Club member Markus Mieritz on stage April 18!

Posted on April 11, 2019 by bonesai

On Thursday, April 18th, Markus will be presenting a 2-3 minute synopsis of his 8th grade project, “Learning the art of Bonsai.”  The Novato Charter School community and friends are invited to attend this event held at Unity Church (600 Palm Drive) in Novato at 6pm. All of his classmates will present their projects through a short speech they have each prepared.  

Markus Mieritz

A casual pizza dinner fundraiser organized by the 7th grade will be served at 5pm in the church’s courtyard (optional). The audience will start seating at about 5:40-5:45. (Arrive early for better seating, not every year but some years some people had been left with standing room only.) The presentations will begin at 6pm and run for about an hour. At approximately 7pm the audience will get a 10-minute stretch break, after which we will resume with the second half. The second half will also run for about an hour, approximately 7:15-8:15. Markus will be presenting in the first half.

We hope you can join us!

  • Aniko Mieritz

April 18, 2019 – 6pm – Unity Church, 600 Palm Drive, Novato, CA

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Our first workshop at TLCC!

Posted on March 20, 2019 by bonesai

On March 19, 2019, MBC conducted its first workshop at the Terra Linda Community Center (TLCC). There were four members involved in pruning, thinning and wiring, while one member repotted an azalea.

It is time to move on to seasonal tasks so the club won’t be bringing soil and drain hole screen material for repotting to any more workshops this year.

Visit the Taskmaster page on this website for information on seasonal tasks.

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Tidying Up a Korean Hornbeam

Posted on January 20, 2019 by bonesai

Here we get a sneak peek at the workshop of our VP of Shows, Jay McDonald as he works his magic on a Korean Hornbeam.

Jay wiring away in his workshop
  • Hornbeam sad and needing direction
  • Styled and ready for Spring!
No, definitely not a Mame!
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Wisteria’s Ways

Posted on January 20, 2019 by bonesai
Wisteria in Winter

This Chinese Wisteria was air-layered by Bill Sullivan, my first mentor, back in the 1980’s. I acquired the tree as partial payment for the cosmetic remodel of his kitchen – that was back in 2000 or 2001. This tree was featured in the new edition of Sunset Magazine’s ‘Bonsai: Illustrated Guide to an Ancient Art’, 1994. I also acquired two other trees that were featured in the magazine.

Bill was considered the grandfather of Marin County bonsai, and was instrumental in starting our show at the county fair. He was the show chairman since Marin Bonsai Club showed their art at the fair, a job which I took over after Bill passed me the reins.

After the party

This Wisteria’s truly been a joy to own and show, not one year has it not bloomed profusely like you see in the picture. Not only does it flower well, the fall color and the winter silhouette makes it exciting to own. A true all-season viewer.

  • Jay McDonald
Wisteria in full bloom
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Amazing Transformation!

Posted on November 13, 2018 by bonesai

All it takes is a lot of time and a whole bunch of skill. Here’s a ‘before’ shot of Jay McDonald’s fluffy Japanese Larch, a deciduous conifer.

Jay spent 7 hours plucking needles prior to his recent all-day wiring marathon/workshop with visiting bonsai professional Bjorn Bjorholm (https://bjornbjorholm.com/).

In this case, ‘all-day’ = 10 hours of wiring!  Fortunately, Jay estimates he won’t need to unwire this tree for two years.

Almost tragically, this tree lost two important branches about 3 years ago. Jay unwired the tree then and grew new branches to fill the vacancy left behind.  Jay’s effort has really paid off!

 

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