Does anyone have any idea?

bonsaial1

....Just how much this contest can mean to you?

Let me first say just how brilliant Matt is. Maybe unknowingly he has provided the perfect contest for bonsaiTALK. If he knows it and there is a method to his madness, he is even more of a genius that I give him credit for. Sorry Matt. In the beginning I thought what a silly idea for a contest. This is going to drop the credibility level of this forum down to zippo.

Then I got it.

Lets think about this for a minute. First I had a virtual contest. It was a good contest but had no real talent involved since you could cut and paste in photoshop from a myriad of photos from all over the world.

Then we had a 20-dollar styling contest. We had a few of those. Once again this was limited by the stock available in your own town. Someone that had really good nurseries or had a place to buy really good stock inexpensively had a better chance at making something better than someone else. What if the most talented person had little to choose from during the time limits of the contest? This was not always done during a time of the year fair for all.

A display contest. Good but still unfair for those that do not own a lot of stands or scrolls or trees for that matter. What if your camera does not shoot pictures of the quality of Mike Page? Everyone knows that it’s the quality of the camera that makes the trees look so good.

Now a pipe cleaner contest.

What dies this mean in the great scheme of things? If there is one thing I have learned in all the years here at bonsaiTALK it is that a lot of us come from backgrounds that include crafty type things. What I mean is we are potters, sculptors, musicians, stand builders, model railroaders, or like to draw or paint. In short we like to work with our hands. Working with our hands seems to be a very positive attribute when creating bonsai. I would have to say the bonsai might be easier for a person more adept at working with their hands than someone not so well versed in that area.

…So what does this pipe cleaner contest have to do with all that?

Think about it. No more can you say that the time of year was wrong. No more can you say that there were not any branches in the good spots. No more can you say that the trunk was puny so I did the best I could. No more can we not have enough foliage for a convincing canopy.

With this contest you are the Creator. We can make any piece of stock that we wish. We have total control on the outcome of what we create. Need a branch? Make one! Need a fatter trunk, add some more pipe cleaners. Never before have we been offered such a unique chance to control our destiny than with this contest. I surmise that this contest will actually show just what the forum is capable of doing with their respective talents. This will go to combine many talents but in the end it will be the vision of each artist to produce a masterpiece bonsai. That is unless of course you decide to go the comic route and add googly eyes….chicken!


ak

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Ashbarns9999

Let the games begin.


Ash

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Mr. Al.

I couldn't agree with you more...There are no really valid excuses for NOT participating in this contest...What a brilliant idea…A contest where all participants have the opportunity to be on a level playing field, and show their ‘creative vision’ along with their ability to work with their hands…Two definite attributes needed to create good bonsai…

BTW, I don't know about other areas, but here in San Antonio the 'Hobby Lobby' stores are showing their support for this great contest by having all 'pipe cleaners' on sale for half price now through the proposed contest start date of July 15...

I will admit, I did purchase the 'standard' tree colors but did not make it home with any "pink, purple or yellow"...There is probably NOT going to be a "boug or azalea" entered in the contest by me...I also couldn't find "snake skin fabric or alligator rope" at "Hobby Lobby'...I had to settle for two and a half yards of 'leopard skin fabric' from 'Joanne Fabric Store', and 23 1/2 inches of 'foam rope' used to fill cracks before caulking from 'Home Depot', but it was probably cheaper...

I'm just glad that reporter character "Dirk Donught" wasn't around to see the other things purchased for this event...

Regards; and looking with anticipation to see the work and visions of the artists on this forum…

Behr

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Joanie

Al, as usual you are right on the money with this analysis. We can create any bonsai form we like, we can manipulate branches without killing them, we can fatten and add movement and jin and shari to our hearts content. How great is that?

This is a learning opportunity.. think of it as sketching in 3D, as making virtuals with actual material. It's like a bonsai mannequin.

Joanie

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