Pot School

[JudyB]

So I've been deep into studying what makes a pot work with a tree, and how to pair them successfully.
Firstly there is masculine and feminine, concepts I understand, and I get the basics of that.
Sharp corners, deep pots, strong lips -all masculine traits.
Rounded, shallow,curvy - feminine.

Then there are things I don't know how to think of them, feet for one. Color and texture for another, types of banding or lips. What types of feet work well for different pots, and even where they are placed seems to have great import. Just because I can identify the different elements influencing the design, does not mean I understand it.

If we could have a discussion here, perhaps I can gain some understanding and begin to make better choices.

And please feel free to post images of what you consider to be good marriages of tree and pot, visually is a great way to learn. I have some favorites, that I'll post later, but I'd like to see what everyone else comes up with to start.
Thanks!

 

[dick benbow]

Color is always a fun place to start. unglazed is always something we thing about for pines but the fun is with kusamono and deciduous. There we can look for colors that can enhance an aspect of the tree. many trees like fuji beech have a grey or white colored bark and a similar
color can compliment the image in the pot. especially nice during leaf fall where bare branches
work their magic. Some junipers with a strong reddish hue to their bark when freshly brushed
and a strong reddish hue to their brown pot is also complimentary. opposite of complimentary is contrast. My beloved chojubai quince with their reddish orange blooms look creat in a blue pot. believe it or not a larch looks good in a yellow or creme pot to accentuate the yellow green of new needles in spring and the straw colored needles of fall. so part of the fun of contrast or complimentary is to decide which season, which color to have the tree shown off at what YOU consider it's best!

 

[dick benbow]

continuing along this thought, pots should have different colors, styles, and Textures when combined together in a display. So we wouldn't want a feminine pine matched in a somber oval brown unglazed along with something similar in a kusamono. again this is where contrast adds to the vision as a whole.

 

[garywood]

Judy, Dick makes some good points. Glazed pots are a whole new game depending on what feature of a tree is to be highlighted in which season. Compliment or contrast in colors really makes a difference in what feature is the focal point. I think anyone that deals with colors buy a color wheel for reference. They are cheap and readily available at any craft shop or paint department.

 

[pjkatich]

Hello Judy,

Dick and Gary have offered some good advice.

To me, pot selection is a very personal thing.

The pot is the final piece of the bonsai puzzle. It is the last line of the story your bonsai is trying to tell.

How you choose to finish your bonsai story should come from the heart.

One can become obsessed with trying to find the right pot for their tree. Just keep in mind, they are your trees. Go with what appeals to you, even if it does not follow the recommended guidelines. If it satisfies you, then that's all that matters.

With that being said, you asked for a discussion.

I suggest you pick one of the areas (feet, rim, side elements, color, texture) and focus on that area first.

Where do you want to start?

Cheers,
Paul

 

[Poink88]

Good thread.

Paul, thanks in advance for your input. I'll be watching this w/ great interest.

 

[Dav4]

With that being said, you asked for a discussion.

I suggest you pick one of the areas (feet, rim, side elements, color, texture) and focus on that area first.

Where do you want to start?

Cheers,
Paul

Any chance you could touch on each of the items you have listed above and give your thoughts on their impact on the pot and its suitability for a given tree. Great topic by the way....

 

[JudyB]

I suggest you pick one of the areas (feet, rim, side elements, color, texture) and focus on that area first.

Where do you want to start?

Cheers,
Paul

Good idea Paul.

Thanks Dick and Gary, all good input. I not only want to be able to match my trees and pots, but also have become very interested in why this works in the way that it does. I guess it's just sort of become an area I want to educate myself in...

Ok lets get specific about feet first!!!

What does where they are placed do to the image? If they are fancy feet, I understand what that does, but when they are plain, but inset as opposed to sitting at the corners of the pot, what does that convey? Also the thickness of the foot, and the shape of the foot. My there are a lot of details just with feet! These are 4 categories that I think about, maybe there are more...
So
placement

shape

width

thickness

 

[md4958]

Great topic.

