U.S. vs. Overseas Bonsai...

RonMartin(deceased)

I don't mind critiques. But they must come from someone that is qualified to critique.
Sadly that is not usually the case

cato42

To engage in the practice of bonsai is to undertake an artistic endeavor. On that point, I believe, we can all agree. And yes, I did use the phrase "practice of bonsai". Therein are conveyed the notions of continued improvement--growth, if one will pardon the terrible pun--of both the art and the artist. One might practice martial arts, or yoga, or even medicine; in none of these activities does any individual, or indeed, any group, even, reach an ultimate pinnacle from which one cannot advance further. Surely the same can be said of bonsai?

I have heard it said that if one looks only to the tree for satisfaction in bonsai, disappointment will always ensue. I have found much wisdom in that thought.

I hope that I may, without being disrespectful to anyone, suggest that comparisons of countries, continents, or clubs, when it comes to bonsai, are useful not so much for the finding of who is better, but rather in determining where it may be most likely that one might learn or discover some valuable thing.

The divine thing in art is to be able to see what must be, and then to make it so. That is why the naturalistic view has so taken hold of some; they sense that a forced effort in the classical mode violates the attempt at achieving the divine, the beauty in what must be. It is in seeking this vision and the skill to bring it to light that bonsai--or any art--becomes the activity we need.

These are late-night thoughts, and so not as well put as perhaps they should be. Please forgive the sin, and my anonymity, as I seek no other attention. May God bless you all.