June 11th – Beginner’s Meeting
On June 11th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, please join the club for our Bonsai Beginner’s class. Featuring local hero and bonsai teacher Rodney Clemons of All Good Bonsai, there is no one better suited to take on the task of teaching how to grow bonsai in Atlanta, as Rodney has been an active grower and resident of the area for over 30 years.
Our format for these sessions is simple: Anyone may attend, but to bring a tree (or trees) we ask that you reserve a ticket. Participation is highly encouraged and we hope you will bring your trees and your questions!
Details: Wednesday June 11th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, at 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Final location on the property is yet to be determined.
Reserve your ticket here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-bonsai-with-rodney-clemmons-tickets-1136914093659?aff=oddtdtcreator
June 21st – Club Meeting
On June 21st at 10:00am at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in the Winter Room in the Main house, visiting artist Julian Adams, will offer a presentation on growing pines for bonsai. Julian who has been practicing bonsai since 1971, is one of America’s leading experts on pine bonsai and published a well known book; “Growing Pines for Bonsai”. This will be Julian’s first trip to Atlanta for our club and we are excited to have him join us.
In the afternoon, for eight participants at a ticket price of $85.00 Julian will lead a “Bring your own Tree” style workshop. This workshop will move down to the Retreat Building down the hill and behind the amphitheater. This is an excellent opportunity to obtain assistance with your conifers from an expert!
Details: June 21st at 10:00am at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center located at 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Morning session in the Winter Room in the main house. Workshop in the afternoon in the Retreat, down the hill
Register for the workshop here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/julian-adams-workshop-tickets-1139319127179?aff=oddtdtcreator
July Club Meeting
July 19th please join the club at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, at 10:00am for our July Club Meeting featuring guest artist Mike Lane. Mike has long experience with the styling and maintenance of tropical trees, given his Florida roots. Join us for a morning program about the styling and maintenance of tropical trees.
At noon, lunch will be provided.
In the afternoon, join in for a hands on workshop, to get some assistance styling your trees, and to obtain in depth answers to your questions. This is Bring Your Own Tree Workshop! Please bring 3-4 bonsai to work on, and the club will provide wire and supplies. If you plan on attending the workshop, please attend the morning meeting, as many of the concepts taught in the workshop will be covered in the morning session.
August Beginner’s Meeting
On August 13th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, please join the club for our Bonsai Beginner’s class. Featuring local hero and bonsai teacher Rodney Clemons of All Good Bonsai, there is no one better suited to take on the task of teaching how to grow bonsai in Atlanta, as Rodney has been an active grower and resident of the area for over 30 years.
Our format for these sessions is simple: Anyone may attend, but to bring a tree (or trees) we ask that you reserve a ticket. Participation is highly encouraged and we hope you will bring your trees and your questions!
Details: Wednesday August 13th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, at 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Final location on the property is yet to be determined.
2025 August Auction
The auction is graciously hosted by Ahlers & Ogletree Auctions, courtesy of club member Robert Ahlers. The auction will take place on August 16thth at this address:
Ahlers & Ogletree
1788 Ellsworth Industrial Boulevard NW
Atlanta, GA 30318
On the day of the auction, check in for items will take place between 10:00am and 12:00 at Ahlers & Ogletree. NO ITEMS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER 12:00!!! Members are encouraged to bring their items at the loading dock as close to 10:00 as possible, and then return for the 1:00 – 1:30 pm in person preview. We are using adhesive labels to be filled out by the seller for item check in.
Auction lots will come up for bid in a “first come, first served order”. In other words the items will be presented in the order in which they were checked in for the auction.
Please assemble and mark your lots prior to the auction.
Please mark your reserves on the auction labels.
The auction will begin at 1:30 pm on the 16th. Bids for each lot will be accepted in-person only. The auction will last until the last lot is sold and or as time permits. Our intention is for the auction to finish by 4:00 pm. Items must be paid for and picked up from Ahlers & Ogletree no later than 5:00pm on August 16th.
To be eligible to sell at the club auction a paid membership to the Atlanta Bonsai Society is required. Non-members are always welcome to purchase during the auction.
Auction commission is 13% which the club will automatically deduct from all sales.
Sellers are encouraged to consider whether a reserve price is necessary for their lots, and to set reasonable reserves. Starting bids will be at the discretion of the auctioneer. Items which do not reach the reserve will remain unsold (i.e., no adjustment of reserve and no post auction sales), so set your reserve price to sell! Past experience tells us that “no reserve” lots bring the same or higher prices than reserve lots.
