BONSAI HERESY
- Thread starter MACH5
- Start date
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Just received my copy of Bonsai Heresy yesterday signed by Michael. I am impressed with the overall printed quality. The book, although small, feels quite substantial. Presales are are going really well through Stone Lantern. I am in current talks with Micheal to make posters and other related merchandise featuring some of the illustrations in the book.
Here is a sneak peek
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What an honor this must be. Gotta check mail box
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Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
So cool!
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
What an honor this must be. Gotta check mail box
Thank you! It really was. Even though it took much of my free time and weekends last year to complete this book, there was no way for me to turn down this project. Michael is truly a class act.
lverdusco
Seed
Just ordered, always happy when I can support authors and artists. I am a techie, but I still love good books.
Gary McCarthy
Chumono
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
STILL waiting
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River's Edge
Imperial Masterpiece
Me Three, you think yours would be hand delivered, such a short distanceSTILL waiting
Ohmy222
Shohin
I read 95% over the last 2 days. My take:
First thing the book is smaller than any bonsai book I have. Does not matter, just surprised me. Also has no pictures, only about 10 illustrations or so by our resident superstar. The book is paperback but very hard stock cover and pages. Really reminded me of several of the graphic design books I have. The art work is very good @MACH5 , i am guessing you have a design background. The book goes through 56 myths and talks through each one. Many of these you can guess and only a handful surprised me but the information is very good. Michael Hagedorn is a very skilled writer and most of the time it works well and comes off as a story. Overall I would recommend it and the author is of course incredibly well respected. The book is split up into sections like soil, fert, watering, techniques, and rules and flowed very well. Also a good book to skip around if you don't want to read it all at once like I did. Most of the stuff I already knew, believed, or practiced so of course it was good
. The ones that really struck me was the section on soil under the trunk and repotting Satsuki before flowering which I don't do. His take on Akadama was slightly nuanced from the standard line.
In terms of opportunities, I think there should have been some pictures considering his stature and his trees. Most of the book does not need pictures but the end he goes into aesthetics and it could have used a couple of visuals even if drawn. The only other thing that got me is how he would switch from 'Japanese have done this for centuries' on some topics and 'follow the science' in others. He calls out the need to respect both throughout so it is not so much a gap in logic but it was curious when he decides to do so. As I said, I read 95%, I skipped to the end of a couple of sections in the watering and fert sections that seemed to draw on a bit.
I also bought another book at the same time, Shohin Passion, and was wildly disappointed but I will save that for another thread.
First thing the book is smaller than any bonsai book I have. Does not matter, just surprised me. Also has no pictures, only about 10 illustrations or so by our resident superstar. The book is paperback but very hard stock cover and pages. Really reminded me of several of the graphic design books I have. The art work is very good @MACH5 , i am guessing you have a design background. The book goes through 56 myths and talks through each one. Many of these you can guess and only a handful surprised me but the information is very good. Michael Hagedorn is a very skilled writer and most of the time it works well and comes off as a story. Overall I would recommend it and the author is of course incredibly well respected. The book is split up into sections like soil, fert, watering, techniques, and rules and flowed very well. Also a good book to skip around if you don't want to read it all at once like I did. Most of the stuff I already knew, believed, or practiced so of course it was good
. The ones that really struck me was the section on soil under the trunk and repotting Satsuki before flowering which I don't do. His take on Akadama was slightly nuanced from the standard line.In terms of opportunities, I think there should have been some pictures considering his stature and his trees. Most of the book does not need pictures but the end he goes into aesthetics and it could have used a couple of visuals even if drawn. The only other thing that got me is how he would switch from 'Japanese have done this for centuries' on some topics and 'follow the science' in others. He calls out the need to respect both throughout so it is not so much a gap in logic but it was curious when he decides to do so. As I said, I read 95%, I skipped to the end of a couple of sections in the watering and fert sections that seemed to draw on a bit.
I also bought another book at the same time, Shohin Passion, and was wildly disappointed but I will save that for another thread.
coh
Imperial Masterpiece
There was another "myth" book that arrived a few years ago with great fanfare, called "Modern Bonsai Practice". It was not a very good book, to put it mildly. Was written by someone with much less bonsai expertise than Hagedorn. Based on that, I would expect the "Bonsai Heresy" book to be much more useful.
Can anyone give me an example of one commonly-held myth that Hagedorn "busts"? I'm trying to decide whether the book is worth purchasing and that would be helpful. Thanks.
Can anyone give me an example of one commonly-held myth that Hagedorn "busts"? I'm trying to decide whether the book is worth purchasing and that would be helpful. Thanks.
Ohmy222
Shohin
One I should have mentioned was the zones used for trees and how it is not applicable to bonsai. Walks through the root temperatures you need to worry about and that nurseries use to determine when to worry about potted plants. Trying not to give much away but a pretty interesting read.
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
Just got mine today!
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thanks! Glad you liked the illustrations. Yes my background is in graphic design and illustration. When Michael and I discussed the chapters to be illustrated, we originally wanted to have a lot more but it proved to be way beyond his budget. So we ended with 13 illustrations plus the cover.
Here is a quick look at behind the scenes. Many ideas were discussed and even executed in the process only to edit them to the final 13 illustrations. The cover was probably the only image that Michael had a very specific idea of what he wanted it to be.
Pencil sketches were first done and submitted for concept approval. Afterwards they were all digitally painted in a program called Procreate. Some you may recognize while others changed completely in their final versions.
Did you draw as a kid?
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Yes, all the time. My grandmother would give me a piece of chalk to draw on her walls when I was three. I have never stopped.
MACH5
Imperial Masterpiece
Thank you. Bonsai and drawing are intrinsically linked for me. So much so that thanks to wire I am able to "draw" my trees. My process of doing a drawing or a painting are very similar to developing a bonsai. It all comes down to some basic art principles such as line, shape, texture, space, color, etc.
Lazylightningny
Masterpiece
Amazing work. Some of them are reminiscent of Robert Crumb, with a little Ralph Steadman thrown in for good measure.
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