Play of light
Sunlight coming through the windows at Bay Island Bonsai’s recent exhibit created some interesting shadows.
Pine with second thoughts about becoming a Western juniper
Spruce joining California juniper and Beech in spirit
More photos from the exhibit coming soon!
Twelve years later
Bay Island Bonsai’s 12th annual Exhibit of Fine Bonsai will be held this coming weekend, January 15th and 16th, at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. The exhibit will feature hands-on demonstrations, an expanded vendor area, an auction of high-quality trees, and nearly 100 formally displayed bonsai.
Chinese Elm from BIB’s 2010 Exhibit
This year’s exhibit also welcomes a new feature – the Akio Kondo Bonsai Award. Kondo was Boon’s senior apprentice, or senpai, when the two apprenticed at Kihachi-en. Kondo is visiting from Japan and has agreed to select an outstanding bonsai for the prize.
For those of you who don’t know the story, the exhibit is the result of Boon’s desire to produce “one good show.” He expressed this desire upon returning from his apprenticeship with Yasuo Mitsuya in Japan. Boon formed BIB soon thereafter, and eighteen months later we held our first exhibit in January, 2000.
Announcement of the first BIB exhibit in Golden Statements
BIB had maybe twelve members at the time. As many of you know, even small bonsai exhibits can entail a lot of hard work. After a busy weekend, we packed up our trees, dismantled the backdrops, loaded the supplies and returned everything to Alameda where one by one, in the rain, three of us returned the last of the backdrops to Morten’s basement.
As we were hungry, Boon, Morten and I headed to the Gold Coast Grille for some comfort food. We were exhausted, and ate in silence. At one point Morten looked up with a wan smile and said, “I think it was a good show.” I tried to smile, Boon just stared. We were simply too tired to think clearly. After some reflection, we agreed with Morten, and started planning improvements for the next year’s exhibit.
The Bay Island Bonsai website offers a more detailed history as well as general information about the organization. As always, the organization remains open to all who are serious about learning bonsai and who can participate in BIB events like our annual exhibit. I hope to see you there!
What’s in the trunk?
I was struck, at the recent Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 27th annual show, how the trunk of each bonsai set the tone for the rest of the tree. The roots, branches, and foliage each take their cue from the trunk, and if there is too big a difference in quality between any one of these elements and the trunk, the bonsai is less effective.
For a species that can grow up to 380′, Coast redwoods can make surprisingly compelling bonsai. They typically feature massive trunks with lots of deadwood. I’ve always thought of this as a result more of a general bonsai aesthetic than a representation of how the trees typically grow – tall and thin in this case. But like other species that make good collected bonsai, redwood can show a lot of character in the trunk.
Coast redwood – foliage surrounding deadwood on the trunk
Deadwood at the base of the trunk
After looking at these details, seeing the entire tree doesn’t surprise me much, although it looks a bit more massive than I’d expect, likely due to the tree’s slow taper.
Another redwood at the show demonstrates bonsai’s potential for tree art, if there is such a thing.
Coast redwood – trunk detail
Does the complete tree meet or break expectations after looking at a slice of the trunk?
Some varieties reveal themselves completely in the trunk. This pomegranate is a good example of this.
Pomegranate – trunk detail
Kaede, or trident maple, is another easily recognizable variety. The roots and subtle taper on the maple below are both good characteristics.
Trident maple – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Other kaede in the show were far more massive. Can you get a sense of what the rest of this maple looks like?
Trident maple – trunk detail (see complete tree)
I could ask the same of the following trident maple. When the shape of the trunk breaks from our most standard idea of how a variety grows, it’s harder, but not impossible, to guess how the rest of tree looks. Our general sense of trunk to silhouette ratio can help here.
Trident maple – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Some trunks are simply fun to enjoy.
Cascade pyracantha – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Cascade procumbens juniper – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Shimpaku (see complete tree)
The cork oak below appears to have a large and straight trunk with some deadwood – all masculine characteristics. The bark reveals the variety clearly.
Cork oak – trunk detail
Taken as a whole, however, the tree offers a very different, and somewhat more feminine character.
Another oak in the show had very fast taper. The rounded branches and roots shown here almost resemble those of some ficus bonsai. Both varieties are good at evoking the massive specimens found in nature.
California live oak – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Pine bonsai are known for their bark. There were some great examples at this year’s show, including one of my favorites, the Japanese black pine donated to the GSBF Collection North by Mas Imazumi. It’s simply one of the best pines around here.
Turtle-back bark – Japanese black pine (see complete tree)
The pine below has great lichens growing at its base.
Lichen growing on the nebari (see complete tree)
Can you tell from the trunk and first branch which way this tree points?
Good movement and taper – Japanese five needle pine (see complete tree)
Shari near the base of the tree
I didn’t catch the variety of the tree below, but it looks like a Chinese elm. From the photo, it’s hard to even tell if the tree is alive. I find the character here very interesting.
Trunk detail (see complete tree)
Juniper – trunk detail
After looking at the maple below I was surprised to see how large the tree is – another example of how good trees can work at different scales.
Maple – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Hawthorne – trunk detail (see complete tree)
Age is the characteristic that stands out to me here. Cedar bark breaks when the tree gets old.
Cedar – trunk detail (see complete tree)
After looking at these trees closely I want to go out and look at my own trees – I’m curious what their trunks will reveal.
Bonsai stories
What to do when a big branch in the front of the tree blocks your view of the trunk? Layer it and make a new tree. Last weekend’s Bay Area Bonsai Associates (BABA) show featured both halves of a boxwood created by Ned Lycett. Here’s a shot of the main tree.
Boxwood bonsai
And here’s the branch that’s now a semi-cascade boxwood bonsai.
I’ll bet a number of the trees in the exhibit have equally compelling stories. The trick is talking to club members to learn about them. I’ve yet to visit an exhibit that published the juicy tidbits, but I’d love to do so. We’ve thought providing stories of intrigue in the Bay Island Bonsai exhibit program, but have yet to follow through. It would require a lot of up front effort, but could help visitors learn more about why the trees mean so much to us. The best effort I’ve seen in this area is the guide to the GSBF’s Lake Merritt Bonsai Garden. It’s a great starting point that can encourage us to share our trees’ stories. More on that later.
Jay McDonald keeps the show trees from drying out at BABA’s 28 annual show.
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