Annual Silent Auction
The Annual Silent Auction is coming up very soon! These auctions have been sources of great material, gear, and supplies for me over the years. Bonsai material is hard to find, and these auctions have been excellent at providing unexpected items for us bonsai nuts.
In this month’s Editor’s Notes:
I have some important updates on the Silent Auction logistics
Some more information on the Bonsai Rendezvous show in October
A What is This Tool feature
And a Trees in the Wild from my neck of the woods 🌳
Silent Auction Pro-Tips
A few years ago I decided to put a few items into the silent auction. People bid on it, so I was expecting to get some proceeds from it.
A few months passed, and I hadn’t gotten anything in the mail, nor has anyone said anything in the club meetings about it. I asked JT, “Hey, what’s going on? Where’s that check?”
“I sent the check out a while back,” said JT.
“Oh no, what address did you send it to? I moved recently!”
“Ah, we sent the check to the address you put on the membership form when you joined.”
Well, luckily we were able to sort that out. But, to avoid any issues post-auction, please update your address with our Memberships person, Jeff Escallier. One way to do that is to fill out a membership application with your new information, and just make a note in the form that it’s to update your address.
Just as important as it is to have your information up to date, please bring in a silent auction form for every item (or each group of items if you want to auction off a bundle of items) you wish to auction off.
Fill out everything except for the name and bids, of course.
Lastly, bring a pen. Very good pro-tip. 🖊📝🌳
New Members Form
If you have filled out the online New Member form prior to this newsletter, please fill it out again. A bug prevented the forms from being recorded properly.
Bonsai Rendezvous Updates
Courtesy of Bolet Salvador of Lotus Bonsai Nursery & Gardens
Dear Friends in Bonsai,
The Golden State Bonsai Federation is happy to announce, and invite you to, a very special Bonsai experience happening in October in Santa Nella. Attached is the program that describes the activities and list of vendors participating.
With the resurgence of the Covid-19 delta variant, attendees are recommended to be vaccinated and wearing masks. We hope this will not discourage you from coming and participating, especially after a long drought of Bonsai activities due to the pandemic.
We, along with the many vendors at the event, very much look forward to seeing you on October 2-3, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) in Santa Nella.
Bolet Salvador
Lotus Bonsai Nursery & Gardens 🌳
Trees in the Wild
This month’s Tree in the Wild is a new one from my neck of the woods in Marin County. It’s probably an oak of some sort — definitely styled as one by nature. (See, bonsai really does draw a lot of inspiration from real trees!) I just love the subtle greens against the golden hills, as well as the soft light. The color scheme is quite pleasant.
Speaking of color schemes, this is why the choice of soil matters a lot. It needs to compliment the whole picture as it’s part of the composition. I’ve seen some (and have used some in the past) very jarring choices for the soil.
Perlite: way too bright and white. Also they float away when you water.
Turface: also too light when it’s dry and doesn’t blend in well color-wise.
Granite: Quite grey and also probably too bright. Also probably leads to some water retention issues.
Pure red lava rock: Too red.
Many reasons I stopped using these.
There’s a reason why a lot of mixes contain the classical akadama, red and black lava rock, and pumice mix. When blended together, they create a neutral earth for the tree to sit on.
Of course, always fun to cover with moss as well.
I thought I’d post this tree in celebration of JT’s Oak Tree demonstration last month. I hope you find some inspiration from this tree as I have. 🌳
Upcoming Midori Events
Upcoming First Thursday topics
September: Silent Auction
We will be having our annual Silent Auction. Please donate your bonsai related items for club members to bid on. Bring in an auction form for each item. A portion of the funds from the auction go towards supporting the club activities.
October: Beginner’s Tree Workshop
[To be updated as more information comes in] Members are welcome to participate in a tree workshop lead by experienced members. A tree will be given free of charge — a great opportunity to get your first tree and work on it if you have never had a tree before!
As always, the Third Thursdays are our general workshop. Bring in some trees to work on or get feedback. 🌳
Upcoming Northern California (and Beyond) Bonsai Events
7th US National Bonsai Exhibition
September 11-12, 2021 — East Rochester, New York
US National Bonsai Exhibition
The world bonsai community will once again be enriched by the display of bonsai gathered from across the United States at the 7th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, September 12-13, 2020, in Rochester, NY.
Like Japan’s Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition, people from around the world attend the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibitions to appreciate and study the diversity of the unique and distinctive species displayed by accomplished bonsai artists from across the United States.
GSBF Bonsai Rendezvous
October 2-3, 2021 — Hotel Mission de Oro
Golden State Bonsai Federation
Get ready and plan for attending the 2021 GSBF Bonsai Rendezvous. The event theme is Bonsai Rendezvous. A two-day event for renewal and celebration for the love of bonsai. No registration fee. Open to the public. Free bonsai demonstrations both days. Free professional bonsai critiques, Bring Your Own Bonsai and Do It Yourself Bonsai settings. Vendors from Northern and Southern California in one huge location. There will be silent auctions for quality bonsai and related items. There will be no banquet dinners. Additional information and schedule of activities forthcoming shortly. See the "Convention" section of the GSBF website for further updates.
Marin Bonsai Club Silent Auction and Sale
November 6, 2021 — Terra Linda Community Center
Marin Bonsai Club
The Marin Bonsai Club will be having its Annual Silent Auction and Sale from 10am-3pm. 🌳
