by George Buehler

I just returned from the 2006 ABS Learning Seminar in Saratoga Springs, NY. A brief synopsis starts on page 7 of this newsletter. One of the events that occurs at the ABS conventions is a new talent workshop. At this event, new people to the hobby have the opportunity to show their skills at turning raw material into a bonsai. There are experienced judges who pick the winner, and the attendees get to express their choices in the Peoples' Choice Voting. The winner gets a ticket to Japan where he can visit the various bonsai nurseries or to arrange to study under a master. The contest is sponsored by the Joshua Roth Tool Company who has for years donated the grand prize. The second place prize is a professional tool set also donated by the Roth Tool Company.

The rules are quite simple. The contestants have about 8 hours to create their tree. They must do it with no help from others. There were a total of 10 entrants this year. Actually there were only 9 officially entered, but it is the tenth person that I want to discuss here.

I have watched many people work on trees and have seen results that were fantastic. I have also seen a result that I personally thought was strange (to be polite!). However, as we all know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I was not able to get a picture of any of the starting material, but was told the Mugo pines which were used were very raw. When I entered the room where the contestants were working, there was the usual knot of people around each artist. As I toured the room, spending a few minutes watching each person work their magic, I noticed an exceptionally large number of people around one tree. When I got to this area, I noticed something unusual - there were two young men working on one tree. As stated earlier, the rules state that the tree must be done solely by one person. I also saw that the ABS coordinator was standing there watching as the two men were working. I inched my way in closer to see what was going on, and I was astonished.

Sitting in front of the tree was a young man (I will call Ron) in a wheel chair, who I later found was a quadriplegic. Attached to his wheel chair was a large plastic drawing board; and, on that board, he was drawing a sketch, using a pencil in his mouth. As I worked closer, I could see that he was sketching the tree that the two men were working on. However, as I looked at the sketch, I could see that it wasn't a sketch of the current tree but a sketch of a more refined tree.

Through the years, I have seen a number of people make drawings of their trees, so I really didn't think much about it. That is, I didn't think about it until I saw him drop the pencil from his mouth and give instructions to the two stylists, instructing them on how HE wanted them to bend and trim a branch. Ron, although not able to do the actual trimming, wiring, and bending was styling the tree through the hands of two others. I also found out that one of the stylists was Ron's nurse who had no bonsai training prior to attending to Ron. The second stylist was Ron's brother who was introduced to bonsai by Ron and once again had no prior experience in bonsai.

I was amazed! Here sat a man, whose active life was cut short by a sports accident, doing bonsai much better than others who could actually do the work. Ron's doctors don't normally allow him out of his house for long lengths of time since sitting in the wheel chair for extended periods causes circulation problems for him. Ron was able to 'convince' his doctors that he HAD to attend this contest since it would be the last convention of this type in his area for a long time. Later in the day, it was obvious that Ron was suffering from being in his chair for so long, but he was not about to give up until his tree was done. Unbelievable!

I spent more time watching this young man than I should have, but I just couldn't pull myself away. He would give an instruction, wait for it to be done, then ask for the tree to be rotated to view the results. If he didn't like the result, he would give more instructions until he got the result he wanted. It was obvious that Ron, his nurse, and his brother had found a way to work in complete harmony. I heard Ron's brother tell Ron that he thought raising a limb slightly would make it look better, and after some consideration by Ron, the instruction was given to raise the limb. This continued throughout the day until the tree was done – (See Picture page 1).

It was apparent that the long day had taken a lot out of Ron. However, I could see, as one of Ron's helpers turned the tree and he looked over it, that he was happy with the results. He knew from the start that he would not be eligible for a prize, but he continued on even at the risk of doing more damage to his body. That is commitment to the bonsai hobby.

I heard later that Ron has a fantastic bonsai collection at his home, each styled by his helpers under his instructions. He works on his trees every day that he is physically able.

When I had the opportunity, I congratulated Ron and told him how proud everyone was of his job. He smiled at me and said it was just OK. What do you think? What do you think this young man could do if he had the full use of his limbs?

I just wish I had this kind of talent.