Mid-Michigan Bonsai Message Corner

January 2005 Meeting

6:30pm - 9:00pm, Foster Community Center, room 213 (NOTE:  Room change)

Photographing Bonsai - presented by Tim Priest

Pot selection exercise – ume

One of the best ways to refine your sense of which pots are a good match for a given tree is to try out different alternatives. This is especially true for trees with unusual shapes or features.

Bonsai interview

Nick Hopes is a very talented British bonsai potter and bonsai enthusiast. This interview was done a few months ago and was first released for members of Kisetsu-en. now shared with everybody. @Maidenhair Ceramics by Nick Hopes

A Pine Makeover

Apprentice Patch Clark is back with a Japanese Black Pine. This is our sequel to A Juniper Makeover.

Thank you for your interest for the 2023 8th US National Bonsai Exhibition Commemorative  Album. I appreciate your order and support!

3D Bonsai—Interactive Images From Aaron Kupferman

During the setup for the 2024 Pacific Bonsai Expo I saw a walled-off photography setup in the corner. At least, that’s what I thought it was, until I saw a second setup that I knew, for sure, was a photography setup. Now I wasn’t sure what the other thing was.

Appreciating shohin displays at Gafu-ten

After reviewing the basics of how to assemble a shohin display last week (see “Award-winning display” for details), we can begin to spot differences in otherwise similar-looking displays and better understand what makes these displays “work.”

Live Q&A Thursday

Thursday we have our monthly Live Q&A and some good topics ticking in for that. Be sure to join and bring in your questions too.

Award-winning shohin display at the 50th Gafu-ten

At this year’s Gafu-ten, the top shohin exhibit in Japan, there were many examples of what we might call “conventional contemporary shohin displays.” The effect, when scanning the hall, was that a lot of the displays looked similar.

Should I Worry About That Burl?

They have an attraction, these lumpy knobs on trees. Several times I’ve stared up at a tree in a forest with a magnificent lumpy knob, and, after admiring it, wondered if it was the next to be stolen. The theft of maple burls have been reported on the news in Oregon and with redwood burls in California.

Special displays at the 50th Gafu-ten

I’ve noticed, in recent years, more and more special displays at Japanese bonsai exhibits. I think of a special display as any approach to bonsai display other than the standard arrangement of trees and accents within an approximately six foot space.