AABS August 2004 Meeting
The August AABS meeting was called to order by President Roger Gaede at 7:30 p.m. Approximately 30 members attended.

Committee reports were for the August show. Members were asked to help with set-up on Friday August 27th anytime from 10 a.m. through the evening hours. Hugh Danville reminded members that vendors start arriving Friday between noon and 5 p.m. The vendors appreciate help club members give to help them bring in their stock and supplies for sale during the show.

Bill Cavers said he had been in touch with radio stations and newspapers to generate publicity for the show. It has paid off with new members joining after seeing advertisements in the Observer Newspaper.

Show and Tell
Lois Vorrath brought in bonsai pots that she had made and they are for sale. John Parks air layered a maple this spring and brought in the newly removed tree with significant new root development.

Robert Bishop displayed pots that he has carved from soapstone. He had a set of carving tools and information on obtaining supplies from Flaxart.com.

Upcoming Programs
September will be the annual auction. Dean Bull will be the featured speaker at the October meeting. November is the annual pot luck dinner meeting. There is no meeting in December.

August 25 Program
Bill Heston introduced Connie Bailie. Connie is Past President of the Ann Arbor Society and Senior Horticulturist in Charge of the MBGNA Bonsai and Penjing collection. (MBGNA is Matthaei Botanical Gardens Nichols Arboretum). She also teaches an annual class on Bonsai and Penjing at Matthaei. The next class is January 22, 2005.

Connie gave a description on the conservatory, greenhouses, cold-frames for winter storage of the outdoor trees, the indoor and outdoor display and work areas. The assembled group of bonsai enthusiasts then had the opportunity to view all of the areas for themselves. There were many questions that Connie and senior club members were on hand to answer.

Returning to the auditorium Ms. Bailie had a slide presentation, MBGNA Bonsai and Penjing Display, of the beginning and development of several of the trees that the group had seen. The first slides were from 1983. Most of us now have a new found hope for those trees in our collections that we were not quite sure of.

The Bonsai Club members were advised of the opportunity to volunteer to help with the Matthaei collection. Anyone that has the time and interest should contact Connie Bailie at Matthaei Botanical Gardens Nichols Arboretum.


AABS Annual Show: Trees, Vendors, Volunteers & Visitors Make 2004 Show Shine
Over 100 bonsai, “dressed up in their Sunday best,” as Jack Wikle is wont to describe them, were catalogued, arranged, and cared for by AABS volunteers who transformed the MBGNA auditorium into a world class bonsai display on August 28th and 29th.

Hugh Danville and Pete Johnston co-chaired the event. Their crew of talented and generous volunteers helped plan and publicize for months, as well as perspire during show set up and tear down, to make sure the annual show was a success. Informal feedback from MBGNA indicates attendance was up. Seminars were full, raffles were a hot item, vendors stayed busy, and several new members signed up at the show.

Bill Heston coordinated the critique after the Saturday evening food feast. Our planned outside judge was unable to attend on short notice. Bill invited members to help tree owners with suggestions. These were peppered with offers to adopt admired trees,, efforts to remember, “what did we say about that tree last time?” and requests for Bill to bring out his “magic napkin” to simulate a branch removal.

Look for photos from the show in this newsletter and more information about the show facts and figures in next month’s newsletter as well as possible link to an Internet site where you can view hopefully all the trees in the show. Attend the September Auction and you may have an opportunity to give some of the trees starring in August’s show a new home.

