Newsletter – November 2016

2016-11-img01Bonsai Notebook

The November meeting will include Bob Pressler as our demonstrator.  Bob has been with us in the past and always gives us an interesting and informative presentation.

Growing up in New York, Bob studied bonsai informally with Frank Okamura at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in the early 1970’s.  Bob moved to California in 1984 where he met John Naka and Ben Oki.  He has studied with Kenji Miyata since 2001.  Bob is a member of the California Bonsai Society, and Nampu Kai.

2016-11-img01Bob owns the Kimura Bonsai Nursery in Los Angeles and teaches classes there.  Much of his bonsai collection is on display at the nursery.  Join us in November for our last meeting of 2016.

Meeting Time And Place:
November 12, 2016 at 7pm
LAC Arboretum/ Palm Room

President’s Corner

We are into the holiday time of year.  Fall colors abound, and leaves are beginning to fall.  We need to clean up he leaves and debris on our benches and prepare for winter.  Most of our tree will be fine with the winter cooling, but those of us with ficus trees need to watch the temperatures.  When temps get below 40 degrees, ficus trees need to be sheltered from getting any colder.

We need to pick a theme for our annual show in May.  We have discussed selecting a bonsai style for the theme, but suggestions are welcome.

This year’s November meeting marks the end of the current office terms for our club officers.  We will vote for officers at the meeting to have them in place for January 2017.  The following people are up for approval by the general membership:

President – David Miles
Program Chairman – Gabriel Gonzalez
Treasurer – Steve and Judy Anthony
Secretary – Marge Blasingame

Board members:
Robert Sencer – Web Master
Lorraine Miles – Newsletter Editor
Ray Blasingame – Raffle Chairman
Dick Ryerson – Past President
Peter Macasieb – Member-At-Large

Any additional nominees put forward at the meeting will be added before voting.

~Dave Miles

October Highlights

I think it is safe to say everyone with a raffle ticket went home happy after Peter Macasieb’s demonstration in October.  Peter brought a total of thirteen shohin trees to the meeting.  He styled most of the trees ahead of time, but kept a few to style as he explained his techniques to our members.

Peter talked about how he searches nurseries foe mature material with thick trunk bases.  He picks out trees with buds or branches close to the base that will be the future tree structure.  The next step is risky, but Peter emphasized that success rewards you with a nice mature shohin in a shorter period of time.   He chops the trunk to the desired height then uses his “sawsall” to cut enough root base away for the tree to fit in a gallon container.  He nurtures the tree until it has survived the process then styles the future tree.

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Peter had several examples of this technique including a beautiful black pine, a quince an elm, an oak, and a persimmon.  He also had several Itoigawa junipers from cuttings.  All of the trees were styled, and Peter donated all thirteen trees to the raffle.  We coincidentally had thirteen members who purchased raffle tickets.  We limited the raffle winners to one tree, so all ticket holders went home with a shohin from Peter in addition to other raffle items won.

2016-11-img04Thank you Peter for a great demonstration and a very generous raffle donation

Newsletter Update

If you haven’t been receiving the newsletter by email and would like to, please contact Dave with your most current  address.

  • If you have a knack for writing, a story to tell,  a photo or something you would like to share in our newsletter  please submit it to Dave and Lorraine prior to the 20th of any month  at : [email protected]
  • The SABS Newsletter is one of the “perks of belonging to our club.  When your membership is not renewed annually by the end of  March the membership lapses and you are no longer eligible to receive this newsletter directly via email and/or  US Mail.  The newsletter will always be available on our website  www.sabonsai.org

Thank You to October Meeting Raffle Donors:

Jerry Banuelos, Y.S. Farn, Joyce Gibbs, Peter Macasieb

Members Corner

Continued club history taken from the writing of J. McNey;  The May 1969 Arboretum show featured  approximately 300 trees.  Khan Komai had a grooming session for trees before club shows.  This provided an opportunity to clean and prepare each tree for the show. It was estimated that shows in the 1970’s attracted over 10,000 visitors over the three-day weekend.
Look for more next month…

Upcoming Events

Dec. 26-30, 2016
California Aiseki Kai 27th anniversary exhibition of viewing stones
Huntington  Library Botanical Center, 10am – 5pm each day

Feb. 25-26, 2017
Bonsai-A-Thon XXI
Huntington Library Botanical Center, annual fundraiser for
GSBF, 8am-4:30pm daily, more info at www.gsbfhuntington.com

Come Join Us

Next Meeting
Date: November 12, 2016
Time: 7pm
Location:
LAC Arboretum, Palm Room
301 N. Baldwin Ave
Arcadia, Ca  91007

Nov Meeting: Vote for Club Officers

2016 Monthly Meeting Dates

Nov 12 — Bob Pressler
Dec  — no meeting

2016 Refreshment Schedule

Nov   — J. Anthony,  P. Macasieb, J. Tsai
Dec   — no meeting
Jan 2017 — Annual Pot luck