Hey everyone

PA_Penjing

Chumono
Messages
762
Reaction score
1,208
Location
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
USDA Zone
6b
Hi everyone, I think I almost lost my marbles when this quarantine started. But it wound up being the personal time I needed to stop kidding myself and dive fully into Taoism. One of the hardest pills to swallow was wu wei, non action, or not fighting ones own nature. How could I fully embrace Taoism if I was constantly stressing out about forcing my bonsai trees into shapes and rules they weren’t easily growing toward. Root grafting, spraying mancozeb, spending lots of money and capturing squirrels was not fun for me.
This is only a hobby for me and I was holding myself to bonsai show standards. Today I’m restarting this journey as a meditative hobby/art to further my spirituality. No more pesticides and 1:6 ratios. Bring on the criss crossed branches and loud pots.
As a final note I respect authentic Japanese bonsai to the highest degree, it just wasn’t fun for me. And I almost forgot why I started all this in the first place. Thanks for reading, excited to get some photos up here when the time comes.
 

penumbra

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
9,381
Reaction score
15,852
Location
Front Royal, VA
USDA Zone
6
Welcome fellow Taoist friend.
You will find your path.
Trick is staying true to it.
There are so many side trails.

I truly understand.
Be patient with us.
 

HorseloverFat

Squarepants with Conkers
Messages
11,356
Reaction score
16,220
Location
Northeast Wisconsin
USDA Zone
5a
To intervene is to fail
To control is to lose.

The sage does not want to intervene
so he never fails.

He does not want to control
so he never loses.

People usually fail at the moment when they approach their final success.

;)

Pleasure to make your acquaintance.
 

Schmikah

Shohin
Messages
275
Reaction score
333
Location
Knoxville TN
USDA Zone
7a
"Nature does not hurry, therefore everything is accomplished."

Or, my more preferred translation;

"Dao never forces against itself and hence it accomplishes everything."

Even if you were doing it for money, it would be a waste to fight what you cannot conquer. Good to have you aboard.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
Messages
32,908
Reaction score
45,579
Location
Berwyn, Il
USDA Zone
6.2

I found 2 marbles at my last residence. I think they were from inside spray paint cans. I have a friend that used to collect them.

Here, I found another marble, in the lawn.

What else has the lawn provided?

I broke a grease fitting on the Jeep last year, found a grease fitting.
The first day I fired my Raku kiln, I found an old rusted pair of heavy tongs, almost exactly like what's needed to take the hot pots from the kiln.
I needed hooks to hold a tarp over my kiln, found one.
It has a wingnut on it, which I was thinking about using for attaching my burner.
I found shirds of pottery, someone has done pottery here before.
When my daughters hamster died, and I was burying it, I found a River Rock with a cross etched in it.
We were talking about grapevine here a couple weeks ago. Last week, a stump that I thought was a dead yew, began growing grape vines.

Seems thinking things into existence is quite real.

I'll let you know what else pops up in the lawn.

Sorce
 

Cadillactaste

Neagari Gal
Messages
16,262
Reaction score
20,886
Location
NE Ohio: zone 4 (USA) lake microclimate
USDA Zone
5b
I commend you for following your heart.

But from a person who works her own landscape way before I got into this hobby. There are benefits to pruning even landscape things. It rejuvenates...having rubbing branches in the wind can cause a numerous of headache later down the road. Which selective pruning even in landscape material has benefits. I don't consider pruning my bonsai, a technique to bonsai...but, one I've done to improve overall health. If it enhances the tree. Then there is that. But...understanding horticultural aspects for just overall health of a plant...increases life expectancy and harbors less issues in the long run.
 

PA_Penjing

Chumono
Messages
762
Reaction score
1,208
Location
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
USDA Zone
6b
@Cadillactaste thanks, I didn't mean that I wouldn't prune my trees at all. Really I guess it was just a self proclamation to be happy with my rule breaking or sub par (eye of the beholder maybe) "bonsai" for my own sanity. I do think that 95% of the bonsai "rules" are also nearly mandatory for creating convincing small and healthy trees. It's all an experiment really. I think a lot of great american bonsai artists have already achieved what I'm trying to, appreciating a tree for what it DOES have. I just couldn't shake my neurosis with flaws in the trees I owned and needed a little reset. It's not the only thing I've reset, but this aint the tea house so I'll brag about that some other time.

@sorce nice finds man, I can't say I've found much in my tiny backyard but life is constantly handing me opportunities, so i'll take those instead. But I feel ya
 

dresdraconius

Yamadori
Messages
70
Reaction score
53
Location
Dallas, TX
USDA Zone
8A
@PA_Penjing
I've been thinking about this recently as well. As a newbie, the rules are intimidating and somewhat of a turnoff.
But then again, no one is enforcing these rules. Perhaps the folks who enter contests need to adhere to the rules but as someone who does this purely for pleasure, I don't need to adhere to them.
Bruce lee said - “Its like a finger pointing away to the moon. Dont concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory"
I love your philosophy of letting plants dictate what they want.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

The Professor
Messages
11,337
Reaction score
23,254
Location
on the IL-WI border, a mile from ''da Lake''
USDA Zone
5b
Before spine surgery, I used to practice Tai Chi, and did so for over a decade. As a result I have read some regarding Taoism. I do appreciate much of its philosophy, at least to the limited amount I have read. It does apply to Penjing in particular, and because bonsai has its origins in Penjing, the extension is appropriate.

When you dig into bonsai, there really are no hard and fast "rules". There are a fair number of artistic suggestions, but they are no really fixed in stone rules. If you survey Kofuku-ten quality trees, you will find many examples of trees breaking one or more "rules". The "rules" are there as guides, when artistic sense requires the breaking of the "rule", the rule should be broken. The rules are there for when inspiration is not there.

At least that is how I view "the rules". Useful when inspiration fails.
 

Cadillactaste

Neagari Gal
Messages
16,262
Reaction score
20,886
Location
NE Ohio: zone 4 (USA) lake microclimate
USDA Zone
5b
Before spine surgery, I used to practice Tai Chi, and did so for over a decade. As a result I have read some regarding Taoism. I do appreciate much of its philosophy, at least to the limited amount I have read. It does apply to Penjing in particular, and because bonsai has its origins in Penjing, the extension is appropriate.

When you dig into bonsai, there really are no hard and fast "rules". There are a fair number of artistic suggestions, but they are no really fixed in stone rules. If you survey Kofuku-ten quality trees, you will find many examples of trees breaking one or more "rules". The "rules" are there as guides, when artistic sense requires the breaking of the "rule", the rule should be broken. The rules are there for when inspiration is not there.

At least that is how I view "the rules". Useful when inspiration fails.
Well said...
Applauding image GIF.gif
 

Anthony

Imperial Masterpiece
Messages
6,290
Reaction score
8,388
Location
West Indies [ Caribbean ]
USDA Zone
13
Ancient Chinese scholars were skilled in Ink Painting,
Prose, Poetry and Science rsearch.

The trees were a way to relax the mind, and let the ideas flow.

There was no real $ as scholars also took examns for placement
in government. Retiring to the South China Mountains to live
in "huts"
Good Day
Anthony
 

HorseloverFat

Squarepants with Conkers
Messages
11,356
Reaction score
16,220
Location
Northeast Wisconsin
USDA Zone
5a
Solace can be found within Siddhartha’s conversation with/journey to seek the “Gotama”... (if you don’t know it, give it a look;) )doctrines cannot be argued with...but personal amalgams need be had.

Once again, glad you made it here.
 
Top Bottom