Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai

Satsuki Azalea Bonsai Club

Author: George Haas

Author for BASA website beginning on December 17, 2016.

Soh-Ju-En Bonsai

Bay Area Satsuki Aikokai (BASA) club members are a lucky bunch. We have beautiful Satsuki Azalea bonsai to display every year in May. The time that Satsuki Azaleas are in full bloom. But, we also have among our membership experienced teachers and bonsai artists. And on top of that, we have fine quality vendors. I would like to highlight the friendship and resources of Darren and Laura Wong in this post. They together started working on Satsuki Azalea bonsai in the spring of 2001. They completed a three-year course of instruction at El Dorado Bonsai, in Placerville, CA., that taught the Japanese ways of styling, cultivating, and maintaining healthy Satsuki azalea bonsai. In 2005, they were accepted as students by Mr. Sushio Nakayama in Japan. Both travel back to Japan two to three times a year to study with their sensei Nakayama.

Their main goal is to help spread the art and proper care of Satsuki Azalea bonsai here in the United States.

Darren and Laura import fine quality Satsuki Azalea bonsai and bonsai supplies from Japan. Their business name is Soh-Ju-En, meaning “twin trunk or husband/wife. Essentially, it connotates two working as one.”

Please check out their website at http://www.sohjuensatsukibonsai.com.

2017 Mammoth Auction & Sale, February 18 and 19, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

Look whose vending at the Mammoth Auction & Sale on Sunday, February 19, 2017:

1. Art of the Daiza, Jerry Braswell
2. Back to the Roots Bonsai, Ryan Nichols
3. Bonsai Fusion, Kanehiro Hamajime
4. Bonsai Tonight, Jonas Dupuich
5. Bonsai Travel, Kora Dalager
6. Bulls Eye Bonsai, Donald Hoisington
7. Carman’s Nursery, Nancy Schramm
8. Deadwood Bonsai, Ned Lycett
9. Deer Meadow Bonsai, Jim Gremel
10. Designs by Glaister, David Glaister
11. Designs by North, Stephanie North
12. Enchanted Forest, David Chimpky
13. GSBF Bonsai at Lake Merritt Museum
14. Japanese Sumi-e, Ami Wada
15. JT Bonsai, John Thompson
16. Ki-No-Toshi Bonsai, Garrett Ryan
17. Legacy Oaks, Barry Altshule
18. Lone Pine Gardens, Steve Price
19. Lotus Bonsai Nursery & Gardens, Bolet Salvador and Scott Chadd
20. Mendocino Coast Bonsai, Zack and Bob Shimon
21. Muranaka Bonsai, George Muranka
22. Pet Plants, Don Hilbert
23. Round Valley Nursery, Ed and Linda Clark
24. Seiji Shiba
25. Shohin Bonsai Guy, David Gocinski
26. Soh-Ju-En Satsuki Bonsai, Darren and Laura Wong

Visit: <http://gsbf-lakemerritt.org>

RYAN NEIL

Announcement – Ryan Neil Re-Styling Demonstration March 4, 2017

Ryan Neil will conduct a re-styling of the BGLM’s Rocky Mountain Juniper to be held at the Lake Merritt Sailboat Boathouse from 1:00 to 4:00 PM on Saturday, March 4, 2017. Ryan’s demonstration will be a fund-raising event in support of the Bonsai Garden Revitalization Opportunity (GRO) project. BGLM is raising $100,000 to replace worn out display and seating benches, upgrade water systems and install new pathways and windows. Your participation will help fund GRO.

Tickets are $35 each (tax deductible) and will be available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Tickets may be reserved by emailing [email protected] with the name of purchaser, number of tickets requested, phone number, mailing address, and email address. Once you are confirmed that there is space for you, you will be asked to mail a check or credit card number, expiration date and Zip code to GSBF BGLM, PO Box 16176, Oakland, CA 94610. Once purchased, the tickets are non-refundable.

Ryan’s first appearance as a headliner was at the 2010 GSBF Convention in Santa Clara. The tree he styled was the Rocky Mountain Juniper, which was placed in the auction and purchased by BGLM board member, Andrea Burhoe. Subsequently, Andrea donated the bonsai to the BGLM. Ryan cared for the bonsai at his studio in Oregon from 2010 to 2015, when it was moved to the Garden and placed on permanent display.

Ryan was a headliner in the most recent 2016 GSBF Convention in Sacramento. He was born and raised in Colorado, where he became interested in bonsai at an early age. He studied horticulture at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. Upon graduation, he spent six years under the apprenticeship of Mr. Masahiko Kimura, “The Magician,” Japanese master of contemporary bonsai. In 2010, Ryan settled in Oregon to pursue the creation of Mirai – a prime bonsai school and nursery. In 2015, Ryan and his wife, Chelsea, hosted the first Artisans Cup at the Portland Art Museum, a one of a kind exhibition of fine bonsai. Ryan travels throughout the United States and around the world to perform demonstrations, lectures, and to judge and critique exhibits.

I hope you can be with us on Saturday, March 4th in a beautiful setting for a fun afternoon with Ryan.

Sincerely,
Joe Byrd, Chairman

VISIT OUR WEBSITE http://gsbf-lakemerritt.org

Mammoth Auction & Sale

It’s coming, February 18 and 19, 2017. The biggest bonsai auction and sale ever. Auction on Saturday – includes quality old bonsai and stands from the Frank Bardella collection. Sale on Sunday – includes 18 quality vendors. Buy lunch while waiting for the auction to begin or between shopping for bonsai wares.

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