The "So?" response to bonsai rules.

[Joe Dupre']

The members of my bonsai club and the local bonsai artists know about my disdain for "The Rules". If you want to follow the guidelines or rules, please do. If the guidance of the rules helps you make a better bonsai, please use it. My PERSONAL view is that I don't need them. No.....that's not entirely accurate. I have them in the back of my mind when working on my trees. It's just that they really can't be followed in the majority of instances working with trees that are not of a standard style. The majority of my trees are one-off, mower-ravaged basket cases. This "left branch, right branch, rear branch ...... gradual tapering of the trunk........ no reverse taper" style of design is basically impossible to me. I've come to find other ways to make trees look good in my eyes. I still enjoy seeing classically-styled bonsai trees.

So, what happens if you don't follow the rules?

"That branch is in the wrong place."
"So??"

"Well, the rules say you shouldn't have a branch there."
"So??"

"If you go against the rules, you probably won't place in any show."
"I'll live. So??"

Well, some people may not consider that a proper bonsai."
"I do. So??"

"Some clubs and bonsai artists may not like your trees."
"That's fine by me. So??"

"Well...................well....................."
"If you're done, I'm going to prune my bonsai now.

On the other hand, if you want to abide by the rules or guidelines, I'll enthusiastically promote and enjoy your trees. It's just not for me. Sometimes you have to venture off of the beaten path.

 

[bonsaichile]

Quelle arrogance

 

[Joe Dupre']

Quelle arrogance

No Sir. Just an artist trying to make the best tree out of found material. Here again, it's not that I don't care what other people think about my trees, it's just that I don't let them unduly influence what I do. What I DON'T care about is what some long-dead Japanese bonsai master said. I'm not into the Japanese traditional history of bonsai. As a 69 year old of Cajun descent, living in a tiny town in South Louisiana, I like the artistry of making beautiful trees from found native material. I, as the Japanese and the Chinese before them, look to nature for inspiration. Old storm-torn 1000 year old cypress trees and majestic 300 year old live oak trees are what inspire me. If you think that's "arrogant", you have the right to your opinion.

 

[Paradox]

I don't care if you want to follow the rules or not. They are your trees. It doesn't effect me one way or another.

Like so many things in bonsai, I'm in the "it depends" camp. Following all the rules may not work for that tree or you may have a different vision.

I may or may not agree but again, it is your tree.

 

[bonsaichile]

No Sir. Just an artist trying to make the best tree out of found material. Here again, it's not that I don't care what other people think about my trees, it's just that I don't let them unduly influence what I do. What I DON'T care about is what some long-dead Japanese bonsai master said. I'm not into the Japanese traditional history of bonsai. As a 69 year old of Cajun descent, living in a tiny town in South Louisiana, I like the artistry of making beautiful trees from found native material. I, as the Japanese and the Chinese before them, look to nature for inspiration. Old storm-torn 1000 year old cypress trees and majestic 300 year old live oak trees are what inspire me. If you think that's "arrogant", you have the right to your opinion.

So?

 

[ChristianDGreat]

I don't care if you want to follow the rules or not. They are your trees. It doesn't effect me one way or another.

Like so many things in bonsai, I'm in the "it depends" camp. Following all the rules may not work for that tree or you may have a different vision.

I may or may not agree but again, it is your tree.

I 100% agree, similar to money, financial planners can give us all the guidelines and tricks on taxes or retirement plans and such, but at the end of the day its our choice and decision.

Theres lots of information online and you just need to filter what you want.

 

[Dav4]

I can't say the word "rule" has been part of my bonsai vocabulary in at least 10 years. My eyes have been trained, more or less, to accept what looks good and works visually/stylistically/aesthetically... and reject what looks bad (most of the time). Imo, rules are a construct for creating "bonsai by the numbers" and mainly for beginners. If you expose yourself to enough good trees over time, you don't really need to list the rules verbatim to create good trees... my 0.02.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I can't say the word "rule" has been part of my bonsai vocabulary in at least 10 years. My eyes have been trained, more or less, to accept what looks good and works visually/stylistically/aesthetically... and reject what looks bad (most of the time). Imo, rules are a construct for creating "bonsai by the numbers" and mainly for beginners. If you expose yourself to enough good trees over time, you don't really need to list the rules verbatim to create good trees... my 0.02.

Well said!

 

[Joe Dupre']

So?

Yep! Exactly the spirit I like.

 

[Potawatomi13]

Largely agree with general disdain however Bonsai not "art" making you normal independent hobbyist.

 

[leatherback]

Why this obsession with rules?
Might be a thing in the USA.

I *never* have discussions on rules.
I have never heard "there should not be a branch there". If it looks good, it looks good.

HOWEVER.. There are certain things that help build a bonsai that looks well balanced and reduce the shrub-look. They help when you are stuck and if you gothrough the tree and look at it from this framework, you might find things that do not work. I is great for people just starting out as a guide towards bonsai creation.

So..

 

[ShimpakuBonsai]

See my signature: If it makes you happy, it doesn't have to make sense to others.

 

[Cajunrider]

Bonsai to dis here cajun is like driving in da swamp. When the water is smooth, you follow navigation rules. But when you are up to your ass in alligators or ornery water moccasins, you just gotta stop your pirogue and collect some tail meat for dinner or whack dem snakes, right side or left side don’t matter.

The Zen of anything is based on meditation and intuition. Again when you are up to your ass in alligators or water moccasins, even Buddha will tell you to mediate quicker.