In all my studies in this hobby, pot selection is one thing topic that still vexes me, as it is usually breezed over in most texts.

 

[dick benbow]

my friend and teacher, david de groot, curator for the weeyerhaeuser pacific rim bonsai display
has a book out, inexpensive and does a wonderful job of covering much of this topic. It's called basic bonsai design. would be great reference book to have on the shelf.
So, feet it is....as judy mentioned earlier, bonsai can be masculine or feminine. as simplistic as it may sound, small feet for the ladies and for the men, well...just the opposite.Not necessarily the physical size but the prominent look, more often then not the male feet are plain. What's interesting is when you have a tree with both characteristics. This takes a bit more focus and YOU can make the difference by the choices you make, that can sway a viewer's perception.

maybe someone can help me here, my mind has gone blank and i wanted to address those pots on display with three feet. The meaning and reasoning as to why in one case you may put the
one foot forward to be seen and in another case you put both feet forward.

 

[Jason]

my friend and teacher, david de groot, curator for the weeyerhaeuser pacific rim bonsai display
has a book out, inexpensive and does a wonderful job of covering much of this topic. It's called basic bonsai design. would be great reference book to have on the shelf.

I second the book recommendation. "Basic Bonsai Design" by David De Groot gets more use than almost any on my shelf. There are 21 pages of discussion on these elements...line, form, color, suggested combinations, size, character, shape.... If I contributed to this discussion I'd probably be mostly regurgitating what was read in this book. Ultimately the pot needs to work for the audience (in many cases that will be you). When it comes down to the nuts and bolts of the "why" I really think it has a lot to do with personal preferences. Some personal preferences are just more "shared" that others.

 

[JudyB]

I'll be looking for that book, thanks for the pointer.

Now back to feet.

Seems like the inset feet are usually, but not always on more feminine shaped pots, and the ones at corners are on the masculine. Especially the ones that are basically an extension of the pot shape itself, following the curve, or square of the pot edge.

Along with the three feet pots, how about the ones with 3 along the front edge?

Ok and what about the thickness of the foot itself? Thin feet would be less prominent, so therefore, more masculine?
And width, if they are very wide, with just a small cutout for the middle, where does that lead your brain. I'm sure there are intellectual reasons for these choices making the differences seen to your eyes.

Yikes, just back from a search that book is 70.00 at Amazon. Anyone have a copy they would like to part with, or know of a cheaper place to look?

 

[pjkatich]

OK Judy, to start with, the basic horticultural function of the feet on a bonsai container is to raise the pot up off the bench and allow air to circulate under the pot.

From my point of view, the major aesthetic roll of the feet is to adjust the visual weight and visual balance of a pot. Which in turn will help to define the character of a bonsai container. It's all about how your eye perceives the visual clues in the pots design.

The further out from the line of the pot the heavier (masculine) the pots becomes optically. As the feet move closer to the line of the pot the lighter (feminine) the pot becomes to the eye.



Here is a photo of three pots which I am currently working on. Physically, they are all approximately the same size and shape. The feet are all the same width. Hopefully, you can see the visual difference as you go from left to right?

What is happening here is the visual weight is being shifted toward the upper portions of the pot as you go from left to right. This tends to lighted the overall image of the pot. Unfortunately, I do not have a fourth pot in this group. Ideally, the next step would be a pot where the feet are set back under the pot.

Another function of the feet is to provide visual stability to the container. Narrow or tall feet give the pot and unstable feeling. Longer and shorter feet present a more stable image.

My preference is to present as stable an image as possible for my trees. Consequently, I use shorter, longer feet on most of my pots.

Personally, I do not like three footed pots. To my eye, they do not present a stable image.

I hope this is helpful.

Do you have any questions?

Regards,
Paul

 

[Poink88]

Yikes, just back from a search that book is 70.00 at Amazon. Anyone have a copy they would like to part with, or know of a cheaper place to look?

$70.00?

Check American Bonsai Society. I bought mine there for $15.95 plus $3.75 shipping.

 

[jk_lewis]

Basic Bonsai design is a publication of the American Bonsai Society. It has been out and in print and I'm not sure of its current status; reportedly a new revised edition is in the works. As is, it is an extraordinary book.

