Meetings

Meetings: Posts

BSSF General meetings are on the second Thursday of the month at 7:30pm. The members’ workshop is the following Thursday, 3rd Thursday of the month at 7pm. BSSF Board meetings are held on the Fourth Monday at 7pm. All of the meetings occur in the Hall of Flowers (Strybing Arboretum) at the corner of Ninth Ave and Lincoln Way. Enter through the parking lot at Tenth Ave and Lincoln and walk along the south side of the building to the club room.

by Eric SchraderRafting Through the Ages

Oct 11th: Raft style was the topic for our October General Meeting and our own John Boyce outlined some of the finer points of the style during his talk and demonstration. Raft style is one of the newer styles to be recognized and adopted by the bonsai community, it was only first attempted in the middle of the 20th Century in Japan but has gained in popularity since. The style evokes images of trees in nature that have been blown or knocked down by a storm, landslide or flood, only to persevere by growing their once branches into new trunks... read more »

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by Eric SchraderAugust General Meeting - Tim Kong and Ficus

Aug 9th: For our August 2007 meeting, our own Tim Kong discussed using trees from the Ficus family for bonsai. The Ficus genus encompasses over 800 varieties and includes the fruiting fig, the prolific rooting banyan trees and even tropical vines. All Ficus trees are native to tropical climates and are used commonly as house plants and, in temperate climates like San Francisco, are planted outside in pots or the ground... read more »

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by Bob CarlsonSuiseki: A Skyline of Small Mountains

Jul 19th: For our July 2007 general Meeting Bob Carlson, a long time member and Suiseki enthusiast came to the club meeting to give an introductory talk on suiseki. He provided some information and tips on suiseki which are reproduced here. Suiseki: A Skyline of Small Mountains by Bob Carlson History The art of displaying stones originated in China as an example of the Tao at work. The forms of Chinese stones are generally vertical, convoluted forms with heavy textures and piercing... read more »

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by Eric SchraderJuly General Meeting - Introduction to Suiseki

Jul 12th: Suiseki, the art of stone appreciation, will be the topic for our July General meeting. Long-time club member Bob Carlson will be here to discuss some of his many experiences with collecting stones, building daiza for them and the care that they take to become suiseki. As a preview, Bob urges all club members to attend the California Suiseki Society show at the Lakeside Garden center in Oakland... read more »

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by Lawrence LeClaireWiring for Bonsai

Jun 29th: For our June 2007 General Meeting Lawrence LeClaire was on hand to provide some instruction on wiring techniques in bonsai. The following was a handout that he provided to go along with the talk. Why do we wire trees for bonsai? There are many techniques to introduce movement in the trunk and branches of our trees. These include braces, trunk benders, guy wires, and clip-n-grow. However, the most useful and effective technique is wiring... read more »

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by Eric SchraderKathy Shaner and Yasuo Mitsuya! Transform a Juniper

May 10th: We had one of our best crowds ever for the May general meeting when, despite two flat tires, a juniper and a couple of bonsai masters managed to get together and accomplish some great work. Kathy Shaner and Yasuo Mitsuya were on hand and well equipped to take a juniper that was long overdue for a restyling to the next level. The San Jose Juniper was all "poodle-y" looking when it arrived, but by the time it left it had been transformed into a tree that will fill in and be a great bonsai in a very short time... read more »

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by Eric SchraderShikatusa, companion plantings

Apr 12th: For our April 2007 General meeting we were pleased to have Kora Dolager as a guest to lead a talk and workshop on companion plantings. Kora spoke for a few minutes about her discussions with Japanese masters on what is important in a companion planting. She also provided a handout which is found below. Kora said that there are a few things which are important in a planting, the most important is that the planting show seasonality... read more »

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by Eric SchraderThe Secret to Great Bonsai - Repotting.

Feb 8th: For our February 2007 meeting the club came together for a night of repotting and root work. Special thanks to John Edwards for taking charge of our newer members. Repotting can be a mystifying process for people who have no knowledge of the proper way to do it. John provided help and instruction to more than a half dozen people, all of whom I'm sure were very grateful. As I mentioned in the article about this program, repotting is a fine art in many ways... read more »

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by Eric SchraderThe Art of Carving

Jan 11th: Tim Kong demonstrated some carving techniques and tools during our January general meeting. Using olives as a subject Tim covered the basics of carving with power tools and the culture of olive trees both collected and from cuttings of various types. Olives as Bonsai Olives make great bonsai because they are fast-growing, have hard wood and have small, beautifully colored leaves. The trunks become gnarled with age showing all sorts of interesting texture and character... read more »

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by Eric SchraderCaring for your ‘Plucked Chickens’