For the foreseeable future, all RBS activities are cancelled.
Our monthly meetings, typically at 7 p.m. on the 4th Monday of each month, are usually held in the Community room or activity room of St. Mary’s Woods, 1257 Marywood Ln., Richmond, VA, 23229. Please check the individual event listings on the calendar for changes,updates and details.
We are happy to announce that the RBS web page now has the ability to accept online payments for paid workshops, activities, and MEMBERSHIP. You can use any credit or dept card or a Paypal account now via the Membership, Event Registration, and Purchases Page.
RBS Nursery Crawl, Saturday, October 12, Colesville Nursery
As a follow up to our September meeting, RBS be visiting a Colesville Nursey in Ashland on Saturday, October 12, at 10 am. Join us as we scour the nursery for potential bonsai material. Experienced members will be on hand to advise as needed. THEN, we ask you to bring those purchases to discuss at the October meeting.
Did you go to a nursery and buy a new tree or do you already have a tree you’re not sure of the next step? How about a tree that needs a little tweak? A project tree that you know has potential but are just not sure what to do first? What about a tree that lost its apex and needs a make over? The October meeting will give you an opportunity to resolve your questions and or concerns. Please bring your tree to the meeting and participate in a discussion about your tree. You will leave with a plan for your tree’s development and your questions answered. Don’t have a current project? We’ll furnish pen and paper to take notes so you’ll have a reference for issues you encounter on your next project. We’ll have an excellent educational for everyone. We will have a brief business meeting and then begin the discussions. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, October 28th, 7 pm, in the ACTIVITY Room of St. Mary’s Woods. Please note the ACTIVITY ROOM, is not our regular room, but on the other side of the building next to the chapel.
November Meeting: Monday, November 25. 7 pm
This month we will discuss. Winter Storage and Getting Ready For Spring. Looking forward to seeing you on Monday, November 25th, 7 pm, in the Community Room of St. Mary’s Woods. Please note the Community ROOM, is our regular room
January Meeting: Monday, January 27, 7 pm
The first bonsai objective we face every year is potting or repotting our trees. After soil selection the most daunting task is selecting a pot for your tree that will show case your tree without stealing the show.
Join us at the January meeting where member Jack Frye, Potter Extraordinaire, will offer a presentation on pots and lead a discussion as to how to match tree and pot. Tips you need to be aware of, masculine vs. feminine; glazed vs non-glazed; lip vs no -lip; feet: cloud or no cloud all these attributes attributed to pots may come into play when selecting a pot for your tree. Come and learn the tips to sends that you have the perfect pot to compliment your tree and meld into the design without shifting the focus of the bonsai to the pot. If the initial impact of the newly repotted/potted tree is this fabulous pot, you have a dilemma to resolve. No reason to table the pot, it’s may be as simple as not being “THE” pot for ”THAT” tree.
Looking forward to seeing you at in the Community Room of St. Mary’s Woods. Please note the Community ROOM, is our regular room.
RBS – February Workshops with visiting artist Sean Smith
All payments for workshops are due the day of the workshop. Members planning to take the workshop should email Dave Barker, dtbarker_sd@yahoo.com, directly since he has the sigh-up list and is tracking attendance.
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 23
11:00 AM – 2:00 PM: SUISEKI & DIAZA Workshop
COST: $75.00, limited to 12 participants
AGE: Limited to 12 and up (with PARENT)
INCLUDES: Diaza blank 5.5”, stone, sandpaper, pencils, all other materials included
REQUIRED Tools: Electric Dremel, Dremel burr bit ¼” 1/8” SHAFT, ½” Dremel sanding drum
Lunch for Participants 2:00PM – 3:00 PM
3:00 PM – 6:PM REDWOOD ROOT STAND
COST: $100, limited to 12 participants
AGE: limited to 12 and up (with and above PARENT) and above
INCLUDES: root stand blank 5.5”, sandpaper, pencils, all other materials needed
REQUIRED Tools: electric Dremel, Dremel burr bit ¼”, 1/8” shaft
Other Information:
Suiseki (pronounced suu-ee-seck-ee) are small, naturally formed stones admired for their beauty and ability to suggest a distant mountain, a waterfall, an island, a thatched hut, or an animal. Suiseki are traditionally exhibited on a carved wooden base called “daiza” or in shallow trays called suiban or doban. When formally exhibited, suiseki are often accompanied by bonsai.
Sean Smith lives in the United States in Marysville Pennsylvania, where he owns and operates Custom Oriental Wood-craft. With a passion for bonsai and suiseki for over 20 years, and an extensive background in carpentry, Sean took the two, put them together and started his own business in 1994. He makes bonsai display tables,and carves daiza for renowned bonsai and suiseki enthusiasts all over the world.
For the foreseeable future, all RBS activities are cancelled.
2020 Bonsai Basics Classes
RBS is offering a series of Bonsai Basics classes to members using junipers in winter/spring 2020. For those that want to expand their bonsai skills or refresh their skills, this is the class for you. The classes will be taught by Dave Barker and will be comprised of three monthly sessions in the hour prior to the start of the regular bonsai meeting – at 6 pm before February, March, and April meetings.
