Comprising a Life
The Bonsai, Travels and Haiku of Vaughn Banting
Members of the Thursday Knights become members of the flat top team in Orlando at The World Bonsai Friendship Federation convention in 1993.
The glum faces at the convention stem mainly from the common belief that I was going to die of my malignant brain tumors but I seem to have surprised everyone including myself by winning my Battle.
At my lecture I looked like a dead man walking
Insert; the way I looked the year before the onset of my brain cancer.
Guy Guidry
Guy Guidry burst upon the main bonsai scene soon after establishing himself as a talented member of the Thursday Knights bonsai study group which met in my garage for so many years. Although members initially thought of me as their instructor, as every members' skills improved, do to a particular type of learning technique we all fell into, the distinction between teacher and student was soon lost. We just all started doing bonsai together on an elevated level.
In this picture the group has invited bonsai lecturer Warren Hill to teach our group while he is in town lecturing to the main body of The Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society. Guy in back row extreme right.
Guy and I out looking for seedling cypress
Guy in my garage during Warren Hill workshop
David Chauvin, member Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society, assisting Guy during early part of his demenstration
Gary Marchal
Next (along with Bryan Hoerner, who had to drop out to start a family) to be launched onto the "happening" bonsai scene due to their membership in the Thursday Knights was Gary Marchal. Gary had long been a member of The Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society but as he grew in knowledge of horticulture and technique the more he wanted to learn more about design.
So Gary sought out this shadowy rag tag, beer guzzling group of despots who were desperately trying to reach a parity of technical skills and base knowledge of design and horticulture. Their goal was to be able to speak each other's language so they could help each other design one another's trees.
Gary was soon up to speed in technique and designe and speaking the language of the group. We bonded as he helped me install (the other way around really) my subterranean irrigation and electrical systems for my future of bonsai courtyard on my new property and I taught him bonsai.
Just before turning pro and joining the lecture circuit Gary won the competition for the Ben Oki award. The rest is history!
