RonMartin(deceased)

There is an old gentleman that lives not far from me. He has a small bonsai collection. No great shakes ( he did after all buy them all from me ) But he likes them and does worry about them.
He can't get around too much. He is confined to a wheelchair and is more than a little frail. But he does go out and set in the yard with HIS trees when the weather isn't too bad. He has a great passion for them. Talks about them constantly.

I stop by occasionally and do some trimming on them for him. One of his neighbors does the watering.

Me I have lots of trees. And I do have a fairly healthy body. I do my own trimming, styling etc. On occasion I also teach others to do bonsai .

But I do think both me and that old gentleman do bonsai. Just maybe in spirit he does it better than I.
Some would call him just a collector. Me I call him a bonsaiiest, maybe even a little bit of an artist.

I don't think of him as "just a collector" no more than he thinks that they are "Ron's trees" setting in his back yard.

Enjoyment in bonsai can come in many ways. Our art needs both collectors and artists. We don't have enough of either. And the art does suffer because of it.

I for one am more impressed with a beautiful bonsai than how it got on the table in front of me.