What's it like to attend an Intensive program?

[Smoke]

This is an example of fig. 3 wire at a fork, or what has been explained in books for 50 years as "wiring two branches with one wire".

In the second picture, when you push down on the branchlet one can see that the loop just lifts off the main branch.

Start the wire on the bottom and the wire tightens up against the main branch and holds fast. Again, if bending up branchlets start the wire on top as shown in fig. 3.

 

[jeanluc83]

I’ve watched Ryan Neil’s pine videos several times. He seems to scoff at the two techniques you described implying that they are somewhat impractical. The method he advocates is cutting everything all at once leaving approximately 2mm stubs on everything. My understanding is that energy balancing is done by needle plucking for even needle distribution. What is your comment on this technique?

Also can you describe Boon’s preferred fertilization scheme?

 

[Adair M]

Jeanluc,

I have not seen Ryan's video you reference, but I have a friend who has attended Ryan's advanced Pine Classes. And he says that Ryan does his all in one day, and doesn't bother trying to vary the stem length. To be honest, that is the way I used to do it before I learned Boon's way of using the stems to suppress the strongest areas a little.

Personally, I don't think it matters much. The key thing is to cut the spring candles off. Both artists manage energy by pulling needles. So that's consistent.

One other difference ( that I know about ) is Boon is pretty insistent that we use tweezers to pull needles. Ryan says to just use your fingers. Again, the key task is to remove the needles. If you can do it as well with fingers as you can with tweezers, then do it with fingers if that's what you prefer.

While we are on the subject of variations of technique, there are differing schools of thought on when to select the buds we want to use after decandling.

If you remember, Boon's way is to let the summer candles develop fully until the needles have hardened off. Then, we come in and pull all the previous year needles, and reduce the shoots at each terminal to two.

There is another school of thought on this. And that is to do the bud selection much earlier, before the shoots have fully developed. This is the method that Brian Van Fleet employs.

Both methods work. You can argue over these nits until you're blue in the face, it really doesn't matter. There are pros and cons to both. In the end, both methods end up with keeping two buds, eliminating the extras.

When you get to this level of detail, the key is to take a proven technique and apply it consistently.

 

[Adair M]

Fertilization for JBP:

Use organic fertilizer. Start in the spring as buds are waking up. I use "poo balls" or cakes from Japan, some make their own. Every week add a few more. Until by the time it time to decandle, the entire surface of the pot is covered with poo balls! I also mix up some fish emulsion once a week, and give them a dose of that.

Then remove the fertilizer when I decandle.

Then start fertilizing again when the summer candles start to show needles. About 4 to 5 weeks after decandling. Again, I add a few each week until the needles harden off, then fertilizer is removed for the winter.

Some people put the poo balls in tea bags. Allows less gunk to settle in the soil. And makes it easier to remove the fertilizer.

One thing I failed to mention earlier, when the needles have hardened off, and we select buds and pull needles, we also practice soji, which is to remove about a 1/2 to 3/4 inch of soil off the top and replace it with new fresh soil. This also helped to remove excess fertilizer from the poo balls. We do this for the trees we do not plan to repot the next spring. Not so much for the ones we are planning to repot.

 

[Nybonsai12]

Great thread Adair, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I wish I had the spare time to attend an intensive, maybe some day.

I wonder how a master teacher would handle someone with very little experience and knowledge in comparison with the rest of the students.

 

[Adair M]

In Boon's case he would prefer it. In fact, he would tell you not to get any instruction at all from anyone else until you get to his class! He'd rather start with a blank canvas and fill it with his techniques than have to retrain someone like myself who has 40 years of bad habits to overcome!

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I am enjoying reading this very much and I find myself looking forward to the next post throughout the day at work. Lol
Did you keep a journal while you were there? How do you remember everything? Very lovely
Thank you for sharing this.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

In Boon's case he would prefer it. In fact, he would tell you not to get any instruction at all from anyone else until you get to his class! He'd rather start with a blank canvas and fill it with his techniques than have to retrain someone like myself who has 40 years of bad habits to overcome!

My friend......

I know YOU are not trying to be elitist... but ugh.... that's how that sounds. If working with someone like Boon would mean divesting myself of years of work with other great and notable teachers (not just DR), I would not be interested frankly. I believe the greatness of a teacher is one who can assess what is... correct what needs... and build upon. If Boon tried to tell me I needed forget my years of training, I'd honestly laugh... and ask him to explain to me how I might stop breathing and yet not die.

As a student, I always seek to come with humility and respect for the ways of a teacher, I have no need to show off... I've come to make the most of it. I put as little of myself into the process of absorbing their style and methods as possible.... I'd have to hope he could find such good enough.

Though for that... I'd have to travel to CA to work with Kathy first... she being my dearly loved friend and teacher in that area. Anything else might not be forgivable. lol

Warmly,

V

 

[jkd2572]

I agree v. Seems closed minded to think so like he would be afraid of his technique being questioned by someone with a lot of knowledge. I think it could only be beneficial to train with multiple teachers. No one knows everything about everything. Teaching methods vary as well. You can pick up something from someone that another person had missed telling you about. I went to a demo Kathy did and really liked how she made everything simple to understand for me.

 

[sikadelic]

This thread has been super informative and pleasant to read. Thanks for filling us in Adair!

 

[Vance Wood]

This thread has been super informative and pleasant to read. Thanks for filling us in Adair!

It has. No one has come along and told you how wrong you are and that you need to do this right and that right. Just saying. It always go well when people respect what you are truing to do and trying not to pick holes in it.

 

[reddog]

This thread has been super informative and pleasant to read. Thanks for filling us in Adair!

Just wanted to write to also say thanks for taking the time and effort to post your experiences. I'm disappointed some people cannot just appreciate the information without having to criticize what you have learned from one of the best bonsai teachers in the country.

