Kazari 2019

[Smoke]

Before I get into the photo's let me give a back story. This year the displays were not judged. Trees, stands, accents and scrolls were brought in and seven best displays were made with what they had. So... with that in mind some of these may seem kinda wonky but did the best they could.

I share them here for discussion and maybe you can open my eyes to some things I didn't see.

1. Rosemary


2. Juniper


3. Juniper


4. Pygmy Cypress


5. Loropetalum


6. Wisteria


7. J. Maple

 

[just.wing.it]

#3 is my favorite tree.
But the scroll is crooked.
Thanks for posting these.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

I believe #5 is mislabeled.

 

[0soyoung]

Just 'flipping thru', #7 most caught my eye. The pansy (?) accent isn't attention getting, just necessary punctuation. It is just a serene and captivating display for me.

Next is #5. The scroll seems to have too much strong color and is too attention getting.

I would like to substitute the pigmy cypress for the juniper in #3 - size, shape, and consistent theme then, IMHO.


Now I'm waiting to be learnt a lessun er 2, please.

 

[Smoke]

I believe #5 is mislabeled.

What makes you say that? I've known that tree for over 25 years. The owner died last year. It now belongs to a friend of mine.

 

[thumblessprimate1]

What makes you say that? I've known that tree for over 25 years. The owner died last year. It now belongs to a friend of mine.

My bad. I'm looking at it closer. I thought it looked like a juniper the first time. It's a beautiful tree.

 

[Potawatomi13]

All look good but Wisteria trunk very thin.

 

[eryk2kartman]

Wisteria is my favorite

 

[Deleted member 21616]

Thanks for sharing @Smoke

I would like to substitute the pigmy cypress for the juniper in #3 - size, shape, and consistent theme then, IMHO.

as somebody entirely naive in display, before reading this comment i thought the same thing! the crane, the falls, a tall lanky tree reminds me of a scene i’ve often noticed in nature

 

[Jcmmaple]

7 was my favorite, it wasn’t as busy looking as the rest. It’s simple and the scroll wasn’t as flashy, but I’m a rookie so that was my thought.

 

[rockm]

#2, although I get the low windswept beach thing, the trees and scroll are too close together and the stand is a bit too short. There should be some space between them and the artwork on the scroll and the trees shouldn't line up, as that would open up the composition. Not enough "negative space" seem crowded.

And FWIW, the scroll in #4 is nice, but it's an autumn scroll, if I'm not mistaken...

I like #5, but the scroll has flowers and the tree is flowering. Redundant?

Also another quibble, what's up with all the waterfall scrolls? They're becoming a bit overused in displays, I think. I like scrolls with artwork that are kind of surprising.

I also know that scrolls are not cheap and sometimes you use what's available at a show.

 

[vaibatron]

My bad. I'm looking at it closer. I thought it looked like a juniper the first time. It's a beautiful tree.

I thought too, at first glance.

But I’m asssuming it’s a white flowering cultivar.
Absolutely beautiful tree. You don’t see many of those species that developed and with as much character.

Display aside, it is my favorite tree of the lot. The Pygmy Cypress gets my vote for overall.

My regards to your friend, Al. They did extraordinary work.

 

[Adair M]

I don’t know enough about the use of scrolls to be able to make informed comments about them. Al, I always enjoy seeing your posts of this exhibition. And I always lean a lot.

A couple points I did notice:

#1: the gita under the accent plant seems to be too dark. Dark wood is more formal than light wood, and by having it darker implies it’s more formal (important?) than the other elements. I would use s lighter colored Gita.

#3: the movement of the tree suggests it’s trying to get out of the way of the scroll. This makes the scroll the most important element in the display. The crane is also taller than not only the stand for the tree, but it also appears to be taller than the soil surface. Which makes it more important than the tree.

#4: the figure has his back to the tree. He doesn’t like the tree? And he also is taller than the tree’s stand.

#5: the tree is not quite centered on the stand. What’s up with that? Intensional?

#6: at least the accent isn’t taller than the soil line of the tree. I do like the contrast of the color of the pots.

#7: the colors of the tree’s pot and the accent pot are too similiar.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

These displays all seem to be missing

The epitome of MA

Maybe it’s how most of the trees are crowding the scrolls.

 

[Adair M]

These displays all seem to be missing

Maybe it’s how most of the trees are crowding the scrolls.

I agree. They all seem crowded.

 

[BackyardBonsai]

#4 and #7 got my vote.

 

[Smoke]

Let me give some criteria about putting together a three point display.

First these people, my friends, in some cases had no idea what they were going to be working with as far as "parts".

When a person that is putting a display in a competition may think about his or her display for months or even years in anticipation of the tree finally reaching its peak look.

So don't look so much at minutia, think bigger. this is your display (which ever one you wish to critique) and look at it study it. Look at the tree, look at the scroll and look at the accent. Then think of them together. what exactly needs to be said about "the" tree. Did they put together a story or not? If not, what could they have done to make it better?

Think about this....In many cases, just removing an element would have made a huge difference. Lets look.



So with that in mind, a two point display is perfectly acceptable in a Tokonoma.

Major elements are glaring here. Tree pointing the correct way? Things like being too crowded are correct but in this case they don't have any more room to work with. Can't really hold that against the display. But, I always knew that going in. Unlike when we had the contest at the Museum in Hanford, with 8 foot Tokonoma's to work with, these are much smaller. I always brought smaller trees, and trees with smaller canopies. That way I didn't crowd the scroll and allowed the scroll to be much more in the center. Off center is OK, by less that 10 percent but if you go more than that, you have ruined the feel of your space and it should be rethought.

 

[Smoke]

#3 is my favorite tree.
But the scroll is crooked.
Thanks for posting these.

Favorite tree, yes. Is it pointed the correct way? Or does it point out of the display?

 

[Cable]

Thank you for this thread, I hope to learn a lot from it.

 

[just.wing.it]

Favorite tree, yes. Is it pointed the correct way? Or does it point out of the display?

Interesting note.....the trunk moves to the left, but the canopy goes back toward the right.

Even though the trunk moves left, it feels to me like the correct position.....with the branching movement pointing back towards the center of the display.

What do you think, Al?