Repotting season 2016 is coming to a close, and from what I’ve seen, our members’ trees are off to a good start for the rest of the year and beyond. All three repotting workshops were well attended and a lot of beautiful trees were revitalized the way only a good root pruning and repotting can do. If you haven’t repotted your deciduous trees yet, it’s probably too late. Even in the darkest, coolest reaches of Marin, splashes of green are brightening everything around them as leaves explode from their buds, marking the end of the dormant period, our only opportunity to safely mess with the roots of deciduous trees.
Looking ahead, since repotting is done and there’s nothing much else that can be done with most trees in March, our very next workshop date, on the 1st of March, is CANCELED. Our next meeting date is March 15th, when we will have a presentation from one of our favorites, Jonas Dupuich, noted bonsai apprentice, educator, photographer, and author of the popular website Bonsai Tonight. This time around, Jonas will be discussing and demonstrating bonsai display techniques. Anticipated highlights of the meeting include hands-on experience with display assembly for audience members, a slideshow from Jonas’ own outstanding collection of Japanese show photos, and a raffle. Decisions are still being made, but most likely the raffle will be for an assortment of display-related items, such as burl slabs and an inspirational Japanese show book or two. In addition, Jonas has been invited to set up a table with some of the bonsai items he started selling this year, in case you forget to get that certain tool at Mammoth. It will be a packed evening, so don’t miss a minute of it!
April 5th will be our first official 1st Tuesday meeting day. For the occasion, Jay McDonald will be giving us a demonstration. The topic will be completely dependent upon what material he can acquire between now and then. For instance, Jay will have us in mind at the Mammoth Auction. But bargains can be hard to come by there. If suitable, and affordable, material cannot be found, Jay will demonstrate a rock planting. If anybody reading this is interested in selling a tree to the club for Jay to work on, please contact us at info@marinbonsai.org. Whatever Jay works on, it will be spectacular and it will be raffled at the end of the night. So consider that if you were to sell a tree to the club, you could parlay some of your earnings into raffle tickets and perhaps win back your own tree, with nifty modifications from Jay. Talk about win-win!
FALL IN!! How about at our next workshop, April 19th, in addition to whatever else is going on, we hear from our Bonsai Boot Camp recruits and their mentors? I propose we give the floor to each surviving duo (trio actually, counting the tree) for a few minutes to discuss their progress and answer questions. If anybody has a project they have to begin work on right away, that’s fine to work on your own thing in the background.
Remember that all club activities are now starting at 7:00 PM and taking place in the Multipurpose Room at MAGC.
Come support Marin Bonsai at the Mammoth Auction and Sale. On the second day of the event, February 28th, during Kathy Shaner’s demonstration, we will be one of many Bay Area bonsai clubs hosting a small display table showcasing our club and its activities. Audience members will vote on the best display. We enjoyed last year’s prize, a magnum of wine, at our Holiday party, so let’s represent again this year! Votes will be tallied at 2:00PM.
– David Eichhorn
