31st LSBF Texas State Convention - April 11-14, 2013

Hi Everyone!
www.lsbfconvention2013.com
I'm very proud to announce the upcoming LSBF Texas convention happening April 11-14th with our amazing Guest Artists:

Walter Pall
Colin Lewis
Erik Wigert

Two clubs are hosting it this year: Austin Bonsai Society and the San Antonio Bonsai Society. With double the clubs we're also having double the space at the huge newly-rennovated New Braunfels Convention Center www.meetnb.com. New Braunfels is a small German town in-between Austin & San Antonio in the gentle Texas Hill Country. We are having 22 workshops and "funshops", a spacious Vendor room with national sellers, an enormous exhibit of the best Bonsai in Texas, demonstrations, tons of raffles, and a favorite of many: the Saturday Night Auction. On Thursday April 11th we will have the Early Bird Reception, opening the doors of the Vendor room so folks can get the first jump on new items. There will be snacks and drinks available and in conjunction with this will be the Emerging Talent Competition of new Bonsai artists showing their skills. I'm working on getting some live music as well.



Early registration ends on March 15th, so there is still time to plan to attend. Much of the workshop material is native species and collected - a great opportunity to work with some fantastic material with world-renowned artists. Check out the website for photos and more information.

Thanks!

It is a great honor for me to be part of that event.
Today I have received images of the trees which are offered for the demonstrations.
With great joy I only saw broadleaved trees and I am very pleased with the quality.

99 % of all major demos in Europe are done with conifers. On the other hand the general public likes their collection to be 80 % broadleaved trees in Europe, less in America. The reason for this discrepancy between demonstration material and material in people's collections is experience of demonstrators and the will to shine. Most big names ONLY do conifers really and consider broadleaved tree 'decoration'. A broadleaved tree will most of the time look bad after fist styling. This is a big reason for not using it and rather a conifer. But we want to show something to the public which they can associate with.

The material must be good enough to be able to create something credible which does not look too bad. Therefore I applaud the effort of the organizer

Also the workshops are mostly with broadleaved trees. This does not mean that one cannot bring a conifer, of course in the 'bring your own' workshop.

I'm really looking forward to this event.

Great panel of artists you will have, Jim! Success guaranteed.
Bravo!

I've attended a couple of these TX shows. They're well worth a visit!

Thank you Walter! We're all very exited to bring you and the other artists to our event. I'm only sad that I won't be able to take any of the workshops.. I'll be in the back, working the nuts and bolts of it all! Thank you Jim and Alexandra. If you're able, we'd love to see you there.

I thought I'd post some photos of the location.. the place is really outstanding: made from native limestone and Cedar with modern metal embellishments. Here are a few photos I took:








(I didn't take this last one)

Hi All,
Ok so this one is a bit off-topic for a Bonsai Convention, but in our Saturday Night Auction we are going to have a signed Fender Squire Stratocaster guitar signed by the members of Creedence Clearwater Revisited. The band has 2 of the 3 living original members of Creedence Clearwater Revival ("Proud Mary", "Who'll Stop The Rain", "Susie Q", "Down on the Corner", and more): Stu Cook and Doug Cosmo Clifford, both in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The manager heard about our convention and agreed to donate a signed guitar, CDs and T-shirts to help benefit the show. As ya'll could guess, we're floored by their generosity!! Any music collectors out there?

JMcCoy wrote:I thought I'd post some photos of the location.. the place is really outstanding: ... ...

Jim, this is really outstanding and it is most appropriate and fits so very well to hold a bonsai convention!
CCR beloved memories of... youth!

Thanks Alexandra. I always listen to music while working on my Bonsai, so for me these go well together too! I feel honored that they wanted to donate to use this way!

An announcement: Due to a medical proceedure, Walter Pall will not be able to attend our Convention. We're all wishing him well and know he'll be back to his trees in no time. We were very lucky that Washington State artist Dan Robinson had space in his schedule and has agreed to come. There is sweet and sour.. we were looking forward to Walter and now hope he is able to come this way in the near future, but we are also thrilled to have Dan visit and share his artistry with us! We are working on changing the website and registration, but as of now, simply switch the names when you see them.



As of now there are workshops sold out (Cedar Elm & Texas Natives), and others with only a few openings left, so if anyone is thinking of attending - jump on in! Our early registration price goes until March 15th.
Thanks!

Well, we're just about there.. convention to begin shortly. If you're able to come to the Thurs night early reception (beginning at 5:30), help to cheer on the Emerging Talent Contest (being Sponsored by Joshua Roth & Ryuga tools, as well as Timless Trees nursery near Houston). The Vendor room will be open to get an early jump on some of their rarities.

The other day I did a spot on the local news, bringing down some of my trees and talking about the Convention. Here's a shot I took of the room before the live interview

I plan on bringing the Ligustrum (front left) to the Exhibit, with another few trees not shown here.

With all this rain we're having right now, there should be a pre-apology about the inevitable wet workshop trees.. can't fight nature! A big BIG thank you to all who have helped so far. I know some of you are on this board, but usually are quiet. See you soon!

Thought I'd post a pic of one load of trees headed for the Convention tomorrow:

All sorts of stuff packed in there!

You thought good, Joe!
Do I see enough colanders or am I wrong ?

True, when I plant in a grow-pot, I'll use everything from collanders, cat boxes, wash tubs and more. The plants don't care, and they're only temporary shoes anyway.

I see...., thanks.
Colanders serve some more purposes though.

I am looking forward to reading the updates about the Convention.
Good luck!

Some photos from the Convention, these are the prize winning trees from the Exhibit:

Artists Choice Best Conifer & Best In Show, Rocky Mountain Juniper:


Artists Choice Best Broadleaf, Dwarf Yaupon Holly:


Artists Choice Best Tropical & People's Choice Favorite, Brazilian Rain Tree


Artists Choice Best Texas Native, Cedar Elm: