Bonsai Anniversary - 5 years in review

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

omg... and on #3.... when I first got that one.... I picked it out over the phone with Ron Martin... he used to let me call him... and I was in the nursery in a huge section filled with these awesome little hemlocks. I wasn't sure what to pick, so I called Ron... all crazy excited... and thank goodness he answered the phone... He talked me down, got me looking at things... told me things I should be looking for... and then told me to trust my instincts... to get the one which really appealed to me.

I was so grateful... and excited.... and I took it home... and a cleaned it up... and I was so proud... and a few days later they were having a "bring your tree for critique" after a lecture by Dave DeGroot at the Rim. Mine was last to be done.... I was so nervous, I think I had a mini anxiety attack.

He looked at it, and made a remark about the "fine Christmas tree".... and the president of the Seattle club made some other crack... and everyone laughed... and I never wanted to be non-existent so much in my whole life.

But after the laughter died, David tried giving me some ideas, and I realized I was not commited to styling it... I was afraid of ruining it. And in stead had settled for something mediocre.

So instead I turned it into a sub-alpine form... and while it wasn't executed extremely well, it was at least a vision... and a form more worthy of the material.

Between that, and the moment when Daniel said, "If a girl were brave...." I realized that half the journey was having the courage to do a thing. For better or worse... preferably for better.

V

 

[Dav4]

Happy bithday Victrinia... Wow..5 years in bonsai already.......I think I remember the blue star junipers you are talking about.. Didn't one of them kind of look like a ferris wheel.

...lol.....

Well, err ahh, it does have a somewhat striking resemblance

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Hey! Haven't you ever heard of a "spoke" style bonsai??

V

 

[Attila Soos]

Hey! Haven't you ever heard of a "spoke" style bonsai??

V

My favorite is the white rock next to the larch.

 

[Smoke]

hummmmmmm..... Did someone mention a rock?

 

[october]

I remember very well you telling me that they said that someone had brought a christmas tree...In fact, I rmemebered that line while I was posting the tree

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

My favorite is the white rock next to the larch.

You can't poke fun of that though... I did that tree the day my grandmother died... and the rock is one of the many my Dad and I have picked up over the years... so it was appropriate as a memorial at the time. Plus I didn't know it was tacky to put rocks with trees at the time.

Don't worry... I or my grandmother are not offended... she watches over all of my trees anyway. Gotta love ancestors....

V

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

hummmmmmm..... Did someone mention a rock?

lol down boy....

I actually bought a rock for myself the other day... not a very good one. Again... humble origins.... but I like it... and the hubby wants to figure out how to make a diaza for it.

So yes... we definitely need to talk rawks sometime soon.

V

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

I remember very well you telling me that they said that someone had brought a christmas tree...In fact, I rmemebered that line while I was posting the tree

Yes... I remember telling you all about it. But something good came of it... like most painful lessons in life...lol

V

 

[Attila Soos]

You can't poke fun of that though... I did that tree the day my grandmother died... and the rock is one of the many my Dad and I have picked up over the years... so it was appropriate as a memorial at the time. Plus I didn't know it was tacky to put rocks with trees at the time.

Don't worry... I or my grandmother are not offended... she watches over all of my trees anyway. Gotta love ancestors....

V

This just shows how bonsai is much more than competitive sport. Mundane objects can be sacred sometimes. I can't help but feeling bad about poking at you, but as you said, I am forgiven...thank you.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

It's all good brother... I would have no discomfort in you over that.

Here this will make you feel better... and amused again.... the "seikei"..... lol

It's always good to laugh at one's self.

V

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

You can clearly see where my dog was chewing on the end of the dead "trunk"... before I confiscated it. Of course there was the odd time she'd try to take it back... since it was on the deck and it was hers after all.......lol

V

 

[Just Duane]

Happy Birthday Anniversary to you Victrinia! I think its awsome when one can laugh at themselves. I think we should start a thread where everyone can show their first works Might be kinda fun fun funny!! Anyhoots, wish you many more bonsai years!!

 

[bonsai barry]

So let' see the photo of the tree that changed your life!

