ABS Annual Conference 2019

16 Oct 2019 – 20 Oct 2019

Portland, Oregon

This event was a resounding success, in terms of spreading the “word” about bamboo and creating new relationships among people who are or are becoming interested in the potential benefits and uses of our favorite plant.

*** The ABS Auction of rare bamboos is the main fundraiser for the Society and was a great success at this conference. This year there were some exceedingly rare ornamentals up for sale to the highest bidder, and bid they did! ***

WORKSHOPS HELD:Charissa Brock’s Workshop – Introduction to the Fine Craft of Bamboo.
Until recently, the use of bamboo as an art material has been a mystery in the United States. Through examples, demonstrations and a project, students learned how to use heat preparation, splitting, cutting, bending and tying. The end result was a small-scale vessel which was easy to take home. Charissa is a fiber artist working with bamboo; she integrates wood, glass, paper and thread as visual accents and structural components.

Fence Building Workshop with Mark Meenan
The group built a short fence panel and perfected their knot tying abilities.

Garden tour around Portland
We visited the newly renovated Japanese Garden, the Hoyt Arboretum World Bamboo Collection, Bamboo Revolution, and Bamboo Craftsman.

“Open Studio”
Charissa Brock conducted an “Open Studio”.

Bamboo Farming Field Trip
A field trip to Dain Sansome’s Bamboo Valley nursery in Albany Oregon. Dain harvests canes and supplies fresh shoots to local restaurants. We saw his labor-saving machinery in action, then went to visit the largest grove of “Chinese Timber Bamboo” in Oregon.

Silent Auction
Many bamboo-related items were donated to this auction. Proceeds went to the ABS.

Art display
“Introduction to the Fine Art of Bamboo”

Tour of the Bamboo Garden Nursery

Keynote Speaker
Jos van Der Palen,owner of Kimmei Nursery, The Netherlands, was our keynote speaker. Jos is the premier importer of bamboo from China to the West. We are delighted that he was able to join us.