Thanks for the money info Matt. I'll be sure to budget money for the collection jar and raffle (if there is one), as well as money for anything that's on sale (gotta stock up on some material!).

The actual premise of this thread aside (a genuine and admirable request for information about an unfamiliar situation), the whole circumstance surrounding the exhibition of art and the resultant public response has got to be of the most significant import to humans as a species - while at the same time being wholly irrelevant to the value of artistic creation. Even so, sometimes casual and seemingly trivial responses can be destructive.

Second only to the physical act of intimate love, sharing art has to be the single most personal sharing of one with another we humans can initiate. There is nothing so personal as the art a person creates and to bare one's soul, one's mind and one's heart publicly is from the very start a doomed enterprise. The instant at which the artist offers up his or her creation to be seen/heard/felt/experienced by others, at least half of the work's significance is removed, for no one but the artist can understand or experience the depths of meaning and importance the work embodies. Each piece of work as seen by others is only a fraction of its whole and this is all we can share with others. So those with whom we share this art are both treated and cheated.

However, there is scarcely such a thing as sharing one's art with others without caring deeply about the responses and opinions of those who see the work. It is such a shame that the only feedback that is possible comes from those who can experience less than half of the work's value, half of its meaning, half of its impact. So even the greatest artistic achievements are judged on a fraction of their contents. In this respect, sharing art with others is like sending one of our ships out to sea, laden with cargo to sell, but once at sea the ship dumps half of its cargo into the ocean.

The thing is, none of this even matters. There has to be artistic creation, we have to share our art with others and we have to care about what others think of our work. Even though the return on our investment is almost always less than half what we put into it, it is often more than enough to keep us engaged in the process of creating and sharing art. It's part of what makes us human - and perhaps the greatest evidence of our humanity.

Tiptoeing around displays of artistry is irrelevant and even damaging behavior. Responding to an exhibition of utter honesty with less than utter honesty is despicable and an insult to artists. Such behavior diminishes the work even more than the act of sharing it. This is why indignation in the face of honest and informed criticism turns my stomach. When an artist presents his or her pure truth, responding with less than pure truth is nothing short of pollution.

So, yes, I was kidding when I advised our questioner to say nothing more than, "this tree is perfect and the artist is a wonderful person." Surely by now such happy sarcasm can be recognized as such.

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.bonsai365.com/ :: living bonsai every day
zone 8, Texas

Andy
You really need to take a couple of aspirins and get a good nights sleep.

"the whole circumstance surrounding the exhibition of art and the resultant public response has got to be of the most significant import to humans as a species - while at the same time being wholly irrelevant to the value of artistic creation"

Gosh andy, I'll bet I could think of a couple hundred things more important to the human species than that. I guess it just depends on where your priorities lie.

Tony

Hi Tony,

Not so fast. List the things you're thinking of (as many as you want) and then imagine someone being deprived of any of them (we're not talking about food/water/air). Such deprivation may be be convenient or perhaps not very nice, but we'd get along. Deprived of creative outlet, the creation of what is important and beautiful to us and the opportunity to share it with others in our society, humans begin to lose their minds. That would be a prison of despair and utter blackness. People don't tend to do well in those situations.

We don't think about it very much because we're never really deprived of these things (except by choice).

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
www.bonsai365.com/ :: living bonsai every day
zone 8, Texas

Gosh I am still trying to figure out what all this has to do with the question that was asked. Am starting to understand why some are a bit intimidated to ask a question here. Though I am too not sure if they are intimidated or just plain scared of some of the responses they will get ;o)

No problem, Ron. If you'd have bothered to read the first sentence of my post:
"The actual premise of this thread aside (a genuine and admirable request for information about an unfamiliar situation),..."

you'd see that I allowed for this being a tangential response. We all know that you don't understand some of what gets written around here. That happens often. However, rather than implying idiocy on the part of others for your lack of understanding, perhaps you might simply try and figure things out on your own or maybe write a nice request for explanation. Your habit of saying that you don't understand something so something must be wrong with the author of this or that post is getting old.

Andy

Well thank you Andy.
Have a nice day

One of the most important things to remember I think is that most people don't like their trees touched. And it's funny, cause sometimes the tree will give you the wanting. Just try to restrain yourself unless the owner says it's fine.
I own a Portulacaria that has probably been touched by the entire population of Miami it seems most people see the shiny tiny leaves and think the tree is fake and they need to touch it to make sure it's real.
I agree with what Ron says nowadays people are more concerned about finding the defects in the trees than the overall beauty of the composition.
Oh, and another saying that works: if someone hears you say there something you don't like about a certain tree, you can say it's because it's not part of your collection.
Cheers
Lui

Dear diamondlyme84,
Matt is correct in that this show was free last year. There's a main display at the Cultural Center. There's also a display at a temple just down the street, which was great. Ask one of the members about how to get to the temple display so you won't miss it.
Have fun.