Kathy Powell, Recording Secretary.
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Stolen Bonsai
The following email was received by Bob Thatcher;

From: Dennis Howke
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 12:41 PM
Subject: [ABS Forum] Stolen Bonsai Registry

Bonsai Theft is not a popular subject, and is not widely discussed, but like many other societal problems is a reality. It is frustrating when your bonsai is stolen, and it doesn't help not being able to do anything about it, nor to go to a centralized location or web site to report the theft or look for help. To assist with this issue, the American Bonsai Society has created a "Stolen Bonsai Registry"( SBR) which is on the ABS web site. http://www.absbonsai.org/SBR/

The Registry will provide a web based, accessible listing of bonsai that have been stolen. We hope this registry becomes one of the first places people look when questions arise concerning a bonsai which you may be offered to purchase. The registry will be available to the public as well as the bonsai community with visual information on trees which have been taken from their owners. While there are no sure ways to find and return stolen bonsai, the registry is one pro-active method to assist buyers and sellers by providing data on known stolen bonsai.

While we hope you never need to use the Register to list your loss, consider periodically visiting the SBR to become familiar with what is listed. It provides a resource should you ever observe in an exhibit or be offered a bonsai of significant value and may for whatever reason have questions about its source and ownership. We ask also that you spread the word about the SBR. Use your newsletters, club meetings, word of mouth and other communication channels to get the word out.

Your ABS - SBR Action Team
Linda Ferzoco, Reiner Goebel, Dennis Howke
Dick Miller - team leader

A word of preventive planning is in order here. One of the critical elements of identifying and possibly locating a stolen bonsai is to have a recent photographic record and dimensions of each of your trees. You should create a record of your valuable bonsai. A recent photograph and the data listed on the ABS registry is a necessary documentation to prove ownership for each of your trees of value. Without this record it will be significantly more difficult to reclaim a bonsai.

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Monday, August 30, 2004
Ann Arbor Bonsai Show Impressions
Ok it's Monday the day after our annual show. I feel disappointed, not in the show but in myself. The show was absolutely great. More club member trees then ever. So many professional trees, they can be considered professional. Demonstration’s were excellent with good feedback and audience participation. The vendor ware was top notch and had great prices. Their shelves were definitely bare by afternoon Sunday.

Please give a personal pat on the back to all who worked on this show. Many members gave many hours of their time. Great show Hugh Danville and all your helping elves, Paul Kluesa as always you have a great team for set up. He beat us to near death but we continued to do what he wanted and kept smiling , you can’t help but love the man. He makes a mean sauerkraut dish and brings water for us to drink.

A man not mentioned much when it comes to show time is Jack Wikle. He just seems to be always be there on the floor from early morning pre-show to closing. Thank you Jack.

Ok back to being disappointed. Why? Well I had spent, what I thought, was a lot of time and effort getting my trees ready for this show. They looked great. Ok why disappointed? I did not really work on my preparations until one week before the show. When looking at my wonderful display of my trees side by side with other member trees I realized that I missed something. My trees were just trees in a pot. They are healthy trees with lots of growth. I had neglected to trim them as the bonsai they are. I allowed them to grow and survive. I did not pay attention to detail. All during the show, I wanted to take a pair of cutters and remove so much over growth. I did this on Monday.

I should have taken them to the demo and trimmed them where the audience could have seen how a bonsai turned “topiary” becomes a “bonsai” once again. This is a great reason to have a show and bring your trees in for a good comparison up close. I was especially impressed with Chuck Baily’s trees. We do not see Chuck at the meetings much but having his trees in the show really opened my eyes. Chucks trees have been refined and developed over many years and many hours. They are the results, which we all are striving for. Our monthly meetings are like a shot in the arm, rekindling my excitement in bonsai. Our annual show really does it best. Seeing club member trees is a real boost to the art of Bonsai.

Ron Milostan
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Jerry Mieslik, now living in Montana , is a well known AABS life member who has a long time interest in tropical bonsai. Jerry has published a new book Ficus: The Exotic Bonsai.
Signed copies of the book are available for $32.25 + $4.70 for shipping. Write to Devonshire Gardens Ltd., 161 Ridge Run Drive , Whitefish , MT 59937 USA . More information about the book is also available at www.bonsaihunk.8m.com

Send new memberships to:

Tamara Milostan
4228 Highcrest
Brighton, Michigan 48116

Make check out to Ann Arbor Bonsai Society
Dues are $25