Smoke
Ignore-Amus
The disclaimer: My POV (point of view) on this display is from a more formal display background. More closely related to Japanese asthetics than a more Western approach. It should be appreciated for that, and not a Western ideal since I am looking at it on those asian merits. Others have commented so my POV is more personel. I am sure there will be disagreement and that is OK with me.
This POV I hope may proove infromational and I hope educational. It has been written with that intent entirely. Thanks.
Satsuki Azalea: Gods gift to women and bonsai. No matter how the blooming azalea looks, the best pine and juniper will never compare to a blooming azalea at a show.
So...how best to display one. Simply!
There is nothing to compare with a blooming azalea, adding addtional features does not enhance a blooming tree, and if done poorly will only seem to detract. If there is supposed to be a message it has to be clear or the flowers will seem to diminish as the viewer is left wondering what is being said here.
I will start with each element of the display and talk about how each is supposed to add to the display.
The tree: This tree is well proportioned yet still has a thinnish trunk. For me it seems tall but that is the way they are trained in Japan so there you go. My only criticism of the tree as shown is the bottom right branch. It is rather short and would enhance the tree much more by filling out the canopy at the bottom. I do not like to see the primary branch shorter than a foliage mass above it. I would like to see the canopy thinned in the fall more at the top, but this is hard to keep bloom wood. It is a little dense for my liking.
The Pot: This is a good choice of shape for this plant. I like the lines and the size. I dislike the color for this tree in bloom. Good chioce without flowers but pooor for blooms especially with nearly all white flowers. There is a touch of pink and we have been told that there is a lot more pink than in past years as it grows. Many of the flowers have already showed, so white it is. Obviously azalea's bloom in spring and summer and this is the one time of year that a tree can be shown with it's Easter dress on. My preference, look for a light celedon green pot. Celedon and pink....Wow! Maybe not all year but in spring...bravo.
The table: I think this table compliments this display very well. I like the subtle details that were added and it adds texture while not being overpowering.
At this point the display should be half done. Tree and accent!
The scroll:
Flowering trees should never be shown with a scroll! In fact the link from Mark of the satsuki exhibit at Lakeside Garden Center shows some magnificent examples of flowering trees. I know these people, most of them. They are members of BABA, Boon, and REBS and half a dozen other clubs that all show trees with scrolls. There were no scrolls in that exhibit. Why? A scroll is not necessary with a fine example of a flowering tree. A scroll is a supporting piece that helps convey a significant part of a message about season or time of day. A flowering tree already exhibits the season, the accent, and the time of day. Daytime. Most azaleas withdraw their flowers at night which is a reason the flowers last so long. This display has been exhibited with a moon. A full moon, high in the sky since there is no horizon or land masses, or trees. This phase would depict a moon well into the night, a poor choice of "time of day" to enjoy a flowering tree as beautiful as this. This composition would benifit from a hazy sun in the morning. I said hazy and very subdued. I love moon scrolls, I own a lot, I think I am up to about 10 now. They are my favorite, but there is a danger. They do not show well with trees. They show best with stones. If a moon type scroll is used it should depict a season, usully being winter or fall. The brocade on this scroll is very heavy and dark, looking more like winter than spring or summer.
My biggest setback with this scroll is the starkness of it. As I write this it hurts me to say these words. When someone pours their heart and soul into a creation it is so very hard to hear that it has fallen short with someone. Had I not heard these words myself (many times) I would not have earned any money with my display this year. Sometime it hurts to learn so forgive me Victrinia....
I dispise this scroll. OK I said it...kill me in November. This scroll is not subtle enough to displayed with a tree in bloom. For me It steals the show. We have a tree with white blooms, a tree planted in a white pot and a scroll with a overly large white hot dot well centered on a scroll. It is a bullseye. The scroll is stagnent and perfectly symetrical. Why the chop is on the right I have no idea. There is no movement, which is the contributing factor for chop placement. Paul should have centered the chop for use of the scroll in either direction, though chop position is often not made well use of.
This scroll lacks visual texture. I would have loved to seen the moon about less than half as bright. Much more washed over and maybe a thin wisp or two of a cloud over the top of it. This moon is almost the white of the paper and that is unfortunate. I have seen many Paul Goff scrolls from William Valavanis when he comes to Shohin, yet have never bought any because they are a little stark for my taste. I think he needs a more aged look paper or should be painting on ecru silk.
Ok enough about the scroll
The accent: The accent so far has been referred to as a "kusa" kusamono, when it is actually a shitakusa, pronounced (sheeet-ska). Popular opinion has been to integrate more and more plants into a pot adding as much texture as possible, when in reality once again this "busy ness" detracts from the focal point....the tree. In this pot as many as four or five plants have been shoehorned in to make up a really great kusa, but a poor shitakusa. Kathy Shaner warns about keeping accents with trees down to one plant. Seedums with showy trees and flowering with trees that need a seasonal marker. This tree would look great with only a small oval pot or irregular pot full of lush green moss.
For me, I love the tree on the stand, I would add a more simplistic accent and forget the scroll. The trees says everything it needs to say anyway, adding the moon confuses me.
I remember in 2003 I was asked to display a group of shohin trees at that years GSBF convention in Fresno. I built my three tiered display stand that year and filled it with my best trees. Shinji Susuki asked to critique it. Hideko Metaxis was the translator. He opened with "Here we have a man that wishes to show everything he owns". The whole room exploded with laughter. Later that night I removed two plants from the display and took them home. He looked me up later and told me in broken english..."much better", he reached into his pocket and gave me one of his personnel lapel pins.
I have added a picture which I think captures my feelings, don't get me wrong I love Gaga with all my heart and hummm her stupid songs all day long at work. I still think she is over the top though.
