are more formal than “slabs” or mats. Formal stand.

Bamboo or reed mats should only be used with smaller and medium sized bonsai, not with powerful trees.

Gender: The gender or aesthetic feel of the tree should be reflected in the stand as well as in the pot. In fact, the gender of the stand can influence the display much more than the gender of the pot.

Masculine. Feminine.

Very formal, rigid stands tend to be masculine, stands with curves and subtle carving tend to be more feminine.

Style: Keep it simple; stands with simple lines are best. Garish or over intricate stands deter from the overall image.

For trees planted in shallow, oval or rectangular pots, a low rectangular stand is usually chosen.

For deep rectangular pots, a solid, more elaborate stand is suitable. But if you use an elaborate root stand, for instance, the bonsai must be powerful enough to attract your eye to the tree first rather than to the stand.

For cascade styles, stands are generally round, square, or any shape with equal sides, and with long legs. The tail of the cascade should not touch the table or floor on which it is set up. Bamboo mats or timber slabs are used for very shallow pots or saikei settings. They are also good for literati style.

Bamboo mats are used in spring and summer while wood slabs are used for autumn and winter. Size: The stand should not be smaller or of the same size as the pot.

Stand length: A good proportion is to have the stand longer than the pot by about ⅓ of the pot’s length.

Stand height: The height of the table should be proportionate with the tree and pot together. Avoid the height of the stand being the same as the depth of the pot.

The blade (top of the stand) should be large enough to adequately hold the entire pot in its centre board. Legs: The stand should have ample legs or feet to carry the weight of the tree being displayed on it. The legs should look strong enough to support the tree.

Adequate legs. Legs too thin. Colour: The stand should not be the same colour as the pot, but should harmonise.

Generally, stands are dark in colour, (eg, dark brown or black). Being dark, it does not draw attention to itself. Dark woods (such as Rosewood and Mahogany) are preferred for conifers; a flowering tree may be shown with a lighter coloured wood. But if the stand is too light in colour, the eye is immediately drawn to it, rather than to the tree. Traditionally, the stand is made of wood. The type of wood is a consideration when choosing a stand. Some wood will have a busy pattern of grain and may deter from the composition.

M iniature bonsai: Shohin or Mame bonsai are mostly displayed in a group stand with staggered shelves.

When arranging such a display, consider the stand as a mountain setting. Conifers are placed on top shelves as they come from high elevations in nature. Deciduous varieties are placed lower down. Location of styles is also important – cascades, windswept and the more rugged styles go on top shelves; straight trunk, upright, broom, etc, that come from gentler environments are placed lower down. When displaying Shohin or Mame bonsai use a seasonal approach.

The display rack is divided into four parts: Tenba (top of rack), Chudan (middle), Gedan (bottom) and Maeoki or Hanedashi (sub stage). There are seven positions to place the elements. To obtain harmony of the whole display, all seven elements are necessary. Don't use the same species twice in the display. Also the style and the colour of the pots should all be different. The species and their style and colour, their fruit and their size have to differ, in order to make a well balanced and beautiful display.

The Main Tree: Shuboku is the best tree of the display and is placed on top of the rack, Assistant Tree: Fukuboku emphasises the main tree. It should have good movement. Assistant, Supporter: Soe is the smallest tree to be used on the display. It is possible to replace one of the secondary trees with an ornament or Suiseki. Only the main tree and the assistant tree must not be replaced.

The important thing is that the display is balanced, through choice of trees and placing the trees with the right movement.

Choice of trees. Movement and balance.

Movement. Balance. When setting up a shohin display, start with the main stand, then place the other stands or tables. The main stand should be nearer the middle of the display space than the table with the assistant tree. Nothing should be placed closer to the background than the main stand. The less formal you want the display to be, the more elements may be placed off-line from the main stand.

And here’s a circular shohin display stand. Note the use of a suiseki, and an accent plant, which is usually placed outside the main stand.

Formal Display (shin), with a multi-level stand on the right and a lower table on the left. The fronts of the stands are in line. A formal display should have formal trees.

Semi-formal Display (gyo), with multi-level stand and lower table. A less formal setup is created by placing the supporting table off line with the main stand. Less formal trees can be used in this display.

Informal Display (soh), with a multi-level stand on the right, the assistant tree on a separate stand and an accent plant on a slab on the left.

Pot placement: The position of the pot on the stand is also important.

The pot should be placed in the centre of the stand, left to right, and, front to back. The blade (top of the stand) should be large enough to adequately hold the entire pot in its centre-board. No part of the pot should creep over the framing edge.

The top of most tables will have a centre-board surrounded by a border, the groove between the two being an expansion joint. The tree should have some space around the pot to the expansion joint. The pot should not cross over the expansion joint.

Note that the balance between dynamic trunk flow and the pot is addressed by the bonsai’s planting position in the pot; placing the pot off-centre on the stand will re-introduce imbalance.

If a tree is balanced in a pot without a stand, then the stand should not try to balance it further by placing the pot to one end, trying to “balance the composition”.

This placement is incorrect. An important part of a bonsai’s story is concerned with the environment that the bonsai suggests. A significant way of suggesting a tree’s environment is the traditional formal display of bonsai. In Part 4, we will begin to look at the elements of the traditional Japanese Tokonoma (or alcove) display - tree, accent item and scroll.