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I think my perspective may be unique to most, because I enjoy a somewhat rare situation in my bonsai experience. Having a mentor/master in Daniel, is allowing me to work with material far beyond my few meager years in bonsai.

I have to agree with Al... there is a short path to great bonsai. (And as with most shortcuts... it tends to be expensive.) There is nothing wrong with taking that path. Any more than there is something wrong with taking the longer path.

But as I have said before in other posts... it's all about what your goals are in the art.

Daniel had me work on a tree the other day, while he finished another we had spent a chunk of time over. What started out as a simple dead-heading on a dwarf Rhodie, turned into a complete refinement of the image... a restyle. Daniel challenged me to be brave... wanted to see what I would do with it. He provoked my mind with questions... without giving me the answers. In the end, the image wasn't a traditional Daniel kind of tree.... in fact, aside from the base, it looked very different from where it started. I styled that tree. It's Daniel's.... but now in a way, it's also mine. Even if I didn't start that tree down it's bonsai path, I have made it a beautiful tree. Because my vision was applied to a tree that was already great. And as has been said already... that's not as easy as it sounds. (lol)

In the end... Daniel was delighted. The reward for my efforts was interesting. He sent home with me (which was a first) a tree to work through on my own. It's three times larger, and three times more challenging. I may get completely licked by this tree... but it is my every intention of taking this "Daniel" tree... and making it a "Vic" tree.

Even if these beauties aren't my personal trees, there is no doubt that Daniel will look at them and smile... because he will see his student's hand every time he looks at them.

The only thing I can say about working on trees which have been bonsai for decades is this... it's PURE JOY.

And it takes every bit as much of a skill set to do it well, as starting from scratch.

Kind regards,

Victrinia

30-May-2007	#15
Victrinia_Ensor Bonsai mai-farli-bene Join Date: Nov-2005 Location: Bremerton, WA Country: USA USDA Zone: 8b AHS Heat Zone: 3 Posts: 1,426	My perspective... I think my perspective may be unique to most, because I enjoy a somewhat rare situation in my bonsai experience. Having a mentor/master in Daniel, is allowing me to work with material far beyond my few meager years in bonsai. I have to agree with Al... there is a short path to great bonsai. (And as with most shortcuts... it tends to be expensive.) There is nothing wrong with taking that path. Any more than there is something wrong with taking the longer path. But as I have said before in other posts... it's all about what your goals are in the art. Daniel had me work on a tree the other day, while he finished another we had spent a chunk of time over. What started out as a simple dead-heading on a dwarf Rhodie, turned into a complete refinement of the image... a restyle. Daniel challenged me to be brave... wanted to see what I would do with it. He provoked my mind with questions... without giving me the answers. In the end, the image wasn't a traditional Daniel kind of tree.... in fact, aside from the base, it looked very different from where it started. I styled that tree. It's Daniel's.... but now in a way, it's also mine. Even if I didn't start that tree down it's bonsai path, I have made it a beautiful tree. Because my vision was applied to a tree that was already great. And as has been said already... that's not as easy as it sounds. (lol) In the end... Daniel was delighted. The reward for my efforts was interesting. He sent home with me (which was a first) a tree to work through on my own. It's three times larger, and three times more challenging. I may get completely licked by this tree... but it is my every intention of taking this "Daniel" tree... and making it a "Vic" tree. Even if these beauties aren't my personal trees, there is no doubt that Daniel will look at them and smile... because he will see his student's hand every time he looks at them. The only thing I can say about working on trees which have been bonsai for decades is this... it's PURE JOY. And it takes every bit as much of a skill set to do it well, as starting from scratch. Kind regards, Victrinia __________________ Ms. Vic Le belle cose prendono tempo... www.elandangardens.com