A clever composition

[Bonsai Nut]

Just to show that you don't have to wait a million years to create an interesting and impactful composition... This little maple can't be more than a decade old and probably has only been trained as a root over rock for a couple of years. Given a few years to mature and embrace the rock more firmly, this will be a great little tree. Note the planting position and the moss in the foreground. The entire composition gives you the feeling of viewing a solo tree on top of a hill out in a distant field. I LOVE the pot.

 

[Mojosan]

Yeah, love the pot too. But not with this tree. Its too deep and unbalances the display. This little tree needs a much shallower pot, rock and all.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Yeah, love the pot too. But not with this tree. Its too deep and unbalances the display. This little tree needs a much shallower pot, rock and all.

Mojosan, normally I would agree with you. The pot is like a bowling ball and I would think you'd normally use it for a pretty heavy semi-cascade. However for some reason this works for me. I spent some time trying to figure it out - and the best I can come up with is that the foilage mass of the tree, combined with the rock and moss, balance the mass of the pot in my mind's eye. It is almost like 4 balls stacked on top of one another - the pot, moss, rock, and tree.

Here are a couple of virts I did of other pot alternatives... Normally, because of the rock, I'd go with option #2. No rock (or smaller rock) and you'd go with #1. Isn't it interesting how much shorter the tree looks in the two virts as compared to the original? (They are all exactly the same scale)

 

[Attila Soos]

Yes, I do have the same feeling about the tree being on the top of the hill.

When the virtual shows the tree in a shallow pot, the whole effect is lost.


This is a great example of how it is possible to explore new ways of doing bonsai, if we have the courage to experiment. For people who are deeply ingrained in viewing bonsai the traditional way, they are not capable to overcome the "learned way" of looking at bonsai. The resistance is too great, so they will not like it. And this is normal.

But people who love to think outside the box, it is great to have this freedom, not burdened by guilt (the guilt of committing sacrilege and upsetting the bonsai gods )

To me, this is a real eye-opener, because I like the composition with the deep pot (although every part of my mind tells me that this is wrong, and it should be illegal ). It shows that in the world of arts, there is no "right way" : it all depends on what is it that you want to express.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[Mooseman]

I too love the composition in the original deep pot. Traditional and rule bound it ain't but it works and that is a sign of good execution. I love it. I think in some way the pot has become part of the mountain, the colour and shape lend well to this.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Additionally, I would not display this tree on a stand. I would also avoid an accent plant, though a nice summer theme scroll painting would compliment it.