Newsletter – May 2019

Bonsai Notebook

Saikei Workshop with Al Nelson begins at 5pm

We have a special program scheduled for our May 11 meeting. Al Nelson will be our guest, and he will lead a saikei workshop with eight of our members. The participating members and Al’s team of assistants will begin the workshop at 5:00pm, two hours before the regular meeting time of 7:00pm. All members are welcome to attend the workshop as observers. Otherwise, plan on arriving at the regular time of 7:00pm. You will be able to see the progress of the Kingsville boxwood saikeis and hear Al talk about the development of the beautiful landscapes as the workshop continues.
Most of us know Al, but as a reminder, he is a native Californian, born in Berkeley. He moved to southern California in 1060. His first profession was woodworking, followed by a long career in sales.

Al attended a demonstration by John Naka in the late 1970’s and was inspired to take up the bonsai art. He studied with Harry Hirao, John Naka and Ernie Kuo. Al currently teaches bonsai at his home in Irvine, and he will be aided by his students at the workshop.

As with all our meetings, we will have refreshments and a raffle table full of bonsai related items. Come and learn more about saikeis while you watch several being created.

Meeting Time And Place:
May 11, 2019 at 7pm
LAC Arboretum/ Palm Room

President’s Corner

IT’S SHOW TIME! We will be presenting our 55th annual club show over the Memorial Day weekend at the Arboretum. Our members selected “Deciduous Trees” as our theme this year.

I encourage all our members to enter their best deciduous trees, but as always, you can enter any species of bonsai you like. It is our show, one of the oldest in existence, and I hope all our members will participate by entering a tree and/or assisting at the show.

The show is always a big hit with the general public visiting the Arboretum. It is pleasing to see how much people enjoy looking at the trees and wondering how we do it. If you need help preparing a tree for the show, come to the May meeting, bring your tree, and ask for advice. We have plenty of experienced members willing to help you at the meeting and at show set-up.

A sign-up form is included in the newsletter, and additional forms will be available at the May meeting. If you choose not show a tree, please sign up to help out as a docent, watching the trees and occasionally answering questions. The show covers three days and help is always appreciated. We will also need help with show set-up at 1:00pm on Friday, May 24 and take-down at 4:00pm on Monday, May 27. You will learn a lot just helping in any of these capacities.

The show will also feature a sales table where members can sell bonsai related items. A lot of great trees and other items will be available to help you boost your collection. Come and enjoy it all with us.

~Dave

April 2019 Meeting Highlights

Our members and guests enjoyed another informative evening with Ted Matson in April. Ted is always on the lookout for new or seldom used material to add variety and interest to our bonsai collections. In about 2008, Ted explored a going-out-of-business nursery in Simi Valley. He found a supply of young material he thought might be crape myrtle. He bought the plants and put them in a corner of his yard and left them alone except for watering and occasional pruning. Over time, the trees developed a lot of character with tangled, exposed roots. Ted eventually identified the material as Mexican guava.

Ted brought several of the guava trees to the meeting and picked out two that he worked on and potted for our raffle. The exposed roots and colorful leaves were very unique. He talked about creating a tree structure based on what was available in each of the two pieces he worked on. Ted did a masterful job of explaining his work on the trees and held our interest throughout.

By highlighting the root structure and combining minimal wiring with directional pruning, Ted created two very nice trees. After potting, the trees looked great, and we had a lot of anxious raffle ticket holders.

The happy winners of the trees were Frank Yee and Marge Blasingame. Ted had several extra guavas that he did not want to take back home, so other eager club members took home the raw material for a nominal fee. Thanks again to Ted for a great evening!

Thank You to our April Meeting Raffle Donors

Jerry Banuelos, Ray Blasingame, Y.S. Farn, Edgar Fukutaki, Marty Hagbery, Dave Miles

Members Corner

We have welcomed several new members to SABS as many old members renewed during the 1st quarter of 2019. It has been exciting to see how SABS’s membership has grown during the past year. Thanks for your participation and support. If you haven’t been receiving the newsletter by email and would like to, please contact Lorraine at [email protected] with your most current address.

The newsletter is always available on our website www.sabonsai.org. 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 Lorraine prior to the 20th of any month.

Visitors always welcome at our meetings….come check out SABS anytime.

Upcoming Events

May 4-5
Dai Ichi Bonsai Kai 34th Annual Exhibit and Sale
Demos both days at 1pm, dinner reception Sat. at 6pm

May 25,26, 27
Santa Anita Bonsai Society Annual Memorial Day Weekend Show
L.A. County Arboretum, 9a-4p, vendors, sales area, demos each day at 1pm

June 15
Bonsai Stock Sale
At the home of Jim Barrett
480 Oxford D. Arcadia, 9am-5pm

Come Join Us

Next Meeting
Date: May 11, 2019
Time:
5pm Saikei Workshop with Al Nelson (observers welcome)
7pm General Meeting

Location:
LAC Arboretum, Palm Room
301 N. Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007

2019 Monthly Meeting Dates

May 11 — Al Nelson Workshop
June 8 — Steve Valentine
July 13 — Peter Macasieb

Refreshment Schedule

May 11: David & Debra Mauzy-Melitz, Dick Ryerson, Mike Kelly, Victor Shelton
June 8: David & Jenny Tsai, Eunice Jee
July 13: Linda & Gabriel Gonzalez, Marissa Macasieb, Wendy Tsai, Susan & Huong Dao

More sign up opportunities will be available at upcoming meetings