The American Rose Society's national spring convention is being held in Winston-Salem, NC, where I was born and raised, and where my parents live. My mother (who turns 80 this year) recently became a rose enthusiast after I installed a rose bed for her last summer. So when I saw that the spring convention was being held right where she lives, I offered to take her to it, and she readily agreed. So we're going to attend the following sessions and exhibits:

Friday, June 3
* 10:00am session: Garden Design for Mixed Roses, by David Pike of Witherspoon Rose Culture
* 11:00am session: Garden Structures – Arbors, Trellises and Pathys, by Ken Novak
* 1:00pm exhibit: Judged Photography Show
* 2:00pm session: Rose Photography
* 3:00pm session: Rose Photography Show Critique

Saturday, June 4
* 1:00pm session: Best Roses to Grow in Three Regions: East, West, and Central, presented by Pat Henry of Roses Unlimited
* 2:00pm session: Top Minis and Mini-Floras for 2011
* 3:00 pm exhibit: Judged Rose Show
* 4:00 pm session: Klima Lecture

My mother asked me if I planned on entering the judged photography exhibition, and I told her I was thinking about it. Each photo costs $5 to enter, so I might submit 5 or 6 pictures. There are several categories that will be judged, as follows:

SECTION A: “THE ROSE” - JUDGING CRITERIA
The goal in this category is to show the best qualities of the rose(s), e.g. brilliant stamens, great form, etc. As long as the rose can be identified, it is not necessary to see the entirety of the bloom/petals. Cropping that enhances the rose(s), while still permitting identification, is allowed and is not to be penalized in any way. Good composition shows the rose(s) to best advantage.
Class 1 – One Bloom at its most perfect stage: hybrid tea, grandiflora, mini or mini flora.
Class 2 – One Spray, to include two or more blooms: hybrid tea, grandiflora, mini/mini flora
Class 3 – One Bloom or Spray: Old Garden Rose, shrub, climber, polyantha, or floribunda.
Class 4 – Any single rose, 4-8 petals, one bloom or spray.

SECTION B: “THE ROSE GARDEN” - JUDGING CRITERIA
The goal of this category is to show the best qualities of roses within the garden setting, as the photographer interprets that. This section should show the use of roses within the structure of a garden, which can be widely variable. Roses should dominate in the photograph, and some layout of the garden should be visible.
Class 5 – Rose Gardens – Private or Public Gardens

SECTION C: “ROSE ART” - JUDGING CRITERIA
The photograph should evoke a sense of originality and a new and different way of imagining the rose(s) with the mind’s eye. This may include processes used to alter the original image such as colorizing, texturizing, dodging, burning, dithering, painting, shadowing, blurring, layering, cloning, filtering, merging, cropping, etc.
Class 6 – Realistic Rose Art – A photograph having altered reality, design, form or components of a rose plant(s), or any portion thereof, in which the portion or perhaps even the specific variety remains evident.

SECTION D: “NOVICE” - JUDGING CRITERIA
May be entered by exhibitors who have not won a blue ribbon in a local, district, or national ARS Photography show, or 1st-­‐4th Place in the ARS Magazine Rose Photography contest.
Class 7 – A photo of any rose, rose garden, or rose art.

I'm thinking of entering most of my photos for Section C: Rose Art. Here are some that I have in mind, and I'd be interested in getting some feedback.

Thanks!

Section C: Rose Art:

Chrysler Imperial:


Red Intuition:


Amber Queen:


Peace:


Betty Boop:


Sheer Bliss:


Berries 'n Cream:

Oh wow! What a great opportunity! I am not a good judge to help with your photo selections. I am continually awed with each of your pictures. I hope you enter several categories.

Oh what fun Mike!
Personally I like Amber Queen, Betty Boop and Sheer Bliss

These are amazing, Mike. Betty Boop and Sheer Bliss would be right at home on one of my Japanese screens, and somewhere in this house I have an old Nancy Drew comic book with an illustration that looks just like your Berries 'n' Cream photo. The photo brought back a vivid memory of that illustration. My favorite, though -- and possibly my favorite rose photo ever -- is your Chrysler Imperial with the crystal raindrops.

