ACBS Trees Stand Out in Small August North Canton Show

by Michael Rusnak

It has been a few years since our club held and event in the Canton area. This past weekend, we put together a small show at the Main Street Festival in North Canton, Ohio. The room space we were given for the exhibit was mostly empty with white walls.  As it turned out, the white walls proved a distraction-free background to highlight bonsai--nearly ideal for a space without screens or curtains.  Such details, as the dark green foliage of the yews/ taxus just looked remarkable on display.

Going along with idea of few distractions, the members who exhibited chose to have the display without name tags--choosing instead to just highlight the trees themselves.

While this exhibit had trees from only five members, plus a smaller number of trees than the club typically exhibits, still it remained a show that drew many favorable comments from the steady stream of festival visitors.

  August is not the easiest time of the year to show trees.  Some species seem less fresh than they did in June, but at the same time others seemed at their peak.  The show contained some great trees.  In addition to the yews, the pines were mostly a happy forest green and an arborvitae on display was a fine bright and healthy deep green, almost reveling in these warmer weeks. 

As I've mentioned in the past, there are certain trees belonging to other members of the club that have become my favorites, and I really enjoy seeing how they develop from years to year at these shows --that's just one of the great joys of being part of a club like ours.  

We would like to invite our internet bonsai friends to view a short video tour of the August exhibit at this youtube link 

And we also invite you to see photographs of our trees in this and past exhibits on our gallery site at this link-- http://picasaweb.google.com/akroncantonbonsai

ACBS Exhibition in North Canton Ohio-- August 22-23

The 

Akron Canton 

Bonsai Society 

Presents

A Bonsai Exhibition

August 22nd - 23rd     2015
at the
North Canton Main Street Festival
North Canton, Ohio    Admission: free

The exhibition will feature local bonsai artists and contain examples of bonsai various styles and species, including pines, elms, flowering and tropical trees.


Following the exhibition we will post photographs of the trees exhibited on our gallery site at http://picasaweb.google.com/akroncantonbonsai

Tree Portraits from our June 2015 Show Posted

Cool tree portraits taken by photographer Caralee Aufdenberg at our June 2015 show have been posted at our gallery site. 

 http://picasaweb.google.com/akroncantonbonsai

Here is a direct link to the folder:

Much thanks to Caralee for taking the time to photograph our trees.  

Mid-America Bonsai Alliance Confererence Report

MABA Conference

July 10-12

Hosted by Indianapolis Bonsai Club

by Valerie Tasker & Anne Heun

Featured Artist: Suthin Sukosolvisit

Presenters: Jim Doyle, Mark Fields, Pauline Muth, Bill Valavanis, Scott Yelich, Ken Huth, Frank Mihalic, Brian Ciskowski, Mark Thiedeman, Paul Weishaar

14 Vendors

After months of anticipation, we were delighted to attend the MABA Conference in Indianapolis. Approximately 100 trees were exhibited, and each reflected a remarkable level of accomplishment and dedication to the principles of Bonsai.

We both signed up for a workshop with Bill Valavanis. Hanoki Cypress was the subject tree. Several hours were spent deciding on a possible style, then working the tree in that direction. Bill was very helpful and fun to work with. New we just need to keep our trees alive and healthy for years to come!

Each presenter shared insight on technique, style, and horticulture. Following are a few of the tips gleaned from the

presentations we attended.

~Wine corks can be used to separate the branches of trees rather than wiring them. These can be cut to any size needed.

~Pest control can be achieved by putting a dog flea collar on the soil around the trunk of your tree, then enclosing it in a plastic bag for 24 hours. Repeat this procedure 7-10 days later. (This will not eliminate borers, however.)

~Ant Lions can be introduced to devour pests, and then they neatly devour each other!

~Foliage should be washed thoroughly from time to time to help remove pests as opposed to misting which may encourage mold growth.

The atmosphere of the weekend was one of excitement and camaraderie. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, encouraging, and very happy to see old friends as well as to make new ones. Seeing the love of Bonsai reflected in the smiles and tone of this group made us feel so very inspired!
Looking forward to future conferences!