Posts
The show intensive has come and gone, but the fire has not. I have never been so energized, even though I came home to a deep freeze with snow and freezing rain making my driveway a sheet of ice that does not even show tire tracks. But the thaw is coming, and I have great plans for the trees this year. Seeing trees of the quality here just encourages me to keep working, because I am now learning what it takes to produce and maintain a tree like that. And what a show it was! 40 members out of about 100 total were there to set up, many of whom had taken a day off to help out. The show came together very quickly, with new backdrops playing a major part. The amazing lack of political machination and a real excitement about bonsai for its own sake are one of two things that set this club apart. The second is Boon himself. 
Boon Manakitivipart (bio) was born in Thailand, and has made his home in the San Francisco Bay area for a number of years. His intimate knowledge of so many species and their care and styling is encyclopedic. But it's his spirit that sets him apart. He strives for excellence. His goal when he started Bay Island Bonsai was just to put on one good show. His first was in 2000. The amazing thing is that each year the show has grown and the tree quality has gone up by leaps and bounds.
His enthusiasm, warmth, acceptance, and discipline have drawn many people to be a part of what he is doing. Many of us travel many hours to spend time at his home in workshops and classes. It takes a great deal of commitment to keep it up, both in time and money. Why do we do it? Because it's Boon.
There has been some misinformation about Boon's club, Bay Island Bonsai. No, it's not by invitation only! Anyone can join who can commit to learning about bonsai. Attendance at nine half-day workshops per year are required to remain a member in good standing. It's not hard to do, one can get four of them done on a single weekend. And you should probably leave a lot of your preconceived notions and bad habits at the door. Shortcuts will not be tolerated. They will however, be lovingly held up and laughed at. And yes, it may appear that I am staring at the moss in my hand as if I had no idea what I was doing. Nothing could be further from the truth. Well, okay, some things are further from the truth. But I am actually contemplating the jigsaw puzzle that is mossing a tree for show.
