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Okay, Andy, you lured me in....

From online sources I have learned a great deal. Not about styling, but about collection techniques, and horticultural matters.
Some of the advice is bad, or inappropriate for my zone, but that is relatively easy to distinguish, even without other folks jumping into the discussion.

I have done workshops with several masters, Ed Trout, Liporace, Suzuki, and Nick Lenz among them. I regularly do workshops and classes with Chase Rosade. I consider myself as doing well if I retain more than a couple of specific points from any one of these workshops. Yes, there's an occasional new way of dealing with a problem, but the most valuable things I have learned go right to the subject you addressed in your web book, consistency of design.

From Suzuki: Do you want this to be a young or old tree? It must be consistent. Is the tree affected by the wind? ditto. I was also impressed with his gentleness with the material.

Most of the time, there is little to be accomplished in one four hour workshop. If you get out with a few "nuggets" and a tree that's headed in the right direction, you are a winner. A complete education it will never be, but you can put these together and advance your ability.

Sometimes, they highlight your weaknesses to you. For example, I'm planning to scavenge some christmas tree tops after the holidays and work on the planning aspect of wiring. This is a need I discovered in a couple of workshops.

This, plus the opportunity to work with good material AND a master, makes workshops most worthwhile. At first, I didn't see the point in doing expensive workshops until I had learned all that Chase could teach me. Then I learned the value of hearing the same principles as understood by a different set of eyes.

1-Dec-2003	#3
Bart Thomas(deceased) Perpetual Novice Join Date: Jun-2003 Location: Bridgewater, NJ Country: United States USDA Zone: 6 AHS Heat Zone: 5 Posts: 1,367	Okay, Andy, you lured me in.... From online sources I have learned a great deal. Not about styling, but about collection techniques, and horticultural matters. Some of the advice is bad, or inappropriate for my zone, but that is relatively easy to distinguish, even without other folks jumping into the discussion. I have done workshops with several masters, Ed Trout, Liporace, Suzuki, and Nick Lenz among them. I regularly do workshops and classes with Chase Rosade. I consider myself as doing well if I retain more than a couple of specific points from any one of these workshops. Yes, there's an occasional new way of dealing with a problem, but the most valuable things I have learned go right to the subject you addressed in your web book, consistency of design. From Suzuki: Do you want this to be a young or old tree? It must be consistent. Is the tree affected by the wind? ditto. I was also impressed with his gentleness with the material. Most of the time, there is little to be accomplished in one four hour workshop. If you get out with a few "nuggets" and a tree that's headed in the right direction, you are a winner. A complete education it will never be, but you can put these together and advance your ability. Sometimes, they highlight your weaknesses to you. For example, I'm planning to scavenge some christmas tree tops after the holidays and work on the planning aspect of wiring. This is a need I discovered in a couple of workshops. This, plus the opportunity to work with good material AND a master, makes workshops most worthwhile. At first, I didn't see the point in doing expensive workshops until I had learned all that Chase could teach me. Then I learned the value of hearing the same principles as understood by a different set of eyes.