Marco Invernizzi travels the world giving bonsai demonstrations and workshops. For our November meeting, Marco took time to give an all day workshop for BSSF members. Beginning at noon, workshop participants hauled some of their best material to the Hall of Flowers for hands-on instruction from Marco. By 7:30 that evening, club members began filtering in to the meeting to examine the nearly completed projects.

Workshops with Marco are intense and include basic instruction on wiring, foliage refinement, and jin/shari creation. As usual, Marco did not disappoint. Our work-shoppers, Aaron Newton, Bernard Marque, Joe Nersveen, Tyson Appel, and Lawrence LeClaire only stopped briefly for dinner (provided by our Head Chef, Tim Kong) and continued to nearly 10PM. Most of the time was spent working with a single tree. In fact many of work-shoppers have been working with Marco for several years on a single tree, bringing it back and slowly styling and refining every branch year after year.

Workshops with Marco are always a great learning experience. This year Marco focused on planning ahead for your bonsai. In particular, Marco wanted everyone to think about how the final design of the tree will match its pot. For example, if you want to remove a large branch from the tree, the new design of the tree may require a much smaller pot. In some cases, a tree may not survive in the pot required to fit the new proportions. So you must be mindful of the future form of the tree before making any major changes.

If you ever take a workshop with Marco, you should know that he places a high priority on fundamental bonsai techniques such as wiring and branch placement. Marco always gives his “rules of wiring” to newcomers of his workshops. Not only does Marco focus on wiring basics such as how to choose the correct size of wire for a branch, but he also demonstrates proper posture and handling of the tree while wiring, which reduces stress on your body and the tree. While wiring, you should work with your tree on a turntable so you you can turn your tree as you work and not turn your body. Next, you should work with tree so that your arms are in a neutral position. You should not have to lift your arms while wiring branches. Therefore, you should consider getting a small stool to lift your bonsai or even a turntable with adjustable height. After 5-10 hours of wiring, these ergonomic tips make a huge difference. To protect your tree while wiring, Marco makes his students work from under the branches so foliage is not damaged (especially with pines). You should avoid moving your hands too much while wiring. Care must be given not break dormant buds or destroy fine twigging. Also, care should be made not to move the branch too much while wiring. Moving the branch could weaken the branch point and cause the branch to die.

A workshop with Marco is an excellent learning experience for members with all levels of bonsai experience. Marco has been a regular at the November BSSF meeting for the past five years. Every year his workshops are better as he gains experience traveling and teaching around the world. If you are interested in taking next year’s workshop, you should start planning now. First, start wiring. Plan to take one of our two Bonsai Basics wiring courses planned for 2009. Afterwards, practice wiring your trees. If you are not satisfied with your wiring attempts, try again until you get it right. Next, find a nice tree! There are plenty of opportunities throughout the year to find quality bonsai material. There auctions and sales, during the year all over the Bay Area. Go with an experienced BSSF member to help you choose a nice tree. Take care of the tree and keep it healthy for the workshop. Working with quality trees will help you get the most out of your workshop with Marco.

Once again, we thank Marco for making the time to visit BSSF this year. Make sure you are in this workshop in 2009.

Tags: Marco Invenizzi, november, Workshops