Thanks Vic for the chance to offer a little learnin from my perspective. It is a beautiful tree and it will be well admired however it is shown...it is an azalea.
This POV I hope may proove infromational and I hope educational. It has been written with that intent entirely. Thanks.
Satsuki Azalea: Gods gift to women and bonsai. No matter how the blooming azalea looks, the best pine and juniper will never compare to a blooming azalea at a show.
So...how best to display one. Simply!
There is nothing to compare with a blooming azalea, adding addtional features does not enhance a blooming tree, and if done poorly will only seem to detract. If there is supposed to be a message it has to be clear or the flowers will seem to diminish as the viewer is left wondering what is being said here.
I will start with each element of the display and talk about how each is supposed to add to the display.
The tree: This tree is well proportioned yet still has a thinnish trunk. For me it seems tall but that is the way they are trained in Japan so there you go. My only criticism of the tree as shown is the bottom right branch. It is rather short and would enhance the tree much more by filling out the canopy at the bottom. I do not like to see the primary branch shorter than a foliage mass above it. I would like to see the canopy thinned in the fall more at the top, but this is hard to keep bloom wood. It is a little dense for my liking.
The Pot: This is a good choice of shape for this plant. I like the lines and the size. I dislike the color for this tree in bloom. Good chioce without flowers but pooor for blooms especially with nearly all white flowers. There is a touch of pink and we have been told that there is a lot more pink than in past years as it grows. Many of the flowers have already showed, so white it is. Obviously azalea's bloom in spring and summer and this is the one time of year that a tree can be shown with it's Easter dress on. My preference, look for a light celedon green pot. Celedon and pink....Wow! Maybe not all year but in spring...bravo.
The table: I think this table compliments this display very well. I like the subtle details that were added and it adds texture while not being overpowering.
At this point the display should be half done. Tree and accent!
The scroll:
Flowering trees should never be shown with a scroll! In fact the link from Mark of the satsuki exhibit at Lakeside Garden Center shows some magnificent examples of flowering trees. I know these people, most of them. They are members of BABA, Boon, and REBS and half a dozen other clubs that all show trees with scrolls. There were no scrolls in that exhibit. Why? A scroll is not necessary with a fine example of a flowering tree. A scroll is a supporting piece that helps convey a significant part of a message about season or time of day. A flowering tree already exhibits the season, the accent, and the time of day. Daytime. Most azaleas withdraw their flowers at night which is a reason the flowers last so long. This display has been exhibited with a moon. A full moon, high in the sky since there is no horizon or land masses, or trees. This phase would depict a moon well into the night, a poor choice of "time of day" to enjoy a flowering tree as beautiful as this. This composition would benifit from a hazy sun in the morning. I said hazy and very subdued. I love moon scrolls, I own a lot, I think I am up to about 10 now. They are my favorite, but there is a danger. They do not show well with trees. They show best with stones. If a moon type scroll is used it should depict a season, usully being winter or fall. The brocade on this scroll is very heavy and dark, looking more like winter than spring or summer.
My biggest setback with this scroll is the starkness of it. As I write this it hurts me to say these words. When someone pours their heart and soul into a creation it is so very hard to hear that it has fallen short with someone. Had I not heard these words myself (many times) I would not have earned any money with my display this year. Sometime it hurts to learn so forgive me Victrinia....
I dispise this scroll. OK I said it...kill me in November. This scroll is not subtle enough to displayed with a tree in bloom. For me It steals the show. We have a tree with white blooms, a tree planted in a white pot and a scroll with a overly large white hot dot well centered on a scroll. It is a bullseye. The scroll is stagnent and perfectly symetrical. Why the chop is on the right I have no idea. There is no movement, which is the contributing factor for chop placement. Paul should have centered the chop for use of the scroll in either direction, though chop position is often not made well use of.
This scroll lacks visual texture. I would have loved to seen the moon about less than half as bright. Much more washed over and maybe a thin wisp or two of a cloud over the top of it. This moon is almost the white of the paper and that is unfortunate. I have seen many Paul Goff scrolls from William Valavanis when he comes to Shohin, yet have never bought any because they are a little stark for my taste. I think he needs a more aged look paper or should be painting on ecru silk.
Ok enough about the scroll
The accent: The accent so far has been referred to as a "kusa" kusamono, when it is actually a shitakusa, pronounced (sheeet-ska). Popular opinion has been to integrate more and more plants into a pot adding as much texture as possible, when in reality once again this "busy ness" detracts from the focal point....the tree. In this pot as many as four or five plants have been shoehorned in to make up a really great kusa, but a poor shitakusa. Kathy Shaner warns about keeping accents with trees down to one plant. Seedums with showy trees and flowering with trees that need a seasonal marker. This tree would look great with only a small oval pot or irregular pot full of lush green moss.
For me, I love the tree on the stand, I would add a more simplistic accent and forget the scroll. The trees says everything it needs to say anyway, adding the moon confuses me.
I remember in 2003 I was asked to display a group of shohin trees at that years GSBF convention in Fresno. I built my three tiered display stand that year and filled it with my best trees. Shinji Susuki asked to critique it. Hideko Metaxis was the translator. He opened with "Here we have a man that wishes to show everything he owns". The whole room exploded with laughter. Later that night I removed two plants from the display and took them home. He looked me up later and told me in broken english..."much better", he reached into his pocket and gave me one of his personnel lapel pins.
I have added a picture which I think captures my feelings, don't get me wrong I love Gaga with all my heart and hummm her stupid songs all day long at work. I still think she is over the top though.
Thanks Vic for the chance to offer a little learnin from my perspective. It is a beautiful tree and it will be well admired however it is shown...it is an azalea.
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