Page 70 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2013Q3

container. “First and most important it had
Top left; Blue Atlas Cedar in its new Sara Rayner
container.
Middle; A beautiful stone graces the entrance to the
Exhibition of the Congress of Sicilian Bonsai Clubs..
Bottom and detail; Olive, Paolo Miano, awarded the
Alfio Ragazzi Memorial (Alfio Ragazzi is an Italian
Soldier and member of the Messina Bonsai Club who
was killed in Nassiriya during the Iraq war)
68 | BCI | July/August/September 2013
to be a form that I could work with. If you
only do wheel work, then there are limita-
tions. As I only do wheel work, the contain-
er would have to be a round, or a rounded
square semi-cascade. The tree felt very femi-
nine so I decided to go with round. The con-
cave flare of the design was to give the tree a
strong “lift” up and away from the pot wall
for more effective negative space and a feel-
ing of being placed on a pedestal. I felt the
unglazed dark clay finish with gunmetal blue
highlights would work the best in picking up
the cast of the needles. I was happy with the
choice made by Jack Sustic, and happy with
the finished container.”
Thank you, Sara for producing such a fit-
ting piece for our blue Atlas cedar. The tree
and new container are now on display in the
North American Pavilion to be enjoyed for
years to come.
A Taste of Sicily, the Nature
of the Mediterranean and
the Beauty in the Details
Photos and Text by Chiara Padrini, Italy
On 25 and 26 May I returned to Messina in
beautiful Sicily to bring the BCI Awards of
Excellence to the Congress of Sicilian Clubs
organized by the fantastic team of Bonsai
Club Messina, led by Giuseppe Sfravara,
Ignazio Amenta and Mimmo Abate, under
the regional coordination chaired by Franco
La Rosa.
The event comprised an exhibition of bonsai
and suiseki, the new Sicilian talent compe-
tition and demonstrations by Paolo Miano
and Michele Andolfo, one of the most suc-
cessful Italian instructors, with his prom-
ising students, Sebastiano Villante and
Giovanni Mugnas. The trees and stones from
this land blessed by God, generous in scenic
beauty and history for those who are lucky
enough to live in or pass through it, were
appreciated by all.
The Mediterranean nature has done most of
the work, demonstrating how it is valid to
cultivate the trees of your land, to enhance
their beauty and, in the case of stones, to
search for materials that the area can offer.
Sicily is the kingdom of the olive, myrtle,
rosemary, cork oak, lantana, bougainvillea
and here I provide some images of these spe-
cies, highlighting their great potential and
the details that offer exceptional starting