 

[tinhorse]

Thank you so much for sharing everything with us in this post......I have similar beginnings with bonsai. Its really nice to see some one having soo much fun with bonsai. Not taking things too seriously but still having the passion to continue to improve.

Thanks again for sharing

Steve

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

Oh my.... Next year is 20 years. So so much has gone on.... This will be worthy of a retrospective for me. Somewhere in the garden Eric keeps my first tree alive. It's such a disaster... But so so so much beauty also.... Or else how would I have done this.... And with loving friends and students of my own that I have collected. I forgot this was here. It is a beautiful space of humility to remember I've had huge opportunities to work with amazing artists and friends who have become beloved family, and I've lost so many also. This is our own cycle of life and joy, art and beauty... And not everything has to be a show tree to be truly beautiful in the eyes of the beholder.
2007.... Birthday gift from Daniel....
2023.

 

[Victrinia Ridgeway]

David helped me repot it that year as well. He's a nutter too.

 

[The Barber]

Oh my.... Next year is 20 years. So so much has gone on.... This will be worthy of a retrospective for me. Somewhere in the garden Eric keeps my first tree alive. It's such a disaster... But so so so much beauty also.... Or else how would I have done this.... And with loving friends and students of my own that I have collected. I forgot this was here. It is a beautiful space of humility to remember I've had huge opportunities to work with amazing artists and friends who have become beloved family, and I've lost so many also. This is our own cycle of life and joy, art and beauty... And not everything has to be a show tree to be truly beautiful in the eyes of the beholder. View attachment 576253
2007.... Birthday gift from Daniel....View attachment 576255
2023.

I'm so glad you bumped this thread or I may have never seen it. Thank you for sharing your bonsai journey with us. It really made me think about how much I have personally gained from bonsai. I can relate so much to it myself. The Bonsai bug has moved so fast for me and has been such a fulfilling part of my life for such a small amount of time I have been part of it.

Before I pruned or wired my first branch, or even purchased my first victim (it is still alive, can'tsay the same for all of my trees) I used to spend hours watching bonsai videos on YouTube. I enjoyed watching and learning, soaking up what I could, before I ever joined this forum. (Although I did read on here from time to time when I had questions and Google would lead me here) Never in a million years would I have imagined getting to hang out with the people I admired in the videos I watched, that lead me to Bonsai, let alone have dinner with them within my first.

I bet I watched the video on Youtube of Rodney Clemons working on that huge Kingsville boxwood at Mirai at least 5 times or more. Never did I expect to hang out with him, or have a nice conversation while driving to dinner. The man is an absolute joy to spend time with, possibly the most welcoming person I have ever met, and always has a smile. Mauro Stemberger, exactly as you would-a expect, only-a bigger, and-a funnier, never expected to sit and chat with him over a meal after watching him style trees all day. Julian Adams is a wealth of pine knowledge, and also a kind hearted man which I also had the privilege of hanging out with for a few hours after a presentation at our club meeting he did. Also cant leave out Vince Lee (Satoyama bonsai), who has quickly become one of my best friends in the world, and among the best yamadori collectors in the US. I just find it surreal honestly meeting even a portion of the folks that I have, the ones that I watched that helped lead me to bonsai, the local club members (to those that don't participate with a bonsai club, you truly are missing out) and also you folks on this forum that give me something to look forward to reading daily (Even if yall bicker with each other like family sometimes) I just want to thank everyone for sharing your journey, 1 post at a time. Bonsai just makes life that much more enjoyable, and much of that is because of the friends I've gained, and the peace I gain from spending time with my trees.

 

[Kievnstavick]

David helped me repot it that year as well. He's a nutter too. View attachment 576256

Hey that's me

I was honored with being able to help with the repotting of this tree. It was a great learning session

Thank you Barber for sharing your story

 

[bwaynef]

@Victrinia Ridgeway, what a blast from the past some of those names were. I remember Ron Martin. He said I was the only person that took him up on his offer of working with him at his place. I'm sure that was qualified in some way as he was pretty well outfitted for just such a thing. I also remember some of the capers that happened in Bonsaitalk's chat. Thanks for bumping this post.