Cool.
So when do we do this ?

Tomorrow. Grab a beverage of your choice in one hand and your mouse in the other.

I'm even thinking about doing a rotating animated gif and putting it on a webpage just for kicks. Plus the regular pictures on a post. How does that sound??

Joanie

Sounds good. Now if I just don't get drunk ;o)

Finally, we get to see the tree....this was like a blind date, lol.

Joanie,

In quite a few issues of Bonsai Today, old masterpieces by great artists are restyled often. A tree becomes over grown, the new owner sees another vision, it has fallen to ill health, etc.

This is not uncommon. I look forward to seeing you complete this.


Will

Joanie,

I was thinking about this last night. One thing that popped into my head--and was mentioned a little earlier--is the line between "change it" and "let it be" for the tree. You can usually find hte line by asking yourself "why did I buy the tree?"

Then ask "did I by it because I liked the history, or because I saw something in the tree that I liked" The answer to these questions can go a long way in determining the path you should follow with each tree.

If you bought the tree because you liked the history, that's fine. There is something to be said for this. That's why people want to get a "Kimura" or a "Naka" tree. They like thinking loooking at it and seeing what those guys saw and brought out of the material.

If you bought the tree because you saw something else in it that you thought you could bring out, that's a different story. By all means work to bring what you see in the tree out. Most bonsai develop this way, especially the older ones. Old bonsai --really old--are the product of MANY designs who each contribute to it over the years. This is the tradition. Sometimes honoring a veteran bonsaiists is best done this way.

Mark hit the nail in the head. The reason why you bought it in the first place already has the answer for you.

Well, we just took the pictures so it'll be up in a few hours. Maybe someone else with a similar concern can read this thread and learn from it as well.

The tree definitely needs work, and that will certainly get done. But I will be curious to see just how radical some of the work proposed will be. You guys should have a lot of fun with it.....



Joanie