Looking at my latest BCI magazine, I thought that, in general,
the winner trees for the Ben Oki and Award Certe International
were, as a whole, less than sterling for 2003. The Ismail Saleh
award, on the other hand, had a couple of very nice winners --
and they only had 26 entries. (These are, of course, solely my
OWN opinions.) The other two award announcements didn't mention
the number of entries, but I seem to recall a plea for entries
for both the Oki and Award Certe' late in the contest period
because they had so few.

I wonder, are three concurrent annual award programs too many?
Should all or a couple of them be combined?

Or should more IBCers enter. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The ignorant
man marvels at the exceptional; the wise man marvels at the
common; the greatest wonder of all is the regularity of
nature. -- George Dana Bordman

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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"

Looking at my latest BCI magazine, I thought that, in general,
the winner trees for the Ben Oki and Award Certe International
were, as a whole, less than sterling for 2003. The Ismail Saleh
award, on the other hand, had a couple of very nice winners --
and they only had 26 entries. (These are, of course, solely my
OWN opinions.) The other two award announcements didn't mention
the number of entries, but I seem to recall a plea for entries
for both the Oki and Award Certe' late in the contest period
because they had so few.

I wonder, are three concurrent annual award programs too many?
Should all or a couple of them be combined?

Or should more IBCers enter. ;-)


Jim & all.

There was a change in the rules for the Ben Oki to encourage entries by
those relatively new to bonsai, rather than a contest among pros and
semi-pros.

I think this is effective in 2004. Yes, more IBCers should enter.

Alan Walker can give you the details.

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Thanks, Bart. Absolutely more IBCers should enter! It has
always been a wonder to me that so few people enter the competitions.
(I would have loved to do this, but I was disqualified because I have
been on the BCI board.) I think one problem is that a lot of people
wait to the last minute to photograph, waiting for peak viewing after
the spring flush of growth, and they wind up procrastinating past the
deadlines. Your odds of winning are vastly improved over the Powerball
or other lotteries! ;-)
There is no entry fee for any of these, and the prizes are nice,
not at all inconsequential.
I won't clutter up the list with all the entry requirements.
Instead, I will direct you to the BCI website's Index to Contests and
Awards at http://bonsai-bci.com/contests.htm. Complete rules and entry
forms can be downloaded there.
I would like to point out that the Ben Oki International Design
Award (or BOIDA) has significant rule changes to better insure that
entrants are considered beginners (not just amateur) by their peers.
This is defined as having done bonsai for five years or less and having
this certified by your local club president. And while a nice
professional looking photo can't hurt in trying to impress the judges,
only a single photo will do.
Award Certré International only requires BCI membership and
having the entry bonsai in your possession for at least three years.
Judgment of all submissions is based on the most outstanding bonsai pot
selection, matching pot harmoniously to its tree.
The Ismail Saleh Award allows almost anyone to enter (except
judges and BCI board members) and has similar requirements to Award
Certré International except for the emphasis on container selection.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
Looking at my latest BCI magazine, I thought that, in general, the
winner trees for the Ben Oki and Award Certe International were, as a
whole, less than sterling for 2003. The Ismail Saleh award, on the
other hand, had a couple of very nice winners -- and they only had 26
entries. (These are, of course, solely my OWN opinions.) The other two
award announcements didn't mention the number of entries, but I seem to
recall a plea for entries for both the Oki and Award Certe' late in the
contest period because they had so few.
I wonder, are three concurrent annual award programs too many?
Should all or a couple of them be combined?
Or should more IBCers enter. ;-)

-----Original Message-----
From: Bart Thomas
Jim & all.
There was a change in the rules for the Ben Oki to encourage entries by
those relatively new to bonsai, rather than a contest among pros and
semi-pros.
I think this is effective in 2004. Yes, more IBCers should enter.
Alan Walker can give you the details.

************************************************** ******************************
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the qualifying conditions below:

I hope that in the future, such criteria for entry into judged exhibits and
contests will recognize the difference between a beautiful bonsai and an
artist's efforts - instead of assuming that there is no distinction. In
Japan, for instance, one may exhibit a beautiful bonsai that one "owns," but
does not train in Kokufu-ten. Also/Or, one may be an artist and enter one's
tree in Sakufu-ten - where the efforts of the artists are compared and
evaluated. This way, the bonsai community and the general public get to see
how the best bonsai of whatever pedigree are evaluated.

