A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Check here for information on exhibitions, workshops, collecting trips etc that are happening in your area.
User avatar
Chris Di Nola
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 352
Joined: March 16th, 2009, 6:54 pm
Favorite Species: Junipers
Bonsai Age: 18
Bonsai Club: Illlawarra
Location: Sydney
Been thanked: 1 time
Contact:

A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Chris Di Nola »

A night not to be missed, Mauro will be work on raw stock from Leons nursery and sharing his wealth of knowledge and entertaining stories.

Hope to see you there
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Good Mates, Good Times, Good Bonsai !!!!
Andrew E
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 194
Joined: June 24th, 2010, 8:21 pm
Favorite Species: Pine
Bonsai Age: 24
Bonsai Club: Central Coast Bonsai Club, South Lakes Bonsai Club
Location: Central Coast NSW
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Andrew E »

I'm going to make the trip down for this one Chris. He's a great demonstrator
User avatar
Leigh Taafe
Maverick
Maverick
Posts: 1436
Joined: November 14th, 2008, 9:22 am
Bonsai Age: 36
Bonsai Club: NBPCA
Location: Canberra, Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 16 times
Contact:

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Leigh Taafe »

Do yourself a favour and not miss Mauro if you get the chance.

We just had Mauro for 3 days at the Collection. We had a great time refining this old red pine.
When it is time to re-pot, we will be selecting a nice shallow oval pot to compliment the femininity of this elegant tree.

The tree was donated by Barrington & Elaine Chee, and dates back to 1970. We spent the first few years bringing the tree into premium health before this refinement.

Here is a before and after.
Red Pine - Before.jpg
Red Pine - After.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by Leigh Taafe on June 18th, 2018, 10:55 am, edited 4 times in total.
Cheers,
Leigh.
User avatar
Waltron
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 363
Joined: November 2nd, 2009, 10:29 am
Bonsai Age: 12
Bonsai Club: BSV VNBC
Location: Melbourne
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Waltron »

That's a fairly impressive transformation.
Jdceng
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 217
Joined: June 8th, 2011, 11:22 am
Favorite Species: All
Bonsai Age: 30
Location: New South Wales

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Jdceng »

Hi Leigh

:tu: :tu: :tu:
JC
anthonyW
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 889
Joined: May 19th, 2011, 1:35 pm
Favorite Species: Figs,Pines.
Bonsai Age: 0
Location: Illawarra NSW
Has thanked: 257 times
Been thanked: 117 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by anthonyW »

Wow , great outcome Guys. Red pines are so majestic !

cheers Anthony
User avatar
treeman
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 2836
Joined: August 15th, 2011, 4:47 pm
Favorite Species: any
Bonsai Age: 25
Location: melbourne
Has thanked: 28 times
Been thanked: 571 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by treeman »

Disappointing to me. Yet another golden opportunity to make something really unique, once again turned into a ''Japanese'' version of beauty. Formulaic. Where is the individuality? Every modern demonstrator is the same.
Mike
boom64
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1105
Joined: November 11th, 2009, 9:03 pm
Favorite Species: Almond
Bonsai Age: 2
Location: South Coast NSW
Has thanked: 274 times
Been thanked: 394 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by boom64 »

I rarely add to these discussions ,but have to agree with Treeman. Looks very predictable...….. I will now take cover. Regards John.
Mbunro
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 298
Joined: February 14th, 2016, 5:19 pm
Bonsai Age: 1
Location: Perth
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Mbunro »

i tend to enjoy your bluntness Treeman, but not sure i agree on this one..
if your comfortable would you be willing to give some insight into the direction you would have liked to see it go.
User avatar
Rory
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 2807
Joined: January 23rd, 2013, 11:19 pm
Favorite Species: Baeckea Phebalium Casuarina & Banksia
Bonsai Age: 24
Location: Central Coast, NSW
Has thanked: 22 times
Been thanked: 456 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Rory »

I would have to agree strongly with Mike and John. I lose interest in demonstrations for this very reason. I am not backing up someone to choose sides, but rather to hope this beautiful hobby starts to open its mind to a more raw and natural look.
Rory
I style Bonsai naturally, just as they would appear in the wild.
Central Coast, NSW
Bonsai: Casuarina Leptospermum Banksia Phebalium Baeckea Melalueca Ficus

Growing Australian natives as Bonsai: viewtopic.php?p=289480#p289480

Buying and repotting Native nursery material: viewtopic.php?f=78&t=30724

Growing tips for Casuarina as Bonsai: viewtopic.php?p=244995#p244995

How to reduce moss from the trunk without damaging the bark: viewtopic.php?p=295227#p295227
User avatar
Leigh Taafe
Maverick
Maverick
Posts: 1436
Joined: November 14th, 2008, 9:22 am
Bonsai Age: 36
Bonsai Club: NBPCA
Location: Canberra, Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 16 times
Contact:

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Leigh Taafe »

Not sure how happy Chris is about his hijacked post. I suppose it will have helped with exposure of his event.

