November program notes:

Because of the Veterens day closing of our regular meeting space we held our General Meeting on the third Thursday of the month. We literally had Marco Invenizzi for his last day in the Bay Area this year. We decided the best benefit from having him would be in a workshop format. Two four hour workshops were attended by twelve paying participants. The second workshop took place during the General Meeting so that non-participating members could observe the workshop and learn by watching. Marco was trained in Japan in the nursery of Masahiko Kimura, arguably Japan?s best known bonsai stylist.
In addition to working with the participants time was taken out to style good nursery material which is one of many the club will be providing each month in the comming year for the raffle table. Marco instructed a couple of members in an orderly fashion on how to begin working on raw material. The tree was than raffled to those attending.

The entire event which began at noon with the first workshop was a good experience for all of us in working with a emerging master bonsai stylist. It is fair to say that each person and each tree which Marco worked on had a different experience. Kind of like the blind men?s experience with the elephant. We each got his take on what our respective trees should look like and the chance to ask questions and learn new techniques.

Every teacher has his or her own methods and requirements and Marco was not shy about instructing us in what he believes to be essential to good bonsai practice. He insisted that all trees being worked on be placed on a turntable so that the tree could be moved and looked at from all sides eaisily. He also insisted that the material being worked on be in the best health and able to take the rigors imposed by pruning and wiring and that the tree we were working on be worthy of our efforts. Also that our tools be sharp, clean and adequate to the tasks ahead. As simple as all this sounds these are important questions we should continue to ask ourselves as we endeavor in this prusuit. Marco is also insistant on good wiring practice. Alex Loughry has provided us with this compilation:

The following is a summary of rules for proper wiring according to Marco Invenizzi.

1. Size of the copper wire should be 1/3 the size of the branch.
2. One wire should be attached to two branches of the same thickness.
3. The two branches should be close together but a least one complete turn around the trunk or main branch between the two branches.
4. When the thickness of the branch changes the wire should also change. The transition from the larger wire to the smaller wire needs to have both wires overlap each other for at least for 2 turns around the branch.
5. When wiring a branch to be set in a certain direction do the following:
-Move a branch down start the wire coming from over the top of the branch right at the joint where the branch meets the trunk
-Move a branch up start the wire coming from underneath the branch right at the joint where the branch meets the trunk
-Move a branch forward start the wire coming from behind the branch right at the joint where the branch meets the trunk
-The wire needs to be behind the direction of where you want to bend the branch so that the wire stretches and holds the branch rather than loosens and pulled away from the branch.
6. Wire should always stay in contact with the branch
7. When you wire a branch always have it face 45? to your body so that the arm is parallel to the branch as you apply the wire
8. The arm that is applying the wire should be loose and while it is applying the wire have an even and constant motion in which the hand is outside the branch. Keeping the hand on the outside of the branches avoids having the hand bang and hit other branches while applying the wire. The hand should be at the end of the wire to have the most torque for applying the wire. The hand should not be gripping hard like a fist but instead be elongated with your index finger stretched on the wire toward the tree. This hand should be your dominate hand.
9. The opposite hand holds the wire to the branch and guides the wire along the branch insuring that the wire does not fold over the smaller branches or damage buds as the wire is applied. The hand should come underneath the branch and hold the wire at the point where the wire separates from the branch. On each complete revolution of the wire the hand moves down to assume the same position. This hand should hold the wire tightly to the branch so that the branch does not move as the wire is applied. When moving your position of the opposite hand be sure not move the other hand which is applying the wire.
10. The angle of the wire as it is applied to the branch should be at 45 degrees. If the angle much larger and the spiral closer together they tend to act like a spring and bounce back. One the other hand, if the angle is shallow with the spirals farther apart there is not the support to do the bends on the branches.
11. The spiral of the wire should always be equal in distance.
12. Do not cross the wire over other wires.
13. When you get to a fork on a branch, always place the wire along the outside of the fork and continue the wire along the larger diameter branch. Never pass it through the crotch of the fork.
14. The length of the wire to start with is about 1.5x the length of the distance between the end of the two branches needed to be wired. Pre-bend the wire and hold the wire at the junction of the branch closest to the trunk. Insure that wire does not move as you wire toward the other branch. Wire 1.5x turns up the opposite branch and stop. Go back to the first branch and wire it to the end. Now finish the second branch.
15. When you get to the end of a branch insure to loop the wire back. This way the branch does not unravel from the wire at the end as you bend the branch. By placing a loop at the end of the branch on a pine helps to protect the needles and bud of the branch and allows them to be moved up as a group.
16. When bending a branch, make sure that the point where you are going to bend the branch has the wire on the outside edge of the bend. This protects the branch and helps prevent the branch from breaking or splitting at that point.
17. When bending a larger branch using raffia always protect the junction where the branch and trunk meet because it is a weak spot. Start the raffia by forming a figure 8 with the raffia around both the trunk and branch and do it twice then proceed wrapping the branch.
18. Practice, Practice, Practice!!!! Be critical of your wiring.

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