But then… are we sure we are up to our ass in alligators? When following any rule is hard, I take much more time to figure out how to still follow it. Yet when I finally decide to not follow it, “So” be it.

 

[dbonsaiw]

I get the sense that those with much experience are indeed following rules. Perhaps you are doing this intuitively and even bending/breaking certain rules, but rules are indeed being followed. I don't believe a newb can ever take any steps in bonsai without first understanding and internalizing the "rules".

 

[rockm]

Oh for crying out loud. I've seen enough bonsai "rebels" over the years (and I was one) who say stuff like, "What does a dead Japanese master know about my trees" or "rules are for fools," etc. It's short-sighted and kind of irritating. It misses the point, as do people who blindly adhere to them just because they're THE RULES. The people who say they disregard the rules mostly haven't been doing bonsai for more than 10 years or so. The people who adhere to them strictly do so because they have no imagination, or understanding of them. After a time, the objections to following the rules or following them blindly, tend to fade as you see beyond them to their purpose.

Thing is, you're following most of the "rules" when you make a tree, like it or not. This increases with the more trees you make. You create a trunk that has some interest (taper, movement, whatever it is that make the character of the tree compelling), you put branches where they make sense in context, you refine those branches so they make sense and aren't a tangle of bush-like twigs. You create a nebari that looks like it anchors the tree to the soil, etc. You may not be following the exact route prescribed by the rules, but you're moving in their general direction.

Rules are simply techniques that make the most visually of a tree. They form a tree with recognizable visual cues for the viewer to think "that's a beautiful tree" and not "WTF is going on here."

As for the "I do bonsai for me and no one else" well that kind of whistles past the graveyard. I'd like to create trees that have appeal to others, as well as myself. Bonsai has always been about communicating with other people--or what would be the point of having a tree that is handed down through generations as in Japan? The trees that appealed mostly to their makers aren't around much past the lives of their creators.

Nick Lenz, probably the most iconoclastic bonsaiist in the U.S. knew that. His trees followed some rules, Japanese and otherwise. They make sense to others. They strike something in others even though they are hardly conformists. That is because he knew the basic intention of the rules and the results of using them, even though he said stuff like "dead Japanese guys" didn't make any difference, etc., etc.

John Naka , Ben Oki, and other first and second generation Japanese-Americans adhered more to the Japanese traditions and rules, but their trees, particularly their collected trees, broke more than a few.

Rules aren't "RULES." They are tools of the trade to be used when you come to places in design where the answers to how to proceed on a problem may be unclear or blocked.

 

[MeDupree]

I thought bonsai was an art form and while there may be many fundamentals/traditions to consider and knowledge to accept and respect I feel like the only rules are those that nature has defined not humans. If it's your artwork you can call it what you want in the end but doesn't mean others will do the same and one must accept that in any art form.

 

[Paradox]

I thought bonsai was an art form and while there may be many fundamentals to consider and knowledge to accept and respect I feel like the only rules are those that nature has defined not humans

The whole bonsai is art/not art is another discussion (can of worms) that has resulted in pages of debate here and elsewhere.

There are basic rules made by humans that speak to basic bonsai structure to give guidance, particularly to people newer to the hobby and learning tree development.

It is generally understood that the rules may not apply in all situations and many experienced bonsai practitioners and masters routinely go against said rules if the situation warrants. The key is knowing when that is.

Some people abhor the very thought of rules and seem to liken them to being forced into handcuffs. They make way too much of a big deal out of it.

As I said they are guidelines meant to help people learn how to develop good looking trees in general terms and may not apply in all or even most situations. Nature isn't so organized that trees always grow "to the rules".

 

[johng]

I suspect if you truly were guided by this "so?" sentiment you would never bother to make a public statement about it....you wouldn't care... Feels like you are making excuses for subpar trees

 

[rockm]

I thought bonsai was an art form and while there may be many fundamentals/traditions to consider and knowledge to accept and respect I feel like the only rules are those that nature has defined not humans. If it's your artwork you can call it what you want in the end but doesn't mean others will do the same and one must accept that in any art form.

The thinking that nature has design principals that appeal to humans can lead to some very strange places. Nature has no rules really when it comes to design. Trees in the wild are forced to adhere to a violent, sometimes deadly set of "rules"--inward growing branches die off, crossed branching and branches directly above one another kill the bottom branch, etc. Human rules take those things into consideration. Nature is what it is. Design based on "nature" is a human thing. Nature doesn't care. Trees in nature are appealing to humans only through chance and not intention. Bonsai are intentional creations. They adhere to humans' sense of beauty.

 

[Cadillactaste]

Why this obsession with rules?
Might be a thing in the USA.

I *never* have discussions on rules.
I have never heard "there should not be a branch there". If it looks good, it looks good.

HOWEVER.. There are certain things that help build a bonsai that looks well balanced and reduce the shrub-look. They help when you are stuck and if you gothrough the tree and look at it from this framework, you might find things that do not work. I is great for people just starting out as a guide towards bonsai creation.

So..

THIS ... I've heard this from friends across the pond. I do believe that Americans...are more judgemental in specific areas of the hobby. Well...also in general. Which was why for awhile...I was in oversea groups. But then...I had one obsessed with my being an American...and I left that group.


Now my thoughts...
I do believe that for beginners...it's guidelines to help them have more than a bush in a pot.

End of the day... I hope all just enjoy the path they are in the hobby. I wish the world was a little kinder...

By all means...I'm far from...classical traditional. I don't go about thinking...I'm breaking rules. I just work my tree. In a way that appeals to me. End of the day...my tree...my bench.