Photographs from February 2006 Tour

Louisiana Shreveport

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Click any image to make larger. The forest is made in sequence

Your visit here was terrific. I learned so much in one day it is hard to fathom. I know everyone else had a great time as well. Thanks for bringing together the Arkansas and Longview, Texas group as well. We picked up five new members from Longview and they have attended every meeting since. I was wonderful to have someone who not only understood and could communicate about bonsai, but had so many other interests as well. Thank you so much for sharing your time and knowledge, and know that you are welcome at the Specian household and the Phoenix Virtue Temple whenever you find yourself in this part of the world.

Bob Specian

When I went to Shreveport taken by my good friend George Straw , President of the Dallas Bonsai Society, I was entertained and hosted at the Daoist Phoenix Virtue Temple by Janis and Bob Specian for the Chinese New Year, the year of the dog. George had been responsible for organizing the Texan and Louisiana leg of the trip. George stayed for the celebrations and then drove the long way home to Dallas leaving me to fight of the two cats whose bedroom I had taken over. (well it was the year of the dog and I am an old sea dog-so it was a case of cats out and old dog in!)

The next day we looked at some material in Bob Specian's garden and found a batch of Juniper Chinensis which seemed appropriate for this auspicious week and hopefully this demo would not be a dog. A suitable fibreglass tray was found and we made some peat and clay mix (peat muck) to hold the soil on to the tray. Holes were bored throughout the tray and wires pout in to hold the trees in place. Although a Demo I used the audience to help me create the trees by asking them to wire everything up. I then did the final shaping of each tree. Along the way we also ran a workshop for many of the enthusiastic participants, some who had travelled hundreds of miles to be here today.

My only gripe was that these , sometimes quite large , trees had not been pre wired and there was not going to be enough time to leave with a finished or part finished Bonsai. So remember ladies and gentlemen, please prep your trees before a workshop or you simply waste time doing wiring instead of learning how to design. We can always leave branches or remove them after wiring but wiring them all will give us a lot more options and I do tend to use more branches wired and shaped into place than some other masters who cut them off and start with a skeleton. (sometimes)

The Yosue or Forest group

Choose the material; Make sure that this material is 'completable' in the time allotted. If necessary, prep the trees/trees by wiring throughout. Check soil, nebari (surface root) Make sure that all the trees for the group are styled as individual trees. consider the outside trees at this time and shape accordingly.
In this case we had a large tray /pot. Prep the pot by wiring throughout to hold the trees /tree in place.
Have a spray gun with water ready to mist throughout the planting. Foliage and roots must not be allowed to dry out and especially in an air conditioned room where the air will be dry.
When removing soil check for bugs-especially VINE WEEVIL as that is extremely nasty. Press the vibe weevil bugs so they pop. Don't allow these to live. If you are a Buddhist get someone else to pop them. They will kill your Bonsai and spread like wildfire.
Have some soil already mixed. Free draining. If using a tray rather than a pot, use peat muck to build a low wall around the tray.
Place soil on pot and place first tree. This is your largest tree in the group.
Place the second tree and throughout the exercise always check the sides to ensure that no one tree masks another.
Carry on building the group until completed.
Add more soil when finished to cover in and outside the roots. Always mist the foliage and roots during the planting
Make sure that the soil is not flat but makes interesting mounds and is a bit more three dimensional as illustrated. This makes the image a lot more interesting.
When the group is finished move any wired branches very slightly to fill spaces of the overall image as long as these moves are small and then you can trim out the outside of the image to tidy the group.
AFTERCARE: Spray three times a day for at least six weeks to keep the humidity levels up (like a giant cutting) and water to keep the soil damp. Don't feed for six weeks and then half strength high nitrogen every two weeks to assist in bud growth. Read my books to learn about feeding and watering regimes.

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Texas: Dallas and Forth Worth Bonsai Clubs

Louisiana: Shreveport Bonsai Club

Colorado: Denver and Fort Collins

Ohio: Akron Canton Bonsai Club and Wildwood Gardens

Ohio: The Dawes Arboretum Collection

Vancouver Island: Landscapes

Vancouver Island: Victoria Bonsai clubs demo and Workshop

Washington State: Puget Sound Bonsai Association, Seattle

Dear Craig,
Thank you once again for your magnificent lecture and demonstration to the Akron - Canton Bonsai Society.
Ohio is considered the “heartland” of the USA, traditional middle America.
Unlike folks on the east and west coasts, Ohioans in general have heard little and know less about bonsai and penjing.

Your lecture and demo were great! You explained the history and techniques in ways that everyone could understand.
Your humor really helped to set folks at ease while you prepared a wonderful group planting of Shimpaku junipers.
You stimulated a number of people to join our club, former members to renew their membership, and we’re beginning to give classes for beginners.
Your appearance was a real shot in the arm for popularizing bonsai in our region.
Warmest regards,
Bob Heath
President, ACBS
Link to the Akron and Wildwood demos

Other Craig Coussins photo pages on this website. Some are 2min downloads. If it comes up with page not found simply refresh the page and it will reappear for you.

Landscapes,

America

Russia:

Boston and Australia

Russia, Moscow and St. Petersburg

Images General-Landscape and urban landscape

Niagara Falls and Toronto March 2005

Estonia and Tallinn 2004/2005

Gallery of images site-If you like my photographic work

Please visit some of my other images at:
http://www.photobox.co.uk/craig.coussins@btinternet.com
With regard to one of my albums
titled California- Black and White Images/ California and Utah
One viewer made the following comments:
Emotionally powerful. Takes you outside yourself in an instant.
Even over the internet this comes across.
Thank you for sharing such spectacular work, Ann Thomas

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