Mid America Bonsai Alliance 2006 Symposium
Louis Vallejo Bonus Demonstration with a
collected Winged Elm (Ulmus alata)
Louis Vallejo of Spain is widely recognized as one of the top bonsai artists in Europe. He was the winner of the first Gingko Award and has since been one of the top exhibitors in that exhibit. He was the curator of the bonsai collection of the President of Spain, which was recently donated to the Spanish Botanical Gardens. He has been the featured artist at bonsai conventions on the East Coast of the US and in Central America. This will be his first appearance in the Midwest. The demostration will feature winged elms that were collected in Oklahoma.
According to Vallejo bonsái is "modified Nature" and, like in any other aspect of the Nature, time plays a decisive role in the life of all tree.
Louis enjoyed working with this material so much that he tried to find away to take some to his home country of Spain. After a long while and realizing that it would be way too expensive to do so, he convinced the MABA board to allow him to do another demonstration.
He suggested a three tree planting. And of course the MABA board allowed him to do so.
Images By Paul Stokes, USA
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MABA 2006 Index
The three collected Winged Elms (Ulmus alata) before the demonstration.
Tree number one
Tree number two
Tree number three
Louis Vallejo getting ready for his demonstration
Louis Vallejo talking about design principals for creating a multiple tree composition.
Time for Louis to start
Louis making the first cut on the "main" tree of the composition
Louis Vallejo talking about what must be done to this tree. It must be growing away from the main three but when finished the composition will have one crown.
With a little help from the owner of Okie Bonsai Louis Vallejo continues with the design process.
The repotting begins
Raking out the roots
Louis Vallejo trying to find the perfect placement of the main tree.
Wiring the main tree into the pot
Wiring tree number two into the pot
Louis Vallejo talking about how you want the whole composition to not be centered in the pot. He suggests having the composition closer to the back of the pot than the front.
Wiring tree number three into the pot
Louis Vallejo looking for the perfect placement of each tree.
Now that all of the trees are in place Louis Vallejo begins to add soil
For the final touch and to help the soil retain more moisture, Louis Vallejo adds some moss.
Louis Vallejo gives the composition the "thumbs up"
Immediately after the demonstration
The composition after the demonstration
The auction winner, Louis Vallejo, and the composition.
This composition was acutioned off for $1300 with the stand.