ABBA Symposium

I attended the ABBA meeting last Sunday. It was very informative and well worth the drive down. However, I thought £10 was a bit steep.
The Wirrel lads did a very good job with there presentation on exhibiting trees. They have shown what you can do if you have the will to improve the standards of your club shows. They have made their own display stands which are higher and wider than the tables normally used. They enable a very good view of the tree whithout the need to bend double whilst, allowing threes to be placed at the best viewing point even if they are large N wide. This was a problem at the BOBB show with a small number of very large trees. Nice colours, in fact a very good effort indeed.

There presentation started a discussion amoungst the attendees about the use of scrolls and accent plants, which in turn lead us to that old thorny issue of following the Japanese rather than our own artistic ideas. Some said we should not "blindly" follow Japanese athetics but show our Britishness in our displays. Well guys! wot do you think?

Did any one see "Avalon dreams" about as far as one can get from the Japanese asthetic.

The Wirral boys

That's them......The seven Samurai.

Thanks lads and particularly well done to the speaker.

Thanks for the kind words folks, as I said during the discussion I like the Japanese way of displaying trees, but it was my love of Japanese culture which attracted me to bonsai in the first place. I personnally don`t mind how people display trees, if I like it, I like it. If I don`t, I don`t. The Japanese way is just my preference. Great to see you all down there, the long drive was worth it. Ritta,s talk was very informative. Hope we can do something again sometime.

cheers,

Ian.

They look like wanted men!

Inyoshin wrote:Some said we should not "blindly" follow Japanese athetics but show our Britishness in our displays. Well guys! wot do you think?

Amen, I was wondering when you British lads, with millenia of tradition were going to figure this out. Us Americans have an excuse - our current culture is only 220 years old. Although last year I saw a display that attempted to rekindle native American icons in it but alas it still relied on a Japanese mode to display.

Rob Kempinski wrote: our current culture

America has a culture? ah...yes... Jazz!

To sum up the British culture in a bonsai display would be near impossible,the british hobbies mainly include drinking tea,drinking beer,fighting,invading other country's and cricket and football,it's hardly the pursuit of the hunting of the red leaves is it

Lee Kennedy wrote: drinking beer,fighting,invading other country's and cricket and football

This sounds like an average night out in Birkenhead, so... Lee this is your last 4 day week... back to the full working week soon

Tony wrote:

Rob Kempinski wrote: our current culture

America has a culture? ah...yes... Jazz!

Don't forget cowboys and Texas barbecue.

Rob Kempinski wrote:

Tony wrote:

Rob Kempinski wrote: our current culture

America has a culture? ah...yes... Jazz!

Don't forget cowboys and Texas barbecue.

Hey Rob... could make an interesting display... a mini Alamo, Billy The Kid... and a lonesome Pine, I can see it now... anyone up for the challenge

Maybe a little re-enactment of the boston tea party?

Lee Kennedy wrote:Maybe a little re-enactment of the boston tea party?

Do I detect a tinge of sarcasm there (on several layers) !

How about the Grand Canyon as was recently posted from the Indonesian bonsai exhibition?


Or the mesas in Utah

Rob Kempinski wrote:

Tony wrote:

Rob Kempinski wrote: our current culture

America has a culture? ah...yes... Jazz!

Don't forget cowboys and Texas barbecue.

And real football

The Wirral display

Here is a link to an attempt at an Amurcun display at the North Carolina bonsai expo.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_fYM76QaXc7A/SPNGZOW8mTI/AAAAAAAAFxk/zfW3Jufq8Q4/s640/Asheville%2008-21.jpg

prestontolbert wrote:Here is a link to an attempt at an Amurcun display at the North Carolina bonsai expo.
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_fYM76QaXc7A/SPNGZOW8mTI/AAAAAAAAFxk/zfW3Jufq8Q4/s640/Asheville%2008-21.jpg

I knew that picture looked familiar