by Lionel Flood, President
The middle of January is a difficult time for writing bonsai articles without stepping on the feet of other club members. The program chairperson has their article to write. The librarian is completing the book reviews. We write articles about each master before they arrive. While this is not a good time to be writing, there is some important information I would like to share.
Members of the club who have displayed in the past have received invitations to participate in the 2014 Art In Bloom show at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. The show will be when the weather is nice and warmer (April 30th – May 4th). This year’s theme is “Timeless Art”. I think this is fitting as bonsai has always been considered the timeless art. This is not to say that the public will see it that way. Many of the flower-arranging people bring their raw materials and assemble the accompanying display on the spot. We bonsai enthusiasts require many years to develop our trees to a suitable level for public display. Actually setting up the tree with a stand, and possibly accent or scroll, takes very little time.
This, however, does not mean that we do not need to be prepared or get involved. First, there are a couple of dates coming up that need to be attended to. By the time this article comes out, I will have made contact with the MIA and made arrangements to preview some art pieces for club members to display alongside.
Every member is welcome to participate; however, the MIA does require artists come to one of the two artwork selection dates. These dates are Thursday, January 30th, at 5:30 P.M., and Friday, January 31st, at 10:00 A.M. The institute allows only one artwork to be selected per person. In the past I have been able to select a group of artworks for the club to choose from.
Please participate in the Art In Bloom show and exhibit your tree in the largest spring museum show in the country. I will have information packets available to choose from. Simply pick up a packet and fill out the forms so that I can take them back to the MIA with our selections. There are other forms in the packet which need to be filled out as well. Each form has a different deadline, but the sooner filled out the better.