The passing of a formative Bonsai Artist (Vance Wood)

Shogun610

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Aw man , condolences to all of those who knew him, cared for him , friends and his family. I remember when I posted about a Mugo pine and he responded and I felt that I finally had decent material
 

Paradox

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Holy shit, I somehow missed this post....
Wow..... that sad to hear.
He will be missed....wow...just...wow

I didn't always agree with Vance on repotting mugos only in summer, but I did learn a lot from him.

I appreciated his passion for mugo and scotts pines and he is the reason scotts pines are my favorite trees for bonsai and the reason I have 3 scotts pines and 5 mugos.

He was there in Rochester when I bought a scots pine from Karen (forget her last name). She was reluctant to sell it to me because she didn't know me and had a bad experience with selling a tree to someone and it died in less than a year. He convinced her that I could take care of the tree.

I will continue to champion the mugo and the scots pine for bonsai in his memory.

Rest in peace, friend
 
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palafr01

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Heard the news. Rest in Peace Vance. He was always willing to help others who came to him for advice on this website and he was genuinely a nice man. Despite having never met him in person, I think I will always be reminded of him every time I encounter one of those mugo pines.
 

milehigh_7

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This has been a tough month so far. My dad and Vance passing just days apart... So much could be said about Vance! Salty and cranky? Yep sometimes but always on the money! We all know Vance was the mugo whisperer but many forget perhaps his biggest contribution to bonsai for which he held a patent (Yes he was a legit inventor!) The screen side pot. His patent predates any known usage in bonsai. so if you use pond baskets, strainers, colanders, or anything like that for bonsai you owe Vance a debt of gratitude and likely did not know it. He revolutionized the way plants are grown in containers! This man was a legend and that's not an exaggeration. I will miss my friend. That's always the danger of being around for a long time, isn't it? So many friends on this site have meant the world to me for many years.
 

discusmike

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Rest in peace Vance, thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience over the years, you will be sorely missed, God Bless!
 

RaginCajun

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Praying for Vances family, this is a celebration of life. Reading his obituary, the man had one hell of a ride. He lived it well and loved it. Purple heart and several other medals awarded to him in Vietnam. Just the short time I knew Vance from the forum, I find it unbelievable he was awarded a Good conduct medal 😁. Fly Higher buddy!
 

Glaucus

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Sad to hear. Vance is like one of the posters I think about when I think about Bonsainut.
 

rockm

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Vance Wood--Good conduct medal is a good one 😁 Knew him online for twenty years. He was a disruptor and proud of it.
 

R0b

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RIP

The mugo I repotted last summer will continue to be developed in his honour.
 

Cosmos

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RIP to a good man and outstanding contributor to bonsai.

Anyone knows what will happen to his collection, who's taking care of it? His best pieces (the Flying Dragon, etc.) deserve a place in an institutional collection somewhere for all to admire.
 

Paradox

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RIP to a good man and outstanding contributor to bonsai.

Anyone knows what will happen to his collection, who's taking care of it? His best pieces (the Flying Dragon, etc.) deserve a place in an institutional collection somewhere for all to admire.
Yea I was wondering the same thing.
I hope someone in his family is able to continue care of his trees or they are/will be given/sold to people who can.

They are probably still hibernating under snow right now.
 

lbpco

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RIP Vance, thank you for the info.
 
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I was just thinking about Vance in recent weeks when considering when to repot my nursery mugho that is sitting on the ground next to my bench.
Whether he knew it or not, him and JKL were my main mentors through the first half of my bonsai career.

I think the most important lesson I learned from Vance was that anyone can do this and can try new methods and on plants not generally considered good material. He could be a bit salty, but hey, so is fertilizer. And he usually wasn’t wrong about any salt that may have been cast in my direction.

Peace Friends
 
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