Joy of Bonsai 2010

On the weekend of 20th & 21st March 2010 the Joy of Bonsai weekend will be held at Bath Pavillion, Bath. This event will be the UK Bonsai event of the year to go too. Now alternating with the Best of British shows we can be assured of an excellent Bonsai show every year in the UK. I will also have the pleasure of selling my pots at this prestigious event.

Website of the Month

Being that we have Mr Peter Warren coming to talk to us at the September meeting I thought I would put up his website for you to check out. Here is some information about Peter from his website.

http://www.saruyama.co.uk/

"I began to study under Kunio Kobayashi at his garden, Shunkaen, in Tokyo. Initially I was a sudent at his weekly class before I asked him if I could become his full time apprentice, a position I held for over four years before I had to leave. My time as an apprentice was an incredible learning experience and I was able to steal many techniques, ideas and aesthetic principles and make them my own. Until recently my entire bonsai experience has been in Japan, I entered my masters tutelage as an empty vessel, and during that time I worked hard to ensure that I made the most of a trying experience, not just in terms of bonsai technique but also as a person, learning not only the humility and patience that is necessary in bonsai but also the controlled self expression that will enable me to become an artist in my own right."

Peter is a great guy who I am pleased to have met. To top it off he likes my pots too. BONUS!

Next Club Meeting 1st July

The next club meeting is tonight for a Japanese Garden Tour.

Here is some info from the chairman Ken

Hi folks,

The details are

Jack Wheeler
22, Oakhill Road
Sevenoaks
Kent. TN13 1NP

The aim is to get there about 7-00 pm but to minimise the number of cars travelling it would make some sense to gather at my place at about 6-30 if you do not have a full car.

Feel free to bring along guests. As we agreed, the fee will be a minimum of £3-00 for everybody who comes along, be they guests or members as all monies will go to charity.

Let me know what your travel plans will be so we don't leave anybody behind!

Mean While Down in Sunny Bearsted.....

Whilst I was a Ceramics South East the rest of the club were putting on a display of Bonsai at the Annual Bearsted Fayre near Maidstone in Kent. The members who attended and set up the display excelled themselves with putting on a grand display of trees. As you can see by the pictures it was a fantastic day and the club display was well received by the general public.

Ceramics South East

Over the weekend of 26-28th June I attended the prestigious Ceramics South East Festival. There were over 70 potters from the South East of the UK and a few international potters. I set up my stand on the Thursday, my work and the Bonsai I displayed was well received. Along with other things there was a attempt to break the Guiness World record for the most number of pots thrown in one hour, all pots had to be the same size and thrown to a gauge. The current record stood at 87 and the holder of the record for the past 7 years was there to defend her title. The record was smashed with an incredible 150 pots by Billy Byles from the Aylesford Pottery in Kent. Well done Billy nice to see the record now resides in Kent. Here are a few pictures of the weekend including my stand and the record attempt

Stone Monkey Collectors Pot 2009

This years collectors pot is titled "The Tao of Bamboo" as with last years pot "The Serpent" it will be subject to an online silent auction via my website. Watch this space for more information when it becomes avaliable

Ceramics South East vs Bearsted Fayre

Over this coming weekend I am doing the Annual Ceramics South East show at the Aylesford Friary showing my wares and trying to bring Bonsai Ceramics to the masses. For more information please visit http://www.ceramics-southeast.co.uk/ it looks to be a fantastic weekend.

The remainder of the club will be displaying their trees at the Annual Bearsted Fayre held on Bearsted Green, near Maidstone, Kent on Saturday 27th June. Good luck guys in recruiting new club members and I am sure the display will be fantastic if the Whitstable show was anything to go by