Bill Hawley caught his first glimpse of a bonsai tree 40 years ago during a trip to San Francisco.

Bonsai, the art of tree shaping, was something that intrigued Hawley. These miniature trees, which look as if they have been plucked from nature and shrunken to fit a small tray, spurred Hawley, now 79, to help found the Modesto Bonsai Club. Today, he is still a member of the club, and we can learn a lot about the art from his experiences:

Question: What sparked your interest in bonsai?

Answer: I used to go to San Francisco, and I saw some bonsai there. It interested me. I liked the shapes of the trees and how [bonsai practitioners] worked on them to get them to look like they did.

Q: How did you get started?

A: I first started to learn with a master named Shin Young. She was one of the top bonsai people in the United States at the time. She didn’t speak English, but when I worked with her, she could tell me, “Pinch,” “Cut,” or “No, no, no.”

I heard a lot of “no, no, no” when I first got started. I didn’t know what I was doing.

Q: How many trees do you have, and what kind are they?

A: I have approximately 25 trees. I have California juniper, Japanese maple, trident maple, Sargent juniper and Satsuki azalea. The color [on the Satsuki azalea] is amazing. They are hard to find around here.

I have some trees I haven’t worked on yet. The rest are all shaped and styled. You don’t do a bonsai in one day. It takes years to have a really good tree. You have to keep shaping them and pinching them back.

Q: How much time do you spend working on your trees?

A: In the spring and summer, I work on them more often. With the high heat here, they have to be watered almost every day or every other day because you don’t want them to dry out.

Q: What is the hardest thing about practicing bonsai?

A: Learning the styles. There are 10 basic styles, and it branches out from there. When you look at a tree, you have to determine what style will fit the tree best. When I’m working with a new tree, I sketch the tree in different shapes. That helps me determine which shape to use.

Q: What do you enjoy most about it?

A: Shaping the trees and bringing them into perspective. Bonsai is a living work of art. Once you get a tree set up and shaped, it’s like looking at a picture.

Q: How much does it cost to get started?

A: All you need is a pair of $10 shears, a small knife to cut into the wood and a pair of chopsticks to work the soil. You also need wire to help shape the trees. Twenty-five dollars’ worth of wire will take you a long way.

Q: Which of your trees are your favorites?

A: The Japanese maple, the trident maple and the Satsuki azalea. The Japanese maple is around 40 years old. The root system on it is very nice.

When you look at it in the pot, it has a beautiful shape.

The colors on the Satsuki azalea in the springtime are fantastic.

The blooms are pink, red and white.

source : www.orlandosentinel.com