Success at Bonsai World 2011

We had a superb show at Bonsai World 2011 with a great deal of interest from members of the public. Our stand included 5 Saikei from various members at all different levels.

Workshop list

Take a look at the ISA website on the learning pages for a list of the workshops we are running in 2010. http://www.saikeiassociation.org/

Visit to Croatia

I have been invited to visit Croatia and demonstrate and teach Saikei in September. I am really looking forward to seeing Saikei and getting a chance to meet some of our members in Croatia.

Students pass certificate in Saikei

3 students have recently passed the certificate 2 in Saikei having completed all 3 units. Our congratulations go to them on their achievement.

International Saikei Association

The International Saikei Association is currently actively seeking new members arround the world so if you are interested please contact me.

Global Saikei

I am actively seeking those who are interested in Saikei from all over the world to find out what they would want from a global association dedicated to Saikei.

So if you have an interest in Saikei please email me on saikei@mail.com and let me know what you think.

Saikei Rocks

In the picture above you can see the rocks in place for a Saikei with a foundation of clay, sand, organic matter (OM) mix.

I was asked on Saturday where the best place to get rocks for Saikei is, well in my experience the best places to try are aquarium places as they tend to have rocks which have an interesting shape and often are varied in size.

In Saikei it is often best to try to get rocks of differing sizes so that you can position them to create different heights, thus avoiding a uniformed look. I will normally start with a main rock and then select other rocks with similar charecteristics to act as the 'supporting rocks'.

Remember that when you do Saikei you will vary the texture of the rocks to suit the style of Saikei you are creating, i.e. smooth rocks best suit lowland or lakeside Saikei, whereas rugged rocks will suit coastal or alpine compositions.