How do you do it?  

Entling

I am curious. How do you do it? I mean the creative process for making bonsai. Do you use models of larger tress, is there a formula, or is it pure creativeness? I have been looking at some very beautiful bonsai, and I cannot picture myself creating such wonderful little trees from the seedlings I have. Yet so many can do it. If you can spare a little of your creative insight I would be most grateful.

Advertisement

Jay

Hi there.... this response to your question is coming from a novice, so take it for what it's worth.

Patience and time... almost the same.... thats the biggy! If you are starting from seeds or from seedlings it will be several years in the ground or large growing box until you are ready to start training your trees. If you start with larger trees, collected, nusery stock or bonsai nusery stock...you can begin much sooner.

As for where you get the knowledge. Let me suggest you find a club nearby and go to the meetings. You will learn. In the absence of a club, try reading....alot! Go to the library or buy a book...There are several good books to get you off on the right foot.

To your thought of is there a 'model' or something...well there are rules that if followed will produce a better looking tree than if they are ignored.

Answer the question....I hope it only starts the process!

__________________
A Bonsai student living with his trees at N 44.37 W 77.49...
Think before you act... then think again... no good comes from rushing

Tony

if you are growing from seedlings then it's just a matter of having a vision of what you want to create and then coaxing the the tree to grow into that shape. It sometimes helps to sketch the tree you imagine on paper for a reference. Knowing before hand how the species you're working with will respond to certain stimulus, like hard pruning or trunk chopping will greatly ease the process. Otherwise it's just trial and error and you may work a loooong time on a tree that will never make a good bonsai.

There are clasical Japanese bonsai styles that you will find in any bonsai book you read, many people follow these styles and rules when creating their bonsai. I find myself taking more inspiration from nature the further I go along and straying from the hard and fast rules.

Tony

ripsgreentree

Entling: Do not be discouraged we all have gone through the same stages. If you are ready to start working on advanced material start combing the nurserys and suppliers for what you want to have in your collection. As to how,I personally have hundreds of Japanese magazines and even though I can not read a word of japanese I can read the pictures and diagrams well enough to start experimenting with what I think they are trying to teach....do I miss a lot, most certainly I do. I know this because I have the same articles in Japanese and in bonsai today. Also small trees can have just as much power and spirit as a large one. All of the rules of proportion and balance are magnified in a small tree so a good knowlege of bonsai techniques will help. It will also be of great value to you if you can find a more advanced bonsai enthusiast to work with. This will help you to not make some of the mistakes that are common to the art form.
Good Growing and by all means have fun.......ripsgreentree

__________________
ripsgreentree

It requires an open hand to give and to recieve.

Entling

I'd like to thank you all for the encouragement and advice. I guess like a painting you cannot paint a masterpiece at a first attempt, so with bonsai I am going to have to "break a few eggs" before I can get it somewhat right. I have made my first attempt with a Chinese juniper from Wal-mart. I was trying for a cascade, but what I have now looks like it belongs somewhere on the set of the new Star Wars movie. Well, I guess I will just have to read more books and magazines until I get it right. Unfortunately, here in NW Indiana the closest bonsai club is two hours away from me, so I will have to continue as an outsider until a mentor shows up.

Bonsainut

Hey Entling,
Just keep reading and learning along with your trees. It will come naturally. Things just sort of click, with repetion you will amaze yourself, If you keep at it for a few years!

__________________
Keep growing,---'Nut



Lethal Use of Farce

bonsaial1

Very few people are born with a natural tendancy to be artfull with all hobbies. Think of bonsai like this; horticulture, practise, death, learn, practise, art.

You start in bonsai and procede to gain expierance in horticulture practices in years 1 thru 3. This is the try and try again period. This is the period in which you learn about soil, and watering. Maybe some root pruning, transplanting etc. You will kill trees. This is part of the learning curve. As you gain confidence you will lose far less trees in the following years. Years 4 thru 6 will be spent restyling the trees you made in years 1 to 3. You will find these trees look almost like a child made them. You have gained "expierance" and this is beginning to show.

Years 7 thru 10, you now begin to see the tree in the nursery container. You can walk into a nursery and tell which trees can be pruned the fastest to be made into bonsai with the fewest number of years in training. This is the stage when art starts to take over in your endeavors. You start to look for stock that almost has an artistic look as applied by Mother Nature herself. This is key. It does not pay to spend tons of years on stock that has no future. It also does not pay to start to spend large sums of money for expensive stock till you have the expierance to "see" the right stock in the first place.

Now there are exceptions to the rule. These are the people like Eddie Van Halen that were born with a guitar in his hands. These people are far and few between. Something in their brain has made a certain talent readily apparent, and they use it to their fullest potential.

Time, patience, practise. These are the keys to becoming a bonsai artist. Go to as many shows as you can. Take photo's, read bonsai books and magazines. Subject your self to the actual form of bonsai. Put the sillouette of favorite bonsai trees and images in your memory bank for future referance. Begin to draw the tree before you prune the first branch from the rough stock. You have to have a plan. "You" must control the trees growth, not the tree control the future image.

If you have a plan,
Stick to that plan,
And the tree grows to look like that plan, Then you have become a bonsai artist.

Pretty simple huh? Bonsaial

__________________
I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

bonsaial1

Entling, This is your assignment, should you wish to choose it? Oh brother, I think they made it into a movie or something...

I am Bonsaial-San. Famous bonsai master from the Orient. You are my student. You have been given the rare task of re-styling a tree.

This is the poor soul, please feel free to do anything you want. Do a virtual if you have the capibility. Or draw a picture of what you would do or just tell us.

After your reply I will tell you what I did.

Good luck , Bonsaial-San

__________________
I been kidding the last seven years.
no.... really!

Entling

Hi all.

Once again, I'd like to thank you for the advice and support. I can see now that it will take some patience and practice before I get to the point where I can call a tree I work on a true bonsai. I will continue to study all I can and perhaps one day it will click. Bonsaial, I printed out the photo and I will study it for a bit and see what I can do with it. I will post my answer back here for you.