What a shame that here in the U.S. a beautiful bonsai that one may have
purchased last month is inelegable to be entered into any event where
supposedly "the beauty of bonsai" is evaluated. I guess the
owner/collectors of the world are just out of luck in the U.S.. We here in
the U.S. seem only to be concerned with artists who want to exhibit their
own work. So instead of the public and the bonsai community seeing the best
bonsai be recognized, we're relegated to seeing the "best bonsai among those
whose owners have worked on them for the past 3-5 years themselves" be
recognized. Don't make sense to me, but I recon I gots some learnin' to do.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Walker"

...I would like to point out that the Ben Oki International Design
Award (or BOIDA) has significant rule changes to better insure that
entrants are considered beginners (not just amateur) by their peers.
This is defined as having done bonsai for five years or less and having
this certified by your local club president.

...Award Certré International only requires BCI membership and
having the entry bonsai in your possession for at least three years.
Judgment of all submissions is based on the most outstanding bonsai pot
selection, matching pot harmoniously to its tree.

...The Ismail Saleh Award allows almost anyone to enter (except
judges and BCI board members) and has similar requirements to Award
Certré International except for the emphasis on container selection.
Alan Walker

************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Andy: It is only recently that any of the rules or standards for
Japanese competitions have been widely known outside of Japan. Such
criteria are determined by the sponsors of the competitions. You, or
anyone else, may feel free to lobby them for such a change. Or you
could line up sponsors for a different competition such as you propose.
I personally think either emphasis (awarding the bonsai vs. awarding the
creator/maintainer) is valid. Different strokes for different folks.
By the way, these are all thoroughly international competitions
and not "U.S." Ismail Saleh Award is cosponsored by the Indonesian
Bonsai Association. Award Certré International is sponsored by Mario
Remeggio's Certré bonsai container company which is in Italy. The
sponsors of BOIDA are from the USA, but entries come from around the
world. This year's winner was from Italy, as a matter of fact.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org

-----Original Message-----
the qualifying conditions below:

I hope that in the future, such criteria for entry into judged exhibits
and
contests will recognize the difference between a beautiful bonsai and an
artist's efforts - instead of assuming that there is no distinction. In
Japan, for instance, one may exhibit a beautiful bonsai that one "owns,"
but
does not train in Kokufu-ten. Also/Or, one may be an artist and enter
one's
tree in Sakufu-ten - where the efforts of the artists are compared and
evaluated. This way, the bonsai community and the general public get to
see
how the best bonsai of whatever pedigree are evaluated.

What a shame that here in the U.S. a beautiful bonsai that one may have
purchased last month is inelegable to be entered into any event where
supposedly "the beauty of bonsai" is evaluated. I guess the
owner/collectors of the world are just out of luck in the U.S.. We here
in
the U.S. seem only to be concerned with artists who want to exhibit
their
own work. So instead of the public and the bonsai community seeing the
best
bonsai be recognized, we're relegated to seeing the "best bonsai among
those
whose owners have worked on them for the past 3-5 years themselves" be
recognized. Don't make sense to me, but I recon I gots some learnin' to
do.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Walker"

...I would like to point out that the Ben Oki International
Design
Award (or BOIDA) has significant rule changes to better insure that
entrants are considered beginners (not just amateur) by their peers.
This is defined as having done bonsai for five years or less and having
this certified by your local club president.

...Award Certré International only requires BCI membership and
having the entry bonsai in your possession for at least three years.
Judgment of all submissions is based on the most outstanding bonsai pot
selection, matching pot harmoniously to its tree.

...The Ismail Saleh Award allows almost anyone to enter (except
judges and BCI board members) and has similar requirements to Award
Certré International except for the emphasis on container selection.
Alan Walker

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Thanks Alan. I'm aware of all this and my point was that there is no
contest/evaluation available to U.S. collectors, besides the Japanese
sponsored WBC, where a fine bonsai may be judged unless it has been owned by
the same person for 3-5 years and that person (no other) has maintained it.
Yes, I or another may hold our own judged exhibit where the entry criteria
aren't ridiculous, but the fact that our national organizations want no part
of that is simply laughable.

It seems to be the American ideal that "fine bonsai" should not be evaluated
and judged. Only "fine maintainers" may be. This is detrimental to the art
of bonsai and we're missing out. Maybe I'm being obtuse, but is it too much
to expect that our national leaders be concerned with appropriate
contest/judgment/evaluation criteria?

