PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan – The annual convergence festival, Baragatan sa Palawan, showcased here Friday afternoon the consistently admired but rarely understood art of Bonsai cultivation and Suiseki natural stones, hoping to persuade residents to make them relaxing interests and hobbies.
Now on its third year, the Bonsai and Suiseki Show and Competition started during the official opening of Baragatan in celebration of the province’s 116th Civil Government founding anniversary.
The show is currently featuring 55 miniature pieces of trees grown in small pots and Suiseki viewing stones that signify longevity and immortality.
Generoso Frago, president of the Palawan Bonsai Society (PBS), said their continuing participation in the annual convergence festival is to teach the public about both arts, which tell stories through living illusions.
“We want to teach Palaweños about the proper basic bonsai and to spread throughout the province its enjoyable art,” he said.
Getting into bonsai makes a person strive to find possibilities for personal expression within the limits of worthy horticultural practices as the art is a cheery blend of thoughts, forms, and styles in a petite sphere, he said.
Frago explained that like other forms of art, Bonsais endure if good practices are employed in the creation.
“We also will display miniature natural stones to encourage people to value what they stand for. We have natural stones that we sometimes see on the streets that we can collect or mount in a special rack,” he added.
Frago said the PBS will have a Bonsai 101 workshop on June 18-19, where residents can join for PHP300 to learn the art from experts they have invited.
He added that what is notable about Bonsai art is its ability to instill discipline and patience in a person who wants to delight in its creativity.
“Bonsai art is not something one does overnight. It takes years to make it. What they need is to motivate themselves to learn the art and have patience. They have to be willing to wait to see their tree come to life in a miniature setting,” he said.
Bonsai is composed of two Japanese word phrases “bon” and “sai,” which stand for “pot” and “potted planting” in a pint-sized setting.
The show will last until June 23 in Baragatan from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Provincial Capitol.
The PBS is a member of the Philippine Bonsai Society, Inc., a well-known group of bonsai growers in the country. (PNA)
