I was approached by Olly Heath to be his mentor with a school project. His school does a major community based project in year 8 where the students seek the guidance knowledge and wisdom of an elder in their community to lead them in producing a body of work that is then showcased in front of the school audience. Olly will submit an accompanying folio that will outline the purpose of the project and the journey taken to completion.
Olly's project is of course bonsai related so I was more than happy to be his mentor. One major drawback was that he lives in Mullumbimby, some 6hrs by car north of Newie. We started in early April with many phone calls, FaceTime, texts and posts. I also linked him into my Pinterest bonsai page and dumped a range of potential ideas. After some discussion we agreed on the scope of the project.
- Bonsai trees
- one large forest
- repotting and styling Olly's collection of other bonsai
- Recycling. Using recycled timber from the family farm to make
- a timber bonsai pot
- a display bench
- Pot making. Making two hand built bonsai pots
- One small pot as practice
- One large pot to hold the forest
We discussed Olly visiting Newcastle on a couple of trips but ended up being one trip over 4 days. The scope of works was very extensive for a 13 year old and his mentor but we got the job done after many changes and refining of the finished products. Here is the process.
Planning
Lots of photos, discussion and explanation especially on how to look after bonsai trees. A lot of information Olly had received seemed to be very confusing so this had to be sorted out. As with most beginning bonsai enthusiasts they are reluctant to expose bonsai to sunlight and thus Olly's trees were looking very sad and waterlogged at the beginning. Now in full sunlight they are powering on.
The pot making turned out to be far too adventurous. Mainly because it was a very big slab style pot and there was no real pot makers with the experience (and a large kiln) to guide Olly. When Olly mentioned to me that it had some large cracks in it I bought a pot from Bonsai World as a backup. Olly's small pot is OK but the large one didn't make it so we Bonsai World pot was used.
Three weeks before I was to leave for Canada Olly came down to visit with his mum. The car was loaded with timber from the family farm, bonsai trees and a small selection of pots.
Thursday
Travellers met me at Stockton to view a Newcastle Bonsai member's collection of mainly large trees. This was a great introduction for the grasshopper and a real eye opener. Then home to Merewether to unload, look at what we had re bonsai material, tools and equipment. It was decided that Olly and I head for Bonsai World early Friday morning to fill in the gaps.
Friday
Olly's dad loaned him his old road bike so first thing was our usual coffeee ride along the beaches and over King Edward Park and back for coffee at The Junction.
Off to BW at 8am and another Bonsai experience for Olly with the lads at BW helping out. We decided at this time that the trees for the main forest feature were not in good shape so purchased a set of small junipers at a very good price. Also a couple of pots and some wire. Plus a quick pit stoop at Bunnings for another plant, soil and screws.
The afternoon was taken up with wiring and planning and cutting the timber for the timber pot and display bench. I enlisted the help os two fine gentlemen form NBS who were experts in their field Bass is a retired Industrial Arts teacher and offered to help cut out the timber and Mike is the resident NBS wiring guru and one of the clubs tutors and has an excellent collection of bonsai to show his high status in the bonsai world.
Initially, we had planned to pot the bigger and more impressive of the bonsai junipers from Olly's collection into the timber, handmade pot but decided to include it in the forest display. It was quickly realised that the junipers from BW would not work in the forest so we decided to use just three trees. The large juniper and two small junipers. Mike and Olly got to work on wiring the big junk. A very valuable experience for Olly working with the wire master. Bass and I worked on timber. The two experts left and Olly and I got into potting a couple of smaller trees including a fig forest and a small kingsville box.
Saturday
The Team Cobweb ride took precedence at 7:15am today. Jenny and I rode past the motel Olly and his mum were staying at and we rode together down to the start. Olly was well looked after by the team and enjoyed a hot choc with everyone at Wheeler Place before heading back to business with the bonsai.
Finally, we assembled the forest. It looked pretty spectacular but some trouble fitting the smaller tree under the branch of the dominant tree.
More work on completing the timber pot made from boards off the families old farm house. These Cypress Pine timbers were cut and milled on the property had a great patina. We also partly assembled the bonsai display bench. A very big day but no where near complete so another day needed.
Sunday
Early start today on a cool, sunny Sunday. We realised that the farm timber pot did not have a tree to go in it so I donated a buxus sempervirens (English Box) from my collection. This box was extracted from a neighbours hedge when he was levelling his block to rebuild.
So today we: completed the bonsai display bench, potted up a number of trees including a cascade juniper into a tall pot that Olly acquired, two Chinese elms, the buxus (this tree required extensive design styling including a lot of carving), and completed the landscaping of the main forest including rocks, moss and pathways. Phew!!
Conclusion
A very worthwhile experience but a major, major project for a 13 year old. The point however is that the student uses the expertise of the community and records his learnings from these people and is marked on his ability to prove that he has gained great knowledge and has developed from the experience. Of course it is a two way street as the community mentor (me in this case) also benefits by being involved in an exciting project and helping young people in the learning pathway.
No comments:
Post a Comment