 

[Vance Wood]

My friend......

I know YOU are not trying to be elitist... but ugh.... that's how that sounds. If working with someone like Boon would mean divesting myself of years of work with other great and notable teachers (not just DR), I would not be interested frankly. I believe the greatness of a teacher is one who can assess what is... correct what needs... and build upon. If Boon tried to tell me I needed forget my years of training, I'd honestly laugh... and ask him to explain to me how I might stop breathing and yet not die.

As a student, I always seek to come with humility and respect for the ways of a teacher, I have no need to show off... I've come to make the most of it. I put as little of myself into the process of absorbing their style and methods as possible.... I'd have to hope he could find such good enough.

Though for that... I'd have to travel to CA to work with Kathy first... she being my dearly loved friend and teacher in that area. Anything else might not be forgivable. lol

Warmly,

V

I know you do not engage in disagreements so something must have really tweaked you in the eye for you to say as much as you did. I have no doubt that Boon is a wonderful teacher and a real nice guy but he has a tendency to crank out a bunch of Son's of Thunder. Some of you will know what I mean.

 

[Vance Wood]

Just wanted to write to also say thanks for taking the time and effort to post your experiences. I'm disappointed some people cannot just appreciate the information without having to criticize what you have learned from one of the best bonsai teachers in the country.

Gee Reddog-----where were you when Adair was hijacking my thread?????

 

[larlamonde]

I agree v. Seems closed minded to think so like he would be afraid of his technique being questioned by someone with a lot of knowledge. I think it could only be beneficial to train with multiple teachers. No one knows everything about everything. Teaching methods vary as well. You can pick up something from someone that another person had missed telling you about. I went to a demo Kathy did and really liked how she made everything simple to understand for me.

I think your both missing the point. A teacher in any profession would rather have a blank canvass to teach as opposed to having to undo bad habits. I think they are referring to novice students not experienced persons with vast knowledge of bonsai like yourselves. I don't know where it comes from but I sense a resentment towards Boone and his students. V I'm kind of surprised to hear you react in that way. Perhaps I hold your comments above some others on this site.

 

[reddog]

Gee Reddog-----where were you when Adair was hijacking my thread?????

I was around. I just don't like you and the way you verbally chastise some people in the forum.

 

[Adair M]

Ok, let me rephrase this: Boon takes students novice and expert alike.

Throughout this thread, I chronicled things (habits) that I had been doing wrong for years. We had a lively discussion about unwiring wire, remember? I had been taught to cut it off previously. Until Boon, I thought that was the only way!

Another thing was the way to touch a tree. About how to reach in with palms up so as to not break needles. I've taken classes from Naka, Valavanis, Chase Rosade, Warren Hill, Larry Jackel, Felton Jones, many others, and had NEVER been told that. As a matter of fact, I don't ever remember being made aware of "breaking needles". Since then, I've been in workshops with Owen Reich and Peter Tea who both made mention of it, but they've been trained in Japan. (So was Valavanis. But it was a long, long time ago I took a workshop from him.)

And, as I've said, Boon had to keep a sharp eye on me because even though I had experience, I was poorly trained.

Vic, you have had extensive exposure to your mentor. From what I've read here, you have had many sessions with him I had only had one day workshops with the people I listed. You know the kind, they come around, assess your tree for 5 minutes, do a little something, get you to do a little something, tell you to keep at it, then go on to the next person. An hour later, they come back and say something nice, tweek it a little, and out you go with your workshop tree! If I wired a branch poorly, they may say, "Next time, make your spirals closer together", or "try not to leave gaps between the wire and the branch". They don't say, "That wiring is not effective! There's no anchor! Take it off and do it again!"

Boon does his best to replicate the apprentice experience. Well, in a fun setting. I've been told those first Intensives were REALLY intense! He's lightened up.

But, yes, he's said it's easier for him to teach his students HIS way of doing things if they have limited prior training and/or experience. I'm not sure how that's "elitist", it's the master/apprentice relationship. While the apprentice is working under the direction of the master, the master will control the apprentice's work and work habits.

Let's say someone trained under Ryan, and learned to pull needles with their fingers. Boon insists on pulling needles with tweezers. If that same student takes an Intensive with Boon, they WILL be pulling needles with tweezers! At least while they're at Boon's!

 

[bonsaiBlake]

The mojority of you are grown men!!!! I'm a "Dumb-ass 20 somethin' year old kid" And come on guys. There are too many of us trying learn things to have to weed out personal shit between members. The time i spend on the net/researching is limited and valuable. The really messed up part is most the people arguing I have massive amounts of respect for the horticultural and bonsai skills and knowledge they hold. To see so many people argue over menial topics blows my mind, even from my unedumacated perspective. Our country in too far behind in the areana of quality bonsai for us to waste our time bickering. Its time to be a collective, set aside personal squabbles and help progress bonsai. Enough ranting from some kid.

 

[Adair M]

Gee Reddog-----where were you when Adair was hijacking my thread?????

I hijacked your thread because I saw poor quality work, and I knew you were capable of doing better. I called you on it. You responded with better work!

You said yourself that you didn't disagree with anything I said, you just resented I said it!

I'll have to say if you took that attitude to Boon's place, you'd be very unhappy.

It wasn't five minutes into the first work session I got dressed down for cutting wire off. There I was, a rookie, getting "Sgt. Carter'ed", and all the other students, were looking away, keeping their heads down, knowing what I was going thru. Boon knows I'm eager to learn about bonsai, he knew I'd make this mistake, virtually everyone does!

But if you can't take criticism, don't go to Boon's! He's a perfectionist!

 

[Vance Wood]

I was around. I just don't like you and the way you verbally chastise some people in the forum.

Thanks for being honest.