What Floats Your Boat?

David Chauvin

Hello Everyone,

What floats your bonsai boat highest? Is it propagation? Growing stock? Collecting from the wild? Initial styling? Daily care? Refinement? Matching trees to pots? Display? Anything else? For the folks who have been at it for many years, has this changed? Did you start out loving to watch seeds spout and end up getting the most satisfaction from the pinching foliage into neat clouds? Or assembling the perfect display? I think this becomes a big factor in what species, number and size of trees we end up working. Any thoughts?

Best regards,

David

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"With the death of the Shamen, artists are the last interpreters of the Divine." Joseph Campbell

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mkonig

Hi David
What started it for me was plain and simply a love for trees. Being an urbanite now, It's the only way to have a diverse colection of trees in a garden only 30yards long by 10 yards wide.

I get a massive thrill out of growing trees from seed, not just for bonsai but also for planting out in heritage sites across the UK.

Big thrill in bonsai? Initial styling of raw stock. Forget rollercoasters, there is just nothing that turns your stomach more than making that initial cut.

Regards

Mike

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ChrisM

david, first of all let me say that this is a great topic. i have only been at this for a few years, and as much as i love all the aspects of bonsai, from day one it has been the initial design for me. IMHO there is nothing more satisfying than taking the raw material and spending all that time looking for what it could be. searching through the foliage before even thinking about picking up the shears, thoughtfully placing branches without actually doing so, sitting back and imagining the finished product, and then.......making it happen!!! to me, that is the most exciting thing, knowing the time you put into the concept, then using your hands to make it reality, i guess thats why i voted for "artist" in daan muller's thread. looking forward to seeing what others think. thanks for the great topic.

chris

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bonsaial1

My short list in order of importance. This has changed somewhat over the years, as my order of importance has changed.

1. The Hunt My skirt blows up at the thought of going to a new nursery or a growing field. Looking for the perfect tree and finding it is almost as good as love in the backseat of a 49' merc. For me, I hunt for the type of tree that can be initialy styled and look promising, thereby keeping me focused on the tree long enough to get it to a finished product. I used to spend to little time on the hunt aspect, and therefore had trees that did not look good soon enough and did not hold my interest, and were probably sold off too soon.

2. Initial Styling There is nothing that makes a bonsai artist get an adreniline rush then the first styling session. Seeeing that first glimpse of something promising is really what its all about. Seeeing something hidden by foliage that you did not see during the hunt, makes it all the more better.

3. Display For me, display and bonsai go together like Janet Jackson and velcro. There is no better rush then setting up your display on Sat. morning and perusing the rest of the displays, and finding that within your own mind, "I did it right". The brotherhood of fellow bonsai artists makes for lively conversation, and the exchange of technique and tips is better then any workshop one could attend at any price. A judged display also gives the added benifit of other points of view that can help bring the tree to a better point in its future as a bonsai.

4. Future Refinement My ideas on bonsai have changed enough through the years, that I can visualize what I want in a tree, and have the know-how to get it there. Making a virtual of a tree, pinching and pruning to get the desired shape is very satisfying. Selective pruning and chopping techniques have been very gratifying, as well as thread grafts and air and ground layers. There is something about removing an ugly part of a tree and placing the trunk with its new roots into a new growing container. This is as close to being Mother Nature as I am apt to get.

Bonsai-al

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Bart Thomas(deceased)

Okay, Al.

Your response begs a new thread. So I'll start one.

What do I do Next??