On a chilly June Monday night, more than 50 bonsai enthusiasts gathered to to watch a demonstration by Mauro Stemberger from Italy. They were not disappointed as Mauro rapidly demonstrated his styling, shaping and wiring skills. While this was all happening, he explained various bonsai issues, answered questions from the audience and entertained with stories of how he became involved with bonsai at the age of fourteen while still at school after admiring bonsai in the window of the flower shop across the road. More recently, he has decided to pursue his bonsai interests rather than the architecture he studied at University.
Whilst working quickly on the demonstration tree, Mauro was also sharing his own views on collecting trees from the wild, splitting branches, making jins, applying raffia and plastic tape, wiring, wiring and more wiring, improving collections by reducing the size of your bonsai collection and the best growing conditions.
See below for photos showing the original demonstration tree, several stages in the styling and the final outcome. A great demonstration and a satisfied audience as you will notice in the group photos that Mauro organised.
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| Juniper getting itself prepared for the demonstration |
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| Initial trimming and shari |
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| Branch splitting required for one section |
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| Raffia |
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| Branch bending |
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| Wiring - Mauro and his helper |
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| Styling the first branch |
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| Styling the top |
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| Magnificent finished tree |
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| Final group shot |
Mauro also conducted several workshops and a selection of photos will be available for viewing soon.
Trees on display for the meeting are included below.
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| English Elm |
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| Trident Maple Group |
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| Prunus |
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| Desert Ash |
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| Chamaecyparis obtusa hinoki nana |
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| Black Pine |
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| Chinese Elm Seiju |
