Bonsai Minimums

[Bolero]

A Bonsai Minimum should be.....
15+ years old...
2"+ Diameter Trunk
Rugged Distinct Bark
Full Foliage
Classic Style...
Waddayathink ???
Everything else is a Stick in a Pot, Eh......

 

[Anthony]

8 to 10 years gives mature features,

30 to 50 years gives wood durablility if the wood is naturally durable.
If you want to do the Shimpaku bit,

Trunk diameter works well with the 1 to 6 proportion [ trunk to height]

If a Design works, it works.

Whahdoyouthink ?

 

[Shibui]

2" trunk is pretty thick when the tree is under 6" tall
Full foliage can look out of place in styles like literati, windswept and cascade.
Many really great bonsai do not conform fully to any one of the accepted styles. Sometimes a combination of several, sometimes not one or another.

Bonsai should not be hemmed in by any set of rules. Make bonsai that look good, not to any set of rules.

 

[Bolero]

If a Design works, it works.

Whahdoyouthink ?

Not really & that's my point...I can appreciate an individuals Efforts & Design to sort of Replicate a Bonsai but that doesn't make it a Bonsai, a True Bonsai must meet certain Standards & that is what I am trying to say....

 

[flor1]

A Bonsai Minimum should be.....
15+ years old...
2"+ Diameter Trunk
Rugged Distinct Bark
Full Foliage
Classic Style...
Waddayathink ???
Everything else is a Stick in a Pot, Eh......

Be boring

 

[JudyB]

A Bonsai Minimum should be.....
15+ years old...
2"+ Diameter Trunk
Rugged Distinct Bark
Full Foliage
Classic Style...
Waddayathink ???
Everything else is a Stick in a Pot, Eh......

I have seen younger trees than 15 years that were so well made that you would not know how young they are. A good artist can take some material far beyond it's years.
Who cares how fat the trunk is? It's all about the image of the tree and the scale of the image.
Yeah, I'd like to see some rugged bark on a non arakawa maple or a beech or a crabapple, the list goes on....haha, smooth bark can be very desirable.
Lots of great trees have sparse foliage, it can convey a sense of harshness and age.
Classic style - ok I can just throw the BS card right here. As if Classic is the only way a bonsai can be styled. LOL. that is ridiculous and you know it.

 

[penumbra]

Post is absurd.

 

[Bolero]

Judy I respect your Bonsai Opinions and Skills however...
Classic style - ok I can just throw the BS card right here. As if Classic is the only way a bonsai can be styled. LOL. that is ridiculous and you know it

Not so ! Bonsai is Classic back to China, Japan !!!
I've been in Bonsai for more than 50 years, hundreds of shows and I have seen it all, there are the Bonsai Wannabe's and True Bonsai Affectionados (( of which I consider myself))….i'm not trying to be a Spoiler i'm just saying There's Bonsai & then there's Bonsai...

 

[JudyB]

Bonsai is more than what it started out as. It is not a static art, just like the trees are not static, but always growing and changing.

 

[Bolero]

Judy said: Bonsai is more than what it started out as. It is not a static art, just like the trees are not static, but always growing and changing.

Judy True... but I still have to disagree in part...
Truly Classic Bonsai is like a Mona Lisa or a Monet work....
It's true that Bonsai has been Americanized and in that sense is constantly changing but Bonsai is a much Overworked Art and should not be cornfused with Classic Bonsai...

 

[sorce]

cornfused

Nice!

Sorce

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Judy True... but I still have to disagree in part...
Truly Classic Bonsai is like a Mona Lisa or a Monet work....[/B[/QUOTE]

Both these artworks are from different stylistic periods and are known for different techniques and features which highlight the artists' skill.

Are you saying that the same should apply to bonsai? If so, that seems to contradict your original stance.

 

[Bolero]

Nice!

Sorce

Thank you... I was wondering if it would be noticed...

 

[Gustavo Martins]

I don’t know about definitions or whatever but I can say what bonsai is to me: a miniature tree that resembles a larger and more mature tree. It does not feel like a bush or too young. It has structure. That’s it.

 

[Anthony]

Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY ....................................repeat ad nauseum

 

[Bolero]

Judy True... but I still have to disagree in part...
Truly Classic Bonsai is like a Mona Lisa or a Monet work....[/B

Both these artworks are from different stylistic periods and are known for different techniques and features which highlight the artists' skill.

Are you saying that the same should apply to bonsai? If so, that seems to contradict your original stance.[/QUOTE]

I'm using them as an Example of Classic's and they Stand Alone as Classics,
My original Post is only to Distinguish a Bonsai from a Stick in a Pot...

 

[Bolero]

I don’t know about definitions or whatever but I can say what bonsai is to me: a miniature tree that resembles a larger and more mature tree. It does not feel like a bush or too young. It has structure. That’s it.

Well said...

 

[Bolero]

Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY
Thank Goodness this is a HOBBY ....................................repeat ad nauseum

Annnnnd you've nailed it...

 

[Joe Dupre']

I just think that , if there are too many "rules", bonsai would be considered a craft, not an art. Very few rules in true art. I like to use the analogy of an illustrator for a magazine. Illustrators mostly try to make an exact depiction of an object or scene. While that takes immense talent, it is not considered art in the art community. Art normally entails creating something that has never existed before......the essence of creativity. Just one Cajun's take on it. Your opinion may differ, and that's cool too.

 

[JudyB]

Judy said: Bonsai is more than what it started out as. It is not a static art, just like the trees are not static, but always growing and changing.

Judy True... but I still have to disagree in part...
Truly Classic Bonsai is like a Mona Lisa or a Monet work....
It's true that Bonsai has been Americanized and in that sense is constantly changing but Bonsai is a much Overworked Art and should not be cornfused with Classic Bonsai...

Ok, so maybe your thread title should be "Classic Bonsai Minimums"
I agree that some people have a very liberal concept of what constitutes bonsai, sometimes to the detriment of the art. But Classic bonsai is not the only type of tree in a container that can or should be considered as true bonsai. That is too limiting.