Going to my first club meeting

Lobaeux

Shohin
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I'm attending my first club meeting tomorrow and wanted to see what I could expect.

There is going to be a demo and some critique of trees, I don't plan on bringing one. They said to bring deciduous trees, but my only one is still in the ground.

Really looking forward to it.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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All clubs are different....

Which one?

Just keep an open mind and ask a lot of questions!

Sorce
 

whfarro

Chumono
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All clubs are different and have unique "character and personality". Some are more like social clubs, some are very hands on - down and dirty, others are slide show and presentation centric.

The challenge with any club is keeping the interest of those with varying levels of skill and knowledge and keep everyone growing (pun intended).

I am often frustrated with my local club because hours (and I mean hours) are wasted each month while some members debate if donuts or bagels are better or if we want to subsidize the costs of the club picnic.

Good luck.
 

ColinFraser

Masterpiece
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I've been to quite a few club meetings where there wasn't a single tree in sight . . . . ?!?!?!?
I felt awful for some new prospective members at one of those . . . no surprise that I never saw them again.
 

Lobaeux

Shohin
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Thanks guys! I'll report back tomorrow evening. I guess I'm looking for local knowledge, examples, camaraderie and "mentors". If I can find that in a club around here, I'll be extremely happy.

The encouraging sign for me was the fact that their website,Manila not super involved or even very detailed was kept up to date. Their newsletter was current. Some of the other clubs I've seen, their newsletters for example, were a couple of years old.

I belong to a couple of other clubs, non bonsai, so I can see what you guys are saying.
 

Waltron

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I've been meaning to do this as well, going to try to make it and join the club this month, no idea what to expect either. Ann Arbor bonsai society
 
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I'm like a sponge!

I'm like a Seastar!

Sorce

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@Lobaeux, I'd be interested in hearing your experiences. Never been to a club meeting either.
Only went to a clubshow and a workshop once. Was allowed a peek into @leatherback and two other dudes their gardens and will have my second workshop next saturday. I heard there's some secret little club with less than ten dudes in the very near area, but haven't been able to identify the fuckers... :mad::(
 

leatherback

The Treedeemer
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Should invite you back over, before you earn what real bonsai are, and you are not willing to look at my stick-in-pots anymore.
 

jomawa

Shohin
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Local club I go to has mostly wannabe's and hobbyists, (uhhh, myself included) but there are a few who do seem to know more and are more serious about this thing called bonsai, rather than the more common American tradition of stick in pot.

One benefit of a club are potential personal contacts and the quality experience some have. Sometimes "poduck" town club members may sell off works for reasonable prices because they aren't aware of the value in say "high-dollar" town. I may kick myself for many years to come for not purchasing (for real cheap) a very noteworthy forest one member had worked on 10 - 15 years, he's selling because he's either moving or simply getting out of bonsai, I don't recall the specifics, but buying it would have meant I go against my do-it-myself tendancy. I'm just saying sometimes there are those selling their works.

There are contacts to be made for whatever reason you chose to go to the club, but it just may require a considerable effort on your part to define what you want for yourself, then once you're clear on that and you're at the/a bonsai club you can zero in on the person/mentor to meet that need, or it may mean hunting elsewhere for what you're after.

I'm finding most people do not yet have the knowledge to answer very specific questions I come up with regarding bonsai, and I would recommend you determine for yourself whether you're intending to do evergreen, or deciduous, or both. One should be aware evergreens and deciduous require very different developments.

But I'm rambling. Dertermine what you are after, then go after those who can help get you there. A club may help.
 

Lobaeux

Shohin
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Went to the meeting this morning and really wnjoyed myself. The demonstration I thought was very good, it was a club member who did a radical restyle on a Jobaticaba, the tree apparently a little famous but had been rescued from near death. The tree was beautiful, I thought it would've made a really nice canopy, umbrella tree, but it was restyled into a literati. The discussion was fun, informative, he threw a little history of the club in there, and I really enjoyed it.

After the demo, there was some critiquing of member's trees and I learned quite a little bit there as well. Most of the trees were in various stages of work, but there were a couple I'd say that we're "finished", or at least as finished as they could be. Show ready is probably the better term.

All in all, an enjoyable way to spend the morning, I'll definitley go back.
 
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I'm attending my first club meeting tomorrow and wanted to see what I could expect.

There is going to be a demo and some critique of trees, I don't plan on bringing one. They said to bring deciduous trees, but my only one is still in the ground.

Really looking forward to it.
Bring beer for everyone and just remember the hazing is only temporary.
 
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