BIB practice display

The practice display at this month’s Bay Island Bonsai meeting comes courtesy of Jim Gremel. The wonderful itiogawa juniper is one of many Jim has grown from scratch.

Itiogawa juniper

It’s shown, below, with a colorful pyracantha – a great variety to exhibit this time of year. If all goes well, the berries will last through our upcoming exhibit in mid-January.

Display as set up

While our display supplies are limited at monthly meetings, they are usually enough to offer an idea of what items need addressing before the exhibit. The stand for the juniper, members noted, is a bit ornate for the tree. The stand for the pyracantha is clearly too small.

These details are easily addressed. More important, however, is the relationship between the two trees. Although the trees are displayed at different heights, their individual heights are quite similar. Typically three-point displays are more effective when there is a greater size difference between the trees. The pine below, while a bit large for a medium display at 21″, is a better overall fit.

Modified display

If the goal is to highlight the juniper, a new second tree will be needed. Ideally, it will be either smaller than the juniper or taller and thinner. Once the second tree is determined, appropriate stands and accents can be selected.

No display has gone unscrutinized at BIB meetings. I see this as a good thing. Through this exercise we can learn how to make good displays great. And that, in itself, is a pretty good thing.