It is probably important for me to add that the refinement of the tree was not done in a public demonstration. It was not a “restyle” for the purposes of entertainment. The tree was donated to the NBPCA and whilst we had to spend a few years to make the tree strong and healthy, our intention was to refine the tree without a drastic or major restyle. We had to take into consideration the intent of the original artist, who was in fact a visiting artist from Japan in 1976. Pretty hard for us to predict that, aside from keeping as many of the branches as possible. The thing that was obvious to us was the original style was one of an elegant, feminine tree. I believe we have achieved that.

Either way, Mauro was asked to help Sam and I to achieve the result that you see in the pictures. He wasn’t given free reign over the tree’s refinement. The end result isn’t there for us to debate.
Cheers,
Leigh.
John(JP)
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 104
Joined: August 5th, 2015, 2:56 pm
Favorite Species: Maples & Elms
Bonsai Age: 7
Bonsai Club: Canberra Bonsai Society
Location: Bungendore, NSW
Has thanked: 3 times
Been thanked: 9 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by John(JP) »

Guys,

Whilst It is pleasing to see we don't all agree on what looks good and what doesn't and in some respects I acknowledge that some of what we see seems to be a clone factory as a volunteer at the NBPCA I have watered, fertilised and walked past this particular tree for about 2 years and was fortunate enough on Sunday to have the opportunity to see the final touches put on it and the transformation is stunning - I would think the people who donated it would see it in the same manner.

John(JP)
CBS
User avatar
treeman
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 2836
Joined: August 15th, 2011, 4:47 pm
Favorite Species: any
Bonsai Age: 25
Location: melbourne
Has thanked: 28 times
Been thanked: 571 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by treeman »

Leigh Taafe wrote:Not sure how happy Chris is about his hijacked post. I suppose it will have helped with exposure of his event.

It is probably important for me to add that the refinement of the tree was not done in a public demonstration. It was not a “restyle” for the purposes of entertainment. The tree was donated to the NBPCA and whilst we had to spend a few years to make the tree strong and healthy, our intention was to refine the tree without a drastic or major restyle. We had to take into consideration the intent of the original artist, who was in fact a visiting artist from Japan in 1976. Pretty hard for us to predict that, aside from keeping as many of the branches as possible. The thing that was obvious to us was the original style was one of an elegant, feminine tree. I believe we have achieved that.

Either way, Mauro was asked to help Sam and I to achieve the result that you see in the pictures. He wasn’t given free reign over the tree’s refinement. The end result isn’t there for us to debate.
Well I must say I resent the use of the word ''hijacked''. The initial post was an advertisement. The posting of the completed pine was obviously made to exhibit the final result of the work for the public to see. Some will like it for what it is - including me. Mauro does very fine work as do many others. I have worked with him myself. The point is the anyone posting a work on a public forum should be robust enough to accept - and indeed - welcome all contributions and views, not just positive ones. That's what ''forum'' actually means..
Mike
User avatar
Leigh Taafe
Maverick
Maverick
Posts: 1436
Joined: November 14th, 2008, 9:22 am
Bonsai Age: 36
Bonsai Club: NBPCA
Location: Canberra, Australia
Has thanked: 11 times
Been thanked: 16 times
Contact:

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by Leigh Taafe »

I am very aware of what a forum is, and am also well and truly robust enough to take both positive and negative feedback, most would be aware it comes with the job.

I was only making a point that when considering whether you like it or not, we were governed by a number of parameters and we did not have a "golden opportunity to make something really unique".
Cheers,
Leigh.
User avatar
TimS
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Aussie Bonsai Fan
Posts: 1919
Joined: March 17th, 2017, 2:46 pm
Favorite Species: Japanese Maple
Bonsai Age: 9
Bonsai Club: Waverly Bonsai Group
Location: Melbourne
Has thanked: 426 times
Been thanked: 537 times

Re: A night with Mauro Stemberger at Illawarra Bonsai Society

Post by TimS »

Going to have to agree, i know styling is very much a personal thing but i'm growing tired of seeing the same template used over and over again. This is not to say he is not skilled, i would not be able to achieve this look myself, but it is quite recipe book. Dare i say even Bjorn's conifer videos i tend to skip through now as i basically know how it will turn out.
In the blue darkening sky, the moon paints a pine tree.
Post Reply

Return to “Shows, Events and Workshops”