Buy it through ABS ($15.00), the site is up and running again.

ABS also has a new booklet on "Introduction to Bonsai Pots" $12.95) which I have not seen to review.

 

[JudyB]

$70.00?

Check American Bonsai Society. I bought mine there for $15.95 plus $3.75 shipping.

Will do this, as the "new" copies on Amazon are going for $205.00!!! The $70 was the cheapest of the used copies. There was one used copy there for $450.-unbelievable!

Thanks to you and JKL, hopefully I can pick one up at ABS.

Yup, got one! Thanks again.

 

[JudyB]

OK Judy, to start with, the basic horticultural function of the feet on a bonsai container is to raise the pot up off the bench and allow air to circulate under the pot.

From my point of view, the major aesthetic roll of the feet is to adjust the visual weight and visual balance of a pot. Which in turn will help to define the character of a bonsai container. It's all about how your eye perceives the visual clues in the pots design.

The further out from the line of the pot the heavier (masculine) the pots becomes optically. As the feet move closer to the line of the pot the lighter (feminine) the pot becomes to the eye.

View attachment 42363

Here is a photo of three pots which I am currently working on. Physically, they are all approximately the same size and shape. The feet are all the same width. Hopefully, you can see the visual difference as you go from left to right?

What is happening here is the visual weight is being shifted toward the upper portions of the pot as you go from left to right. This tends to lighted the overall image of the pot. Unfortunately, I do not have a fourth pot in this group. Ideally, the next step would be a pot where the feet are set back under the pot.

Another function of the feet is to provide visual stability to the container. Narrow or tall feet give the pot and unstable feeling. Longer and shorter feet present a more stable image.

My preference is to present as stable an image as possible for my trees. Consequently, I use shorter, longer feet on most of my pots.

Personally, I do not like three footed pots. To my eye, they do not present a stable image.

I hope this is helpful.

Do you have any questions?

Regards,
Paul

Wonderful! Very helpful. I can see the immediate difference as to what they do. This is very understandable and makes sense, I thought it had something to to with the way your eye responds to shapes. Intellectually this is very interesting to me. Thank you.

I am clear for the feet, can we move onto the banding please?

Bottom band, middle band, top band. All seem to impart refinement to me, but they also tend toward adding a stronger image. So all banding would be a strong image? Or are certain placements stronger than others? I would assume that the eye stopping at the band is what causes the weighty feel, if I follow the logic in the feet answer.

 

[pjkatich]

In all forms of art, horizontal lines are used to suggest a feeling of rest or repose. The idea is that objects which are parallel to the earth are at rest in relation to gravity.

Banding or horizontal lines are used on bonsai pots for several reasons.

When applied to the lower portion of the pot, a horizontal line or band will communicate a sense of stability and solidity. Once again, the optical weight of the container is focused at the base.

As the banding moves up the side of the pot, the optical weight moves along with it. Once again, changing the optical weight of the container.

Sometimes a single concave band is used near the rim of a pot. This usually will help to reduce the visual height of the container. I use this application quite often when I need to use a deeper pot for horticultural reasons.

Any questions?

Regards,
Paul

 

[Jason]

In all forms of art, horizontal lines are used to suggest a feeling of rest or repose. The idea is that objects which are parallel to the earth are at rest in relation to gravity.

Banding or horizontal lines are used on bonsai pots for several reasons.

When applied to the lower portion of the pot, a horizontal line or band will communicate a sense of stability and solidity. Once again, the optical weight of the container is focused at the base.

As the banding moves up the side of the pot, the optical weight moves along with it. Once again, changing the optical weight of the container.

Sometimes a single concave band is used near the rim of a pot. This usually will help to reduce the visual height of the container. I use this application quite often when I need to use a deeper pot for horticultural reasons.

Any questions?

Regards,
Paul

Not to be a pain, but do you have any examples of a concave line near the rim of the pot? I'm just trying to visualize...

 

[pjkatich]

Here are a few examples Jason.









I hope this helps.

Paul