Practise Contest

bonsaial1

Winter is a boring time for bonsai, at least wherever it is winter.

I think we need a side bar to keep us busy. The exchanges on the forum have been pretty weak lately, and we need to juice it up. OMC and I tried a little experiment the other night by trying to get the others goat and get the place talking a little. It seemed to work, there was even a comment about how we were able to keep up with each other in great bonsai verbal jousting. I think this is fun and educational at the same time. Seems everyone liked the first contest, and everyone is hot for some virtual exercises, so I came up with this.

The Rules

The rules will be fairly simple. Use any tree you like. Design a tree from what I have given you. These trees are a little tougher I think, and will hopefully stretch your imagination.

Heres the catch:
Before you submit your design, you must give 5 rules of bonsai, or five bonsai design elements that you used to come up with your design.

For instance a rule would be:
1. first, second, third branch
2. 2/3 rule for placement of first branch, etc.

A design element would be:
1. Drop branch
2. live apex
3. jinned branch, etc.

This will provoke usuing some brain matter in designing the tree because you have to tell how you did it. The five can be mixed.

Since this is for fun, you can resubmit a better tree by going to the edit feature and choosing the replace photo button and choosing your modified tree. That way we won't have a mile long thread. Change it as often as you like, but, (here's the catch) you must include three new rules or design elements in the new post. You must do this everytime you change the tree. Change the tree and I would like to know why your pea-brain decided that you didn't do it right the first time. This will be an exercise in thought before the cut. You will learn much from this, I promise.

The Prize

There is no prize. Didn't you read the top correctly, this is practise. We will have a real contest in the spring , and I will make the keen stand, and I will give it to a lucky winner.

OK, you ready for these ugly trees? I want you to come up with some beauties! I am going to play also. I need practice too. As always add a new stand, a shoji screen, what ever turns you on. This will not be judged, this is for fun only. As always keep the comments brief - remember, Matt pays for this site by the pixels used per day divided by the age of his dog, less the number of sunspots last week.

Practice Trees

• Slanting Style
• Informal Upright
• Literati (Bunjin)
• Three Tree Group
• Formal Upright
• Half Cascade

Have fun, Bonsai-al

__________________
A tree a day...thats all we ask.

Advertisement