Right now I'm putting together an exhibit in the Dallas Fine Arts community
and I received a letter from someone else in the Northeast who is doing the
same thing. Small, individual efforts such as these are nice and one way to
address this dearth of opportunity, but it should not be left to individuals
to do what should be a no-brainer for our national leadership. My opinion.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Alan Walker"
Andy: It is only recently that any of the rules or standards for
Japanese competitions have been widely known outside of Japan. Such
criteria are determined by the sponsors of the competitions. You, or
anyone else, may feel free to lobby them for such a change. Or you
could line up sponsors for a different competition such as you propose.
I personally think either emphasis (awarding the bonsai vs. awarding the
creator/maintainer) is valid. Different strokes for different folks.
By the way, these are all thoroughly international competitions
and not "U.S." Ismail Saleh Award is cosponsored by the Indonesian
Bonsai Association. Award Certré International is sponsored by Mario
Remeggio's Certré bonsai container company which is in Italy. The
sponsors of BOIDA are from the USA, but entries come from around the
world. This year's winner was from Italy, as a matter of fact.
Alan Walker

************************************************** ******************************
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************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Thanks Alan. I'm aware of all this and my point was that there
is no
contest/evaluation available to U.S. collectors, besides the
Japanese
sponsored WBC, where a fine bonsai may be judged unless it has
been owned by
the same person for 3-5 years and that person (no other) has
maintained it.
Yes, I or another may hold our own judged exhibit where the
entry criteria
aren't ridiculous, but the fact that our national organizations
want no part
of that is simply laughable.


Maybe the Bonsai Today family (Asia and Europe and USA, including
BTO) should get together and sponsor a competition of this
type -- either photographic like these three, or on the ground a
part of some major bonsai get-together -- like there's probably
time to plan it for the big gathering in Washington DC in 2005.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The ignorant
man marvels at the exceptional; the wise man marvels at the
common; the greatest wonder of all is the regularity of
nature. -- George Dana Bordman

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Thanks Alan. I'm aware of all this and my point was that there
is no
contest/evaluation available to U.S. collectors, besides the
Japanese
sponsored WBC, where a fine bonsai may be judged unless it has
been owned by
the same person for 3-5 years and that person (no other) has
maintained it.
Yes, I or another may hold our own judged exhibit where the
entry criteria
aren't ridiculous, but the fact that our national organizations
want no part
of that is simply laughable.


Maybe the Bonsai Today family (Asia and Europe and USA, including
BTO) should get together and sponsor a competition of this
type -- either photographic like these three, or on the ground a
part of some major bonsai get-together -- like there's probably
time to plan it for the big gathering in Washington DC in 2005.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - The ignorant
man marvels at the exceptional; the wise man marvels at the
common; the greatest wonder of all is the regularity of
nature. -- George Dana Bordman

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Hi Jim,

The thrust and spirit of your suggestion is certainly a good one. However,
lest anyone get the wrong impression, the Bonsai Today "family" (Kindai
Bonsai, Bonsai Actual, Bonsai Today) is nothing of the sort. It is nothing
beyond a merchant-customer reationship that cascades down from Japan - with
the U.S. occupying the bottom rung. There is no rapport nor mutual support
expressed or implied in this realtionship. It is business, plain and
simple. Them's the breaks.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
Maybe the Bonsai Today family (Asia and Europe and USA, including
BTO) should get together and sponsor a competition of this
type -- either photographic like these three, or on the ground a
part of some major bonsai get-together -- like there's probably
time to plan it for the big gathering in Washington DC in 2005.
Jim Lewis

************************************************** ******************************
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************************************************** ******************************
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Hi Jim,

The thrust and spirit of your suggestion is certainly a good one. However,
lest anyone get the wrong impression, the Bonsai Today "family" (Kindai
Bonsai, Bonsai Actual, Bonsai Today) is nothing of the sort. It is nothing
beyond a merchant-customer reationship that cascades down from Japan - with
the U.S. occupying the bottom rung. There is no rapport nor mutual support
expressed or implied in this realtionship. It is business, plain and
simple. Them's the breaks.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
Maybe the Bonsai Today family (Asia and Europe and USA, including
BTO) should get together and sponsor a competition of this
type -- either photographic like these three, or on the ground a
part of some major bonsai get-together -- like there's probably
time to plan it for the big gathering in Washington DC in 2005.
Jim Lewis