The minimum lot value for items to be auctioned is $100. This means that a single item or group of items will have a starting bid of $100.
Unsold fees: If an item goes to auction but fails to sell or sells for less than $100.00 the seller pays a $10.00 fee to the Atlanta Bonsai Society, to be deducted from any proceeds paid to the seller by the club.
The club welcomes donated items that will be auctioned off with full value going to the club, with a $10.00 minimum value per donated lot. There is no need to set a reserve price and there is no minimum selling price for donated items. Unsold donated items will remain with the club to be sold at future club functions.
Each seller may submit a maximum of 15 lots.
Payment for items is due at the end of the auction. Payment may be by Cash, credit card, debit cards or Zelle. Payment must be made prior to pick up of items.
Payment to sellers will be available at the end of the auction after all payments have been collected from buyers. Payment minus commission will be by club check. If you wish to leave prior to the end of the day, please register your Paypal address in advance, so we may pay you once the auction has closed.
Pick up may take place after the auction is closed and payment is complete and must take place by 5:00 pm on the same day as the auction. Unsold items must also be collected no later than 5:00 pm on the same day as the auction or else they will be considered to have been donated to the club.
Important Note: All items are purchased in “as-is” condition and the Atlanta Bonsai Club makes no warranty of representations as to the health, quality, condition, accuracy of information provided, fair value, … well you get the point. We trust our sellers to provide quality items and accurate information, but in the end all responsibility rests with the buyer. We encourage potential bidders to reach out to sellers directly with questions before placing bids in order to gather any additional information needed.
Japanfest 2025
September 20th and 21st the club will host our annual bonsai exhibition and workshops at Japanfest at the Gas South Convention Center. The festival is open from 10:00am to 6:00pm on Saturday and from 10:00 to 5:00pm on Sunday. Set up for the club events is Friday the 19th, at 2:00pm.
More details can be found about the festival here:
The club will once again feature an exhibition of refined Bonsai provided by our members, as well as Kusamono bonsai and Suiseki (viewing stones).
For Japanfest Attendees, the club will offer “build a bonsai” workshops for up to 50 participants per day and offer to the public a wide variety of bonsai and bonsai themed merchandise.
October Beginner’s Meeting
On October 8th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, please join the club for our Bonsai Beginner’s class. Featuring local hero and bonsai teacher Rodney Clemons of All Good Bonsai, there is no one better suited to take on the task of teaching how to grow bonsai in Atlanta, as Rodney has been an active grower and resident of the area for over 30 years.
Our format for these sessions is simple: Anyone may attend, but to bring a tree (or trees) we ask that you reserve a ticket. Participation is highly encouraged and we hope you will bring your trees and your questions!
Details: Wednesday October 8th at 7:00pm at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, at 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30306. Final location on the property is yet to be determined.
October Meeting
On October 18th at 10:00am at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center please join your fellow club members and guest artist Rodney Clemons of All Good Bonsai for a club meeting devoted to the styling, growing and maintaining of Kingsville Boxwoods, one of the south’s great bonsai species. Rodney has long experience with Kingsville and with growing bonsai in Atlanta. Join us for some dry humor and a good time with tiny trees!
At noon, lunch will be provided for all attendees.
In the afternoon, join in for a hands on workshop, to get some assistance styling your trees, and to obtain in depth answers to your questions. This is Bring Your Own Tree Workshop! Please bring 3-4 bonsai to work on, and the club will provide wire and supplies. If you plan on attending the workshop, please attend the morning meeting, as many of the concepts taught in the workshop will be covered in the morning session.
Bonsai Workshops
We offer novice workshops led by a local bonsai professional and advanced workshops led by various guest artists. Since bonsai have needs based on the calendar our workshops are seasonal in nature.
Depending on artist demand, we may have more than one workshop session per weekend, so check the events page for times as the monthly meeting approaches. Please remain flexible with whether you can take morning or afternoon workshop. The cost of each workshop session is currently $75 for at least 3 hours, unless we are including tree or other materials, which may be extra. The club will provide wire to use at workshops and meetings; everything else you may need should be brought by workshop participant, including tree and tools.
Recent Guest Artists
- Young Choe
- Rodney Clemons
- Adam Jones
- Kenji Miyata
- Kathy Shaner
- Tyler Sherrod
- Jerome Kellerhals
- Sergio Cuan
- Eli Akins
- Mike Lane
- Julian Adams
Membership
ATLBS Online
