Page 14 - BSAM 2017 Q4

Most adults at a Bonsai Exhibit have seen Bonsai trees before. Tey admire the trees and compare them to others they have viewed. But watch the children. Tey look at a Bonsai tree from a diferent perspective. First, they are looking up or directly at the tree. Second, this is probably their frst experience with the world of Bonsai. Teir faces radiate fascination, amazement and wonder. Tey want to know what this is about. Tey want to know why the tree is smaller than the ones in the park or on the street in front of their house.In our Bonsai world we spend a lot of time encour-aging other adults to become interested in Bonsai. We put on ever larger Bonsai Exhibits. Workshops by Bonsai Masters seem to be everywhere. Most major cities around the world have someone teaching classes to beginning students. Bonsai vendors ofer trees, pots tools, stands and scrolls. But we don’t give much thought to the children who looked at the trees with such wonder.In the history of Modern Bonsai there have been a handful of Bonsai Masters who have left large footprints. John Naka, Yuji Yoshimura and Sabura Kato come to mind. Today we have many amazing Bonsai masters, teachers and authors who help to build, improve and innovate on the work of Naka and others. What is unusual is to fnd someone who has the insight to open a new door. Frank Mihalic of Wildwood Gardens in Chardon, Ohio has opened that door. Frank is a talented Bonsai artist, teacher and author. In 2004 Frank published Bonsai for Kids, the frst Bonsai book for children. Around the same time he envisioned the concept of a Children’s Workshop at a Bonsai Exhibit. Te Midwest Bonsai Society in the Chicago area has been one of the frst to beneft from his innovative approach. Many years ago we started ofering one Children’s Workshop during our annual August Bonsai Exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Over time this has expanded into two workshops at Many years ago we started ofering one Children’s Workshop during the Midwest Bonsai Society’s annual August Bonsai Exhibit at the Chicago Botanic Garden. Now we are averaging 40 to 60 children over each of our two exhibits. Frank and Midwest Bonsai Society volunteers work with the children to style and pot a tree.