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Hi Jim,

The thrust and spirit of your suggestion is certainly a good one. However,
lest anyone get the wrong impression, the Bonsai Today "family" (Kindai
Bonsai, Bonsai Actual, Bonsai Today) is nothing of the sort. It is nothing
beyond a merchant-customer reationship that cascades down from Japan - with
the U.S. occupying the bottom rung. There is no rapport nor mutual support
expressed or implied in this realtionship. It is business, plain and
simple. Them's the breaks.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jim Lewis"
Maybe the Bonsai Today family (Asia and Europe and USA, including
BTO) should get together and sponsor a competition of this
type -- either photographic like these three, or on the ground a
part of some major bonsai get-together -- like there's probably
time to plan it for the big gathering in Washington DC in 2005.
Jim Lewis

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Jarbas Godoy ++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

Andy,
You are trying to compare apples and oranges here. There is nothing wrong
with shows judging an artists craft and skill in growing and maintaining
bonsai and there is nothing wrong with having shows judging who can buy the
best bonsai.
These are two totally different criteria and should not be mixed in the same
show.

Just my opinion,
Jay Wilson

And once again, Andy, I would like to point out that it is not
the large organizations who are creating this requirement. We are only
following the wishes of the persons who sponsor the competitions and ask
us to administer them. If you can find someone who will put up the
money to sponsor the type of competition you are espousing or can
persuade one of the current sponsors to change their requirements, there
will be no problem with getting us to administer it that way.
Actually, Award Certré International already permits what you
espouse to a degree. The rules require that "the bonsai must have been
part of the artist's personal collection for a minimum of three years,"
but they do not say that the bonsai has to be trained by the owner. You
can check this out for yourself at
http://www.bonsai-bci.com/contests.htm
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Andy Rutledge

Hi Jay,
I appreciate your opinion, but perhaps you missed my thrust. Yes, I
understand the difference. Our large organizations do not. Under the
auspices of our large national organizations, there is currenly no
opportunity for owners of fine bonsai to show their trees - unless these
owners/collectors also have done all of the styling/care for those trees
for
the past 3 to 5 years. This is what I find so disappointing.

What this means is that a collector of fine bonsai in the U.S. who
smartly
pays a professional to maintain his collection and who has something
worthwhile, artistic and inspiring to show in a judged event, CANNOT do
so
(except in one show - that I know of - put on by a very small club in
CA).
I hope this puts a finer point on the matter.
Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jay Wilson"
Andy,
You are trying to compare apples and oranges here. There is nothing
wrong
with shows judging an artists craft and skill in growing and
maintaining
bonsai and there is nothing wrong with having shows judging who can
buy
the
best bonsai.
These are two totally different criteria and should not be mixed in
the
same
show.
Just my opinion,
Jay Wilson

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Andy Rutledge wrote:

Thanks Alan. I'm aware of all this and my point was that there is no
contest/evaluation available to U.S. collectors, besides the Japanese
sponsored WBC, where a fine bonsai may be judged unless it has been owned by
the same person for 3-5 years and that person (no other) has maintained it.
snip

Right now I'm putting together an exhibit in the Dallas Fine Arts community
and I received a letter from someone else in the Northeast who is doing the
same thing. Small, individual efforts such as these are nice and one way to
address this dearth of opportunity, but it should not be left to individuals
to do what should be a no-brainer for our national leadership. My opinion.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

Andy:
Let me ask the $5 question. Do you personally know of anyone who is in this
desperate situation you describe, being a wealthy person who pays someone else to
style and completely maintain their trees, and who is suffering terribly because
nobody will allow them to display their trees in competitions? I guess I'd like to
hear from this shy group of people myself.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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Andy Rutledge wrote:

Thanks Alan. I'm aware of all this and my point was that there is no
contest/evaluation available to U.S. collectors, besides the Japanese
sponsored WBC, where a fine bonsai may be judged unless it has been owned by
the same person for 3-5 years and that person (no other) has maintained it.
snip

Right now I'm putting together an exhibit in the Dallas Fine Arts community
and I received a letter from someone else in the Northeast who is doing the
same thing. Small, individual efforts such as these are nice and one way to
address this dearth of opportunity, but it should not be left to individuals
to do what should be a no-brainer for our national leadership. My opinion.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.andyrutledge.com/palaver/main.htm
zone 8, Texas

Andy:
Let me ask the $5 question. Do you personally know of anyone who is in this
desperate situation you describe, being a wealthy person who pays someone else to
style and completely maintain their trees, and who is suffering terribly because
nobody will allow them to display their trees in competitions? I guess I'd like to
hear from this shy group of people myself.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

************************************************** ******************************
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************************************************** ******************************
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