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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
The universal theme is how does rootage contribute to design. The underlying assumption, with whichj I concur, is that a specific style is indicated by it's roots.
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Again Jim, with all due respect, we are talking about slanting trees. This is where it started with Al showing a slanting tree with the roots on the lean side and stating that it worked. I disagree that a style is defined by it's roots, instead I think a style is determined by the trunk.
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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
I prefer not to lump trees into the broad categories but since you seem to require pigeonholing I'll entertain you.
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Bonsai styles have been "lumped" into style categories long before you or I were born, I see no better way to define styles then the way it has long been done.
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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
Your tree is barely an informal upright. The visual center of gravity is weakly over the root base, there is strong directional movement to the left and I therefore contend that while you may not consider it a slant style it is subject to the very elements that make the tree that started this discussion succesful.
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Thank you for your insightful, honest critique. I have to point out that the center of the apex is in fact directly over the root base, which would qualify it as a informal upright by almost any definition.
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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
While trees in nature often hang precariously, some even knowing full well they are in violation of physical and artistic laws.
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I again have to disagree, if a tree in nature is in violation of any physical laws it will topple over, period.
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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
Bonsai is NOT simply a tree in a pot. Perhaps it once was but not by modern definition. It requires artistry. It is a comprehensive image of miniaturization, naturalism and age. What works in nature does not always make good bonsai. What makes good art does not always make good bonsai.
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I believe that Al and I have already agreed that having the rootage on the side away from the lean is indeed the best way artistically.
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Originally Posted by bnsaijim
"Don't make your trees look like bonsai, make your bonsai look like trees."
I'm starting to detest this Naka-ism almost as much as "let the birds fly through". Hmmm. It doesn't give one license to use nature as the ultimate guide. Maybe this is simply saying stop producing S-curved poodle padded Karate Kid cookie cutter mallsai. Reciting it till the cows come home certainly doesn't make you any kind of sage.
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I agree with you here. Please keep in mind that I did not quote this, I simply corrected a misquote.
Your own bonsai shown
here seems to show what I was trying to say, the rootage being on the side away from the lean, great example!
Thank you,
Will Heath