The class will run 50 minutes, from 6:00 to 6:50, composed of 20 minutes of lecture and 30 minutes of practical application – working on your tree. The first session will expose the nebari, find the front of the tree, and cleaning the branches in preparation for wiring. The second session will involve initial pruning of the tree and then wiring main branches in place. In the third session, the tree will be root pruned, put in a pot with bonsai soil and finished.
The cost of the basics class is for materials: $25 for a 1 gallon juniper, pot, and scissors; $20 for a tree and pot only; $10 for scissors only; and free to members if you are supplying the juniper, pot, and scissors. Any juniper is acceptable – procumbens nana, shimpaku, shore juniper, parsonii, etc. Wire and bonsai soil will be provided. The class is limited to 12 members, with sign-up and payment beginning at the January meeting. There are 7 spots remaining. If you missed the January meeting, you can sign-up by sending an email to Dave Barker at dtbarker_sd@yahoo.com indicating you want to join the class. Once spots are filled, a waiting list will be created. Payment for the class is due at the first class.
All RBS members can be silent observers at the class to review basic skills and watch the bonsai creation process. Experienced members are requested to assist with members of the class beginning at 6:20, after the lecture portion of the class.
All classes will occur in the Community Room of St. Mary’s Woods Retirement Community, unless otherwise noted.
Regular Meeting, Monday February 24th, 7pm
Sean will offer a program on on Suiseki.Looking forward to seeing you at in the Community Room of St. Mary’s Woods. Please note the Community ROOM, is our regular room. Members are encouraged to bring in their Suiseki to share and discuss.
Suiseki: Explained in a simple way, the suiseki is the comprehension and the appreciation of nature through a stone, resulting from nature. Suiseki (Sui = water, Seki = stone) is the study and enjoyment of naturally formed stones as objects of beauty. The art of Suiseki involves the collection, preparation and appreciation of unaltered naturally formed stones. These stones are found in mountain streams, on windblown deserts, along ocean beaches – anywhere that nature may have deposited or shaped them.
Regular Meetings, unless otherwise noted, are held the 4th Monday of every month at 7 pm in the Community Room at St. Mary’s Woods, 1257 Marywood Ln., Richmond VA, 23229.
The workshop is nearly sold out. If you try to register, and it is sold out, please email us and we will put you on a waiting list and would encourage you to come that morning. If there is a place at the table, we will try to fit you in. info@richmondbonsaisociety.org
Richmond Bonsai Society Beginner Bonsai Workshop with Outdoor Tree
Saturday, March 14, 2020, 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
WHAT: Come join the members of the Richmond Bonsai Society and learn about the art and science of growing and training bonsai (bone–sigh) trees. You will learn how bonsai are developed, the types of trees suitable and you will create your own bonsai to take home and enjoy. Plants and pots and other materials are provided. Come, learn and have fun!! (Price includes 2020 RBS membership, a $30 value)
WHEN: Saturday, March 14, 2020, Starting promptly at 10:00 A.M. and ending by 12:30 P.M.
WHERE: Great Big Greenhouse, Huguenot Village Shopping Center, 2051 Huguenot Road, North Chesterfield, VA 23235-4305
COST: Workshop Fee is $35.00 paid in advance; only 30 seats available, so reserve yours today.
Register HERE or at www.richmondbonsaisociety.org Advanced registration is required.
Contact us for more information at info@richmondbonsaisociety.org
Please feel free to forward or share this email with anyone who may be interested.
For the foreseeable future, all RBS activities are cancelled.
2020 Bonsai Basics Classes
RBS is offering a series of Bonsai Basics classes to members using junipers in winter/spring 2020. For those that want to expand their bonsai skills or refresh their skills, this is the class for you. The classes will be taught by Dave Barker and will be comprised of three monthly sessions in the hour prior to the start of the regular bonsai meeting – at 6 pm before February, March, and April meetings.
The class will run 50 minutes, from 6:00 to 6:50, composed of 20 minutes of lecture and 30 minutes of practical application – working on your tree. The first session will expose the nebari, find the front of the tree, and cleaning the branches in preparation for wiring. The second session will involve initial pruning of the tree and then wiring main branches in place. In the third session, the tree will be root pruned, put in a pot with bonsai soil and finished.
The cost of the basics class is for materials: $25 for a 1 gallon juniper, pot, and scissors; $20 for a tree and pot only; $10 for scissors only; and free to members if you are supplying the juniper, pot, and scissors. Any juniper is acceptable – procumbens nana, shimpaku, shore juniper, parsonii, etc. Wire and bonsai soil will be provided. The class is limited to 12 members, with sign-up and payment beginning at the January meeting. There are 7 spots remaining. If you missed the January meeting, you can sign-up by sending an email to Dave Barker at dtbarker_sd@yahoo.com indicating you want to join the class. Once spots are filled, a waiting list will be created. Payment for the class is due at the first class.
All RBS members can be silent observers at the class to review basic skills and watch the bonsai creation process. Experienced members are requested to assist with members of the class beginning at 6:20, after the lecture portion of the class.
All classes will occur in the Community Room of St. Mary’s Woods Retirement Community, unless otherwise noted.