Phil

It’s that time of year again! Welcome to the second annual BonsaiCHAT.net “Spring Styling Contest”. The contest is open to all members of BonsaiCHAT.net. The rules for this contest are as follows:
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1. Design the best possible tree from a piece of un-trained nursery stock valued at $35 USD or less (for our non-U.S. friends: 27.60 Euro, 54.51 AUD, 44.52 CAD, 24.51 GBP, 40.95 CHF, 205.70 DKK).

2. Stock for the contest must be raw, from a landscape nursery. The intention of this contest is to feature the talents of the BonsaiCHAT.net Community members in initial styling of rough stock.

3. One should strive to make every effort to keep the tree alive. There is absolutely no point in styling a tree which will be dead in one month. Although there is no way for us to check, it should be the goal of every participant to one day present a finished bonsai to the community.

4. It cannot be stressed enough that this contest is only an initial styling. Regardless of the quality of the stock, these trees still have a long way to go to become bonsai.

5. Any stock purchased from Bonsai Nurseries, other enthusiasts, clubs etc. will be disqualified. If you have questions about your stock, by all means pm me or one of the moderators first.

6. All entrants must post a "before" picture of the raw stock as well as a clear picture of the receipt or price tag. The receipt or price tag must feature the name of the landscape nursery where the piece of stock was purchased and dated to show it was bought between April 1, 2009 and May 31, 2009. Any receipt which is not legible will not be accepted.

7. Any species is suitable.

8. Finished trees must remain in a nursery container. A finished tree in a bonsai pot will automatically be disqualified. Cutting down of the nursery container or transferring to a more suitable growing container (such as a growing box) is permitted. Large bonsai pots/mica pots are not acceptable alternatives to a growing container. No form of decorative pot is allowed for any reason. No ground covering may be used such as moss, clover, grass or any obtrusive object such as rock's or any such decoration, ornamentation be it natural or manmade which will in any way hide the surface of the soil and, or tree.


9. Submission of "Before" entries must be received by Jim by the deadline. The deadline for initial "Before" photograph submissions will be 11:59 P.M. EDT on May 31, 2009.

10. Submission of "Final" entries must be received by Jim by the deadline. The deadline for “Finished” photographs will be 11:59 P.M. EDT June 30, 2009.

11. No picture submitted may be altered in any way. Alterations such as editing the background, pot, or enhancements to the tree in any way by means or use of such photo editing programs such as Photoshop, Photosuite, etc. is strictly prohibited. Any discrepancy with such submitted photo will be reviewed fully by the administrative staff and any such judgment as to its validity by the administrative staff will be final. The cropping, lightening and or darkening of any photo will be allowed.

12. Prizes for the contest winners to be announced later in this thread.

13. Voting will take place in two heats, a general vote with the top ten moving on to the final vote. Submissions will be anonymous. Each member may cast one vote by means of a poll.

14. Trees should be judged on the quality of styling, prospects of the future bonsai, and the overall transformation from rough stock to initially styled tree.

15. All questions are to be asked in this Contest Discussion forum.

16. Only ONE submission per member.

17. Submissions can be sent to Jim @ JimBonsai@yahoo.com . Do NOT submit any tree on the forum. All and any submissions MUST be sent to Jim. Jim will then place them in the Contest Submission Forum.

18. All submissions MUST be submitted as an Attachment and not embedded in the email. You must include your User Name and the Type/Species of the tree. Please make sure they are sized right so as to fit the forum limits and are in .jpg format. Jim will not be responsible for resizing any picture so please keep this in mind.

19. Jim and or BonsaiCHAT.net will not be responsible for any email that does not arrive or arrive on time.

If you have any questions, please pm one of the moderators or myself or post the question in the contest discussion thread located here.

Although it is by no means required as a part of this contest it may serve as a great learning experience to take pictures along the way so that you can post a “styling” thread for your individual entry after the contest is over.

Happy nursery hunting, best of luck to all and most importantly…..have fun!

~Phil

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Please, always keep in mind that the typewritten word does not always convey what you wish to say, and to always treat others as you would have them treat you. Think twice-submit once.
I started out with nothing....and still have most of it.
"Its hell out there, give them hell back." ~ Prowler/Victor Gray 12/31/1943 - 11/24/2008

JLDoggett

Bump

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"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.

JLDoggett

10 days left for submissions! Send your before pic and a picture of the receipt to Jimbonsai@yahoo.com!

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"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant with the weak and wrong....because sometime in your life you will have been all of these"

And I further resolve to click on an ad, each time I visit, to help support the site and to be welcoming to lurking guests when you join! After all, you're already here.