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Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club hosts hands-on workshop at Scot鈥檚 Marketplace

By Gwen Sour 3 min read

VIENNA - Participants learned how to train and shape their own bonsai trees Saturday during a hands-on workshop with the Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club at Scot's Marketplace.

The event introduced beginners to the art of bonsai, with participants working on their own trees to take home. The class also covered basic care and maintenance, including how to keep bonsai healthy after the workshop.

Bob Conway, a member of the Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club, said the group brought a variety of trees to display, many of which had been created and maintained by club members over several years.

"We've got lots of trees up through here that we've all created," Conway said. "It's just our hobby."

Conway said the small pots set out during the workshop were intended for beginners creating their first trees.

The Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club meets most months at Scot's Marketplace and also participates in regional shows and events, Conway said. The club has displayed trees at the Mid-Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival, the Parkersburg Art Center and Earth Day events in Marietta.

For Conway, bonsai is both a creative outlet and a way to slow down.

"It's just relaxing," he said. "You just are trying to replicate what you see in nature. It's (where) horticulture and art meets."

Club member Jim Lindley brought several older bonsai trees to the workshop, including one he said began as a demonstration tree. Lindley said the tree originally had the shape of a small Christmas tree before he began cutting and shaping it in front of an audience.

"I cut half of the tree off, and there were gasps from the audience," he said.

Lindley said the tree later fell from a bench and broke a branch, which led him to create "jin" work, a bonsai technique that uses deadwood to make a tree appear older and more weathered. He said the tree is now about 16 years old.

Lindley also showed a blue rug juniper he said he has worked with since 1993. He said bonsai involves both patience and an eye for artistic design.

"My suggestion is, remember triangles and odd numbers and those type of things that are artistic that you want to kind of work at," he said.

Lindley said beginners often benefit from starting with a tree that already has a size and shape they want to maintain, rather than trying to grow a very small plant into a finished design.

Edie Lindley, another club member, said the club also gives new bonsai enthusiasts a place to ask questions and learn from others.

"It's a support group for beginners," she said. "You can ask a question and get five different answers, but we're all here to help."

For more information or to get involved with the club check out the Ki No Kaze Bonsai Club鈥檚 Facebook page.

Gwen Sour can be reached at gsour@newsandsentinel.com.

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