CLOSED: Rustic Bonsai

FredL

Had a barbecue Saturday night with three other families, two of them Filipino-American, like Emy amd me, that we've known a long time, and the other a Japanese-American couple we met more recently at church. Well, Japanese-Canadian. I was kind of excited to show the Japanese wife my potted trees, but was disappointed to find out she had no interest in them at all. Mostly, she wanted to talk about how much she missed Tokyo and how she wished she could go back there to live. And how much she disliked small-town Northwest Arkansas; how much she loved skyscrapers and shopping and how much she disliked the Ozarks countryside. Oh, it's pretty enough, but, for her, a little of it goes a long way.

I got the sense this was not her husband's favorite subject, so we moved on to other things.

Much to my surprise, my friend Aaron, who I've known for many years, came over to talk to me about Bonsai when a break occurred in the conversation. He wanted to look at my trees and I ended up loaning him a couple of copies of "Bonsai Today" and promised to come look at several seedlings in his yard and gutters to see whether they were Silver Maples, which I suspected, or something more worth while. I told him I'd be delighted to give him 10 or 12 of my trees as starters and it looks like he's going to take me up on my offer.

Aaron seems really interested. I should have talked to him a couple of years ago!

Except that two years ago, I didn't have that much to show him. Now, many, many of my trees are well on their way to becoming "credible Bonsai" and the total, massed effect of my 200+ potted trees and the many additional in my grow bed is, well, impressive.

Aaron and I talked for some time about what I was doing. I explained that the most visible part of the Bonsai Community is interested in Bonsai as an artistic expression and emphasizes enormous attention to detail and preparation of individual trees to show-quality objects of great artistry. My own particular interests inclined more to Bonsai as a horticultural rather than artistic pursuit and I found observation of the trees themselves rather than as objects of art the more fascinating aspect of the activity. My interest is often referred to as "Back Yard Bonsai", which I don't seem recalling used as a term of approval.

I've come to prefer "Rustic Bonsai".

Now, I don't mean by that a complete disinterest in the artistic aspects of Bonsai. I think everyone involved in Bonsai wants to create "credible Bonsai" and everyone respects and admires the significant artists involved with Bonsai. But I do think that discrediting "Rustic Bonsai" is hurtful to Bonsai as a whole and must have the effect of discouraging folks with different talents or interests from the artistically inclined who might otherwise get great enjoyment and might even make some surprising contributions to Bonsai.

I've been conscientiously moving forward on getting pictures of some of my trees into "BonsaiTalk", but I must admit to a lack of the fervor I feel on other Bonsai tasks that are also competing for my time. Mixing soil, potting or transplanting trees, pruning trees into better form, etc, etc. is so much fun compared to the task of preparing photos and getting them into BT, with the rather doubtful rewards associated with task completion.

Fred

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mike_p

Fred. the garden of bonsai has many pathways.

Mike

__________________
Learning the mechanics of bonsai is a matter of rote. Over and over again the processes are practiced until the hands and eyes know the moves.
Learning the art of bonsai may be more like water wearing away a stone, or climbing a mountain where the peak is always shrouded in fog and just out of reach.
Persist, and someday you may see the peak in sunshine. You may pick up the stone and it's a thing of beauty.

MP@BBB Studio

Will_Heath

<ethnicity discussion removed by admin>

Fred, as it has been said before, there is a place for everyone in bonsai. The seed starters, the bonsai farmers, the propagators, the collectors, the admirers, the backyarders, the artists, and even the groupies. But without the end result which is artistic bonsai, there is no direction, no goal, no reason to ever prune a tree. Seriously if just watching them grow is one's main objective, why would they wire, trim, or style at all? A simple patio tree in a large Terra Cotta pot would do.

The question Fred is when does a tree become a bonsai using modern thoughts and definition? If I collect a unstyled tree and put it in a pot is it a bonsai? By the strictest translation, yes. But by todays thoughts and practices, no. It must be taken down the road to artistic styling in order to become more than stock, in order to become bonsai.

You can plant a zillion seeds and call them bonsai, but they are not. You can plant a few plums in the ground or move them into a pot but until they reach artisic levels, they are simply trees in a pot, not bonsai.


Will Heath

RonMartin(deceased)

Will not everyone travels, or wants to, down the same road.
As much as you want it to happen not everyone will want to do bonsai for the same reasons. Or even at the same level. All routes are fine just as long as it makes the person doing the chore happy.

Will_Heath

Ron,

While it is true, as I plainly pointed out myself above, that not everyone travels down the same road but the destination is the same. Quality bonsai. In order to achive this we must style and to style we must have a direction in mind.

Once you decide the first time that a plant would look better without a branch, shorter, with a thicker trunk, or with more foliage, you are making decisions that will please the eye. You my friend are on the artistic road, some are just further along than others.

Will

Joanie

Fred, can you define "rustic bonsai"? Would you tend to think of it as the same as "naturalistic"?

To me, in the context of "arts and crafts" for instance, "rustic" means undisciplined...not polished, not finely crafted...like a sign made out of an old barn board, or a birdbath made from an old rusty bathtub. While there would be some charm in a small, slightly overgrown stump in a pot made from fence posts or whatnot, would it be bonsai?

Show us a picture of your most interesting "rustic" tree, and give us something to work from. Words aren't going to get us anywhere.