The convention sounds like a lot of fun. I personally would love to hear a talk by sweet Pat Henry. I really admire her.

Thanks you guys. With your vote of confidence, I'll submit these.

Hey Zuzu, would the book cover you're thinking of be the Mystery of the Bungalow? My sister had lots of those books, and it had a rose trellis on one of the editions.

Gosh, Mike, I don't know. The name wasn't part of the vivid memory. Just the illustration.

My sister Tanya and I read all of those books voraciously when we were living in Japan because we knew we were coming to America and we wanted to learn more of the language before we arrived. I wonder now how strange we must have sounded, spouting idioms from the 1930's when we talked to people here in the 1950s.

We had to leave the books behind in Japan, but we found the comic books when we moved here.

There's a bluegrass festival in Sebastopol on March 12th. I wish they had coordinated the date with the end of the camp.

I checked the California Bluegrass Association's website, and it looks like a lot of the same musicians that will be performing at the Festival will also be teaching at the Winter Camp, so I guess they had to schedule it for different weekends. I'm really looking forward to visiting after Camp is over!

For those who are wondering what Bluegrass music has to do with altered rose photographs, I'm flying out to California next week to attend the Bluegrass Association's Winter Camp for adult students, for four days of masterclasses with some of the best Bluegrass and Old Time musicians in the country. (They also have a great organic garden!) It's held at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma, just down the road from where Zuzu lives in Sebastopol, so we'll get to visit again this year.

Mike and I spent the day together yesterday and I had a fabulous time. He brought me a set of beautiful photo enlargements of his "rose art" line. We spent some time with Fallon at Garden Valley Ranch and then just shopped in Sebastopol for the rest of the day. I grew up in San Francisco, so I regard shopping as a wonderful pastime, almost an art form. Most of the people in Sonoma County think of shopping as something you have to do when you need something. They just don't get it.... Luckily, Mike gets it, so I had a great day.

California has Bluegrass music? I wonder if it is the Bill Monroe genre? I love the old Bluegrass/Mountain style.

You'll have to ask Mike about the genre when he returns, Jerry, but I can answer your first question. Of course California has Bluegrass music. Even Russia has Bluegrass music.

I think Bluegrass will be around a long time. There is something pure and simple about performing it the old way. Floppy hats, tight clothing and facial hair will pass much as Porter Wagoner's rhinestone suits but the images of a group of five or six people blending their voices and instruments into one will be with us for generations. I think Bill was once quoted as saying something like he would never perform with anyone who he could not see their face. Thankfully, some of the old material is on youtube. Last night, I watched the Monroe group performing 'uncle penn's fiddle' when they were in their prime. Brought back memories when we listened to the Grand Ole Opry on a battery powered, floor model radio.

I so love Bluegrass !!!!! most young people I know think its becouse I'm OLD they have no clue
Gloria

As Zuzu mentioned, we had a great time visiting together, visiting Garden Valley Ranch in Petaluma, and then shopping around Sebastopol. Fallon was very nice to open up the nursery for us, and I purchased 'Vavoom' while I was there.

I met up with Zuzu after spending four days at the California Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association's winter camp (for adults). It was a gathering of about 200 musicians and we stayed at the Walker Creek Ranch. The genres certainly included the styles made famous by Bill Monroe (among others), but also included Old Time music (the predecessor to Bluegrass), which is the style I play (clawhammer banjo).

Some of us "youngsters" appreciate the old arts as much as the new. We actually caught Steve Martin at an ACL taping last spring with the Steep Mountain Rangers, and another local girl Sarah Jarosz. So much talent.

My DH loves Bluegrass & wants to go with his father to the Bluegrass festival here in Colorado this year if he can. It's not for old people, it's for people who can appreciate music without the Lady Gaga theatrics! I personally loves blues (grew up to the Blues Brothers and have all their albums.. yes, Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00...) and never did like metal.

So sorry I missed you this year Mike, just too much going on here. We finally signed our loan docs on Wed., Monday it gets funded and recorded in the county and is officially ours! Only took over 8 months.

Congratulations!