I am way behind in answering a few questions the have been posted for me on this forum. Sorry I have not yet gotten around to answering them. Lots of things have happened in the old house the last few days. I will catch up soon.
In the meantime I thought I would just throw out the following and see what happens ;o)
Ron Martin
*****************
Random Thoughts
Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the
stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are
sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.
Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him.
After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted. Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and
replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth.
Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.
After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana. Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.
And that, my friends, is how bonsai seems to be done these days!
- We read a book and decide that is the way it must be done. Climate and species of tree are constants. New York and New Orleans are the same.
- Jin on a juniper looks good so it must be the same on a ficus. If one has aerial roots on a ficus then they must be good on a juniper
- Poor-draining, fine-grained soil holds too much water due to the surface tension or capillary action so the same must be true for a coarser soil. They are both soil so they must work the same! We have read that this is true so it must be.
- There is a definite one, two, three structure of branch placement. Definite rules of bonsai styling.
- A height to girth ratio and a set amount of foliage depending on the thickness of the branch.
Lots of rules but not much fun or imagination! Has bonsai become stagnant? Are we like those Monkeys, or has just about every thing in bonsai already been done before? Like you were asked in school: "Are we doomed just to continually repeat what historically already been done?"
Have we been beat to death by convention or is there just so many ways to style a tree and still make it look like a tree?
Sorry. These are just random thoughts of a weird puppy while enjoying a good glass of wine. Even I am not sure I know what I am rambling on about!
Ron Martin