Joanie

agraham

Will,

I used to paint....i was terrible at it,but i loved the feeling of paint flowing off my brushes onto the canvas and the unexpected images that sometimes evolved....the problem was(and is)i have an ego and am competitive....i wanted to "create" something beautiful,something that others besides myself would admire......i never got there...so i quit...i wasn't talented enough,or dedicated enough,or patient enough....but it was still painting,and i sometimes miss the sensualness and smoothness of those brushstrokes

I've grown "bonsai" for 30 years...nothing great...but better than my paintings .some of the trees i have,would be sneered at by the ones that push bonsai as an exclusive past time,to be shared only by those whose egos push them to be "artists".In the last year or so,i've realised that while i still want to create "masterpieces"...i probably never will.I've lacked the dedication,perseverance,time "at the right time",attention to detail......and i've also discovered what i really enjoy is the time alone,the relaxation,the watching something grow under my care somewhat under my control,the little surprises when something goes right,the solutions when something goes wrong

I've looked at the galleries and read the postings of those in here who deem themselves the arbiters of what is and isn't bonsai,on what is and isn't correct cultural practice,on what is and isn't artisticly worthwhile,on what is and isn't "misinformation" and without exception i could point out instances where they were "wrong" according to my experiences and my opinion.i could point out trees that are half-assed attempts at what i would call "good bonsai".

i guess what i'm trying to say is that for many,it's the journey that makes it worthwhile....not the "dream" that may never come true.

more and more(it seems to me)this forum has become a place to bash the ones one disagrees with,look down on those who might be less advanced,discourage those who won't take one's advice as gospel

don't get me wrong,i don't "aim" this at just you(as you might have gathered from the referance to "misinformation" ....it has become the flame favor of the day and way too personal,imho.

<ethnicity discussion removed by admin>

andy

Attila

This is a very complex and interesting subject: cultivating bonsai because of your love of horticulture or love of the arts.
I feel lucky that I am fascinated by both aspects, so it's a double pleasure and that's why I could never get tired of it.

But I believe that the first reason just as valid as the second. Pursuing bonsai for the love of nature and horticulture would make one focus on the aspect that I would call "miniaturization". You want your bonsai look like a minature tree, in addition to keeping it healthy. You don't really care about art theories and design principles.

What makes this issue so complex is that as soon as you set your mind to create a miniature tree, you cannot completely divorce yourself from the artistic aspect of it, no matter how much you want to. As soon as you set your mind to create a miniature tree, to a certain degree you are already in the realm of artistic expression: you are using a little tree to symbolize a mature, or an old tree. You are using your creativity and imagination to achieve that, and, according to a lot of art theories, these are the only necessary and sufficient criteria to the process to be called artistic creation.
So, when you say that artistic consideration is not your concern, what you are saying is that creativity and imagination is not a self-conscious activity. However, by virtue of your goal (to create a miniature tree), this process is till present at an instinctive level. You still want your tree to have certain characteristics, such as taper, crown, ect., and you are still having an aesthetic experience when you look at a tree.
I am curious how you feel about having an aesthetic experience (an example would be when you admire the beauty of nature), but if you did in fact experience that feeling, it is your "artistic side" that triggered it.

So, this is why I feel that one cannot take art out of bonsai, and it is rather a matter of semantics when we try to do it.

Of course, some people spend more time and effort on consciously studying the artistic process, and some people spend no time at all. And we all have varying degrees of success in creating trees that touch our heart and soul.

By the way, there is a "thing" called outsider art. It became the subject of discussion in the art world lately, and it is very controversial in that some call it art at the highest level, others claim that it has nothing to do with art. The fact is that some of these works are exhibited at art museums, and some actually were sold at art auctions for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Outsider art is created by people with mental disorders. These works are paintings and drawings created without the intention of "doing art". The author just liked to paint or draw, but was not aware that "he is an artist". A lot of critics call this the highest level of art because it is completely honest, no trace of facetiousness or artifice, it expresses the creators innermost feelings, unabridged.

So, you see why trying to "ignore art" on a conscious level may be virtually impossible. It is part of us, humans. It is the way we operate, whether we know it or not.

The use of "rustic" is very interesting and I actually like it. But it has nothing to do with artistic value.
An object referred to as rustic can be artless as well as artistic beyond description.
It refers to a certain quality of everyday objects. This quality can also be described as unrefined, rough, primitive, homely, simple, unpolished.
But here is the problem: these qualities also define the Japanese concept of Wabi-Sabi. To me it is the King of arts, the artless art. The art that is so refined that it doesn't even look like art anymore.
So, when you try to separate rustic from art, you are right in the middle of the Zen philosophy, or the Arts and Crafts movement in the history of Western art.

I completely agree. Discouraging people from doing bonsai at any level is not something that I would do. As long as they are interested in any aspect of it, it can only widen the popularity of this great activity.

I had fun thinking about and exploring this subject,
Thanks for the opportunity,
Attila

Will_Heath

True.

And you must admit that without forward steps, there is no journey at all.


Attila,

Excellent, intelligent post that explains the points well. We must also keep in mind that ignoring the fact the one of the goals of bonsai is to bring yours to a higher level of visual perfection, if they are not progressing year by year, you are doing something wrong. This is the path to artistic bonsai, to ignore this is to erase most of what bonsai is about.



Will