The BonsaiTALK Experience

bonsaial1

No, this is not some underground rave band that Matt moonlights in on Saturday night!

This is the experience that all of us have engaged in all year. What have we learned?

This is the assignment, if you wish to participate...

Name one learning experience that has been the turning point in your bonsai life during the last year. This can be something that was posted here as a link that you would have not seen otherwise. Or an article that Andy posted from BTOJ. Maybe it was somthing from Andy's "Foundations of Bonsai Design" e-zine.

Could it be that Walter Pall has enlightend us with some great essays on Naturalistic bonsai design that made us see trees differantly. How about our contests this year. There have been many artistic tidbits to pick up on there.

Maybe it was the Shinji Suzuki Critique, or the Hideko Metaxas "Design a Tokonoma" exercise that stretched your brain.

This last year showed amazing growth for this forum. It also holds hundreds of the most amazing threads on artistic bonsaiTALK that I have read on the net. This place, no matter what anyone says holds the key to the rudimentry beginnings of educational bonsai design on the net. I am glad to be a charter member in the "growing concern" known as bonsaiTALK.

Sooo... step up and tell us that turning moment...we are eager to see them all.

Happy Holidays from Bonsai-al

__________________
Olympic Gold Medals:
China-45
USA-27
Great Britain-17

Total medal leader: USA with 87
The winningest Olympian of all time, USA's Michael Phelps with 8 gold medals
Medals stolen from US due to skewed judging-2

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pdbbonsai

Since coming on a couple years back, I have found myself not rushing into anything.

Not rushing my projects.
Not rushing to conclusions. About posts, opinions, people.
Not rushing out to Ebay to buy buy buy.


Something like that.


I also think that I (lately) am not rushing to put my feelings into a post. I try not to post, without KNOWING what I am talking about.
I am a student of bonsai, and will be for the remainder of my existence.
(albeit a student of the non-Japanese-traditional-method)

Paul

ALso want to wish everyone a very safe and happy holidays. Without you all, BonsaiTalk would just be a couple fused binary numbers..........cheers


(Hey Al, is this what you were getting at?)

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It is essential to experience all the times and moods of one good place. (Thomas Merton)

BonsaiTalk is one good place. (me)

Bart Thomas(deceased)

Al,

Your post got me thinking hard. A turning point for me in bonsai?

Even though I'm a relative novice, I've already got more turns than a grapevine.

Lots from this forum has been important to me.

I probably value Andy's eBook the most. (Andy, it should be in print, without bulking it up.)

I had three remarkable workshops this year, which were eye-openers. One with Nick Lenz (Hinoki Cypress), and two (back to back) with Shinji Suzuki (Rocy Mountain Juniper and Black Hills Spruce). Both were real eye-openers.

Suzuki most impressed me with the gentleness of his whole approach, particularly towards the plants.

It has been a great year in Bonsai for me. Thank you ALL for your contributions to it.

FredL

Al: Nice topic.

Since you said one, among the many I've had during the last year, one that springs to mind for me - and probably not the most important - was the article on Focal Point Design that was referenced in one thread awhile back. I've been mulling that one over in my mind ever since I read it and I think its eventual impact on me will be considerable.

Fred

mkonig

The most important thing I have gained this year and especially since joining this forum is an understanding that the combined knowledge of all members of this forum is greater than the knowledge of any single contributer.
Browsing this forum and researching the various comments, suggestions and articles has made me look closer at the work that I do on my trees.

Happy Christmas to all of you

Mike

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I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person

dbz12fan

I have learned to have better picture taking skills for my bonsai and suiseki. Here is how I used to take pictures of my trees-

Attached Images

arboricola.jpg (43.0 KB, 230 views)

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"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

dbz12fan

After listening to what people had to say about taking pictures of bonsai, this is what my pictures look like now-

Attached Images

desert rose.jpg 1.jpg (17.1 KB, 238 views)

__________________
"Success demands understanding"-Andy Rutledge

Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

waltseed

I have learned a lot this past year.
But the single most important thing I learned is
DON'T KICK PORCUPINES!
Yes one was in my garden, eating some of my bonsai wannabees. Next time I will beat it to death with a steel post. But I will not kick it. Unless I am really upset, like last time.
This is not as profound as what others have posted, but we each learn at our own speed.
Waltseed

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Waltseed

grampz

First of all, thanks Al for starting this thread...Although I am not a newbie to bonsai, this is my first year to participate in a 'bonsai forum'...I visited a couple others before I found this one...

I really believe the answer to your question would be, finding this forum, a definite turning point this year for me...Just having the opportunity to read the posts of folks such as yourself, Walter, Andy, Matt, Carl [Rosner and Bergstrom], Ron, Mon, Fred, Thomas, Dale, TB, and others, have been such an eye opening, and thought provoking, experience for me...This forum has become for me a living, growing, and instructional, textbook...

I consider Andy's web-book one of the best pieces of instructional literature on advanced styling, that I have read since Naka's second edition...I probably would not have had the opportunity to experience this, if I had not found this forum...

I would like to say a big thanks to all, for making this forum what it is...and especially to Matt for taking the time and effort to make it available for us...

Happy Christmas and New Year to all...

Behr