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Hi honey I'm home! and a juniper too!
Greetings forum! My name is Smoke. AKA; Bonsai-al, AKA; Al Keppler. I have spent about a week reading messages to this board. What I have found out is that I am certainly not needed here to allow the forum to behave with animosity. I am not needed here for others to insult one another. For the most part, my opinions here carry no more hatred or disrespect then a dozen or so other posters here. I have spoken to a few people here and around my home whom opinions I respect. While the consensus is that whenever a group of people get together and discuss anything that can have multiple points of view, there will be criticism. Add to that the passion required achieving beautiful bonsai and the fever pitch is increased ten fold.
What I have decided to do is to semi-retire Bonsai-al. Bonsai-al was a great guy. For some reason he changed his attitude for what might have been personal reasons about the direction of his bonsai work, and expected all to follow. What Smoke has found out, is that there are those that wish to do bonsai as a small hobby, work on trees when it fits their time schedule, and keep their work very personal. This is fine for some and I have decided that it is far easier to respect that, and move on.
In my endeavors with bonsai I have taken another approach. I have had a modicum of success, and I very much enjoy sharing my take on my bonsai approach. That is what Smoke will convey to this board. Smoke will take us back to the day of quality bonsai instruction, mixed with small doses of humor from time to time, and cutting edge satire. I will still talk the artistic approach in bonsai, and will no doubt start many threads about that approach. Those that have tired of the “art thing” would do well to dismiss those threads. I feel that my contention will be to respect your way, and all I ask is for those that disagree to do the same.
Smoke will probe and ask questions from time to time, and I would think that with this different attitude, quality discussion can take place. If you feel that discussion is unnecessary, I would think that maybe those forum members might rethink their reason for being here. I strive to be better, I think about bonsai during the day at work, and I have bonsai on my mind when driving down the road. Of course it is not all consuming, but I have devoted the better part of my free time to the pursuit of bonsai excellence. Whether I have achieved that end is for others to convey, but I hope I have shown progress during my tenure at bonsaiTALK. I take delight in the opinions of those that see bonsai this way, and really have no use for opinions of those that don’t see bonsai as a medium to better reflect their place on this earth. I wish to contribute as much as possible to this forum, and will hope it is taken in the same joy in witch I will give it.
It was my sincere wish that all members of bonsaiTALK had come here to improve their work. It would seem the natural course of action. In retrospect, I now see that there are those that wish to come here to post a few threads about bonsai and enjoy the board for what it is, a friendly place. It has not been friendly lately, and that is do in part for my actions. I have decided to move in a new direction on the forum, and hope to make it better then ever before.
Now on to the juniper!
I strted this project in the summer of 2002. Not that many years ago, in fact so short that I am little amazed at the progress in this plant. I have posted this plant beffore, and it will be no surprise again. The stock was bare bones, basicly a stump with a few green sprigs on it. For the most part it was left to grow unchecked for the remainder of the summer. The right hand limb had been pruned of the plant, and all stubs were left for future jins.
During those early posts, a few virtuals had been worked up, and some had been tweaked by Matt and Carl. The virtual of course is in pic. 3.
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