Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
I don't know why you would accept this position as a final destination in your bonsai journey. Don't sell yourself short unless you have no desire to improve. I don't know why anyone would want this.
Mountain Hemlock - Repot
- Thread starter ghues
- Start date
ghues
Omono
Hey Vance, maybe we need to move this discussion to another thread ......to see what others are seeking"...
As you hinted at, improvement is always possible with dedication to anything we do in life, but for me I'd rather see the smiles and gratitude from someone who can enjoy my creations (in their garden) not matter what label one choices to use. My yamadori are my largest investment in time and energy and they show the most improvement but I lean more towards a Penjing style which has a blueprint from my inspiration from the wild......as it is here in the great white north on the Pacific Northwest. I've studied the various species in their natural environment for the last 40 years so I have a head start on how to treat,design and create my "craftsai"......I accept my limitations and work from within drawing inspiration that surrounds me.
Cheers
Graham
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
I agree; too many times with too many trees the attempt is made to make a tree conform to a particular image. This is not always bad especially in the hands of a true artist but in my sence of things I balk at those who insist on abandoning any semblance of style or fine tuning to give a tree a bit more of a refined look. To me Bonsai should be surrealistic more than stylistic, or realistic. Surrealism being defined as something that could exist, or should exist but does not necessarily exist. It is a figment of our imaginations around the images the actual tree sends to our imaginations.
This means we have to learn to look beyond the traditional images we have learned to recognize in bonsai and incorporate the impressions natural, and native trees give us when we study their growth habits.
I think right now Ryan Neil is on that path. He uses natural forms, with natural trees, and refines them with bonsai treatments. So in the end his bonsai tend to be parodies, and variations on traditional bonsai styles. I guess in a sense he is reinventing bonsai for an American culture.
Does any of this make sense to anyone???
This means we have to learn to look beyond the traditional images we have learned to recognize in bonsai and incorporate the impressions natural, and native trees give us when we study their growth habits.
I think right now Ryan Neil is on that path. He uses natural forms, with natural trees, and refines them with bonsai treatments. So in the end his bonsai tend to be parodies, and variations on traditional bonsai styles. I guess in a sense he is reinventing bonsai for an American culture.
Does any of this make sense to anyone???
PiñonJ
Omono
This is how I think of bonsai. It is impressionistic, not surrealistic (which would involve bizarre images of pure fantasy). We create an image of a tree based on our impressions of nature, usually more refined and idealized than what we commonly see in nature.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
It sounds like we may be imagining the same image. Sometimes I can taste it, and smell it. You kind of have to have had time in the Mountains around old conifers to appreciate it. The smell, the sounds, the way it feels on the back of your neck when the breezes blow through the tree tops. There is nothing like it and cannot really be shared other than to describe it. This is the spirit of bonsai I wish to capture. I want people to look at my trees and find their minds taking them to the quite and wild spaces, where all that can be seen is the hand of God, the smell of creation and the sensation of life brushing against your skin. If in a small way that happens then I will be a happy man, if not a little crazy.
ghues
Omono
Nice way to describe it Vance.
Looking from afar it seems like Ryan is able to procur the best Yamadori so with his intense training he create future masterpieces, he is a true professional...... whereas folks like me just fumble through as craftsman and make do with far less superior trees. I really like his work and the way he is drawing inspiration based on a more environmental and natural foundation.....(.hhhhmmm Kimura)
Looking from afar it seems like Ryan is able to procur the best Yamadori so with his intense training he create future masterpieces, he is a true professional...... whereas folks like me just fumble through as craftsman and make do with far less superior trees. I really like his work and the way he is drawing inspiration based on a more environmental and natural foundation.....(.hhhhmmm Kimura)
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Absolutely! Vance I never suspected you had poets heart
. Having learned of and visited Ryan only 2 years past Bonsai journey was drastically changed. Seeing trees of great age, greater beauty, mind boggling shapes or forms created by the ultimate Master and Creator and seeing the possibility of these actually being in my humble hands was quantum leap beyond all had seen/learned in prior 55 years of life. How wonderful would it be to share trip to Crater Lake Whitebarks and Great Basin Bristlecones with such as you gentlemen. Having argued with and been denigrated by formalistic self proclaimed gurus of the oh so refined and considering leaving BN in anger and frustration is wonderful to see sentiments from hearts such as yours here. Happy Independence Day indeed.
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
You are SURELY accomplishing that goal.
And I love the description...very true.
However....you are more than a little crazy! Love it!
Sorce
Potawatomi13
Imperial Masterpiece
Wonderfully creative idea you have
. If not Bonsai or Penjing is great example of American Bonsai. Not so sure is not in those categories at all.
Vance Wood
Lord Mugo
I hope you guys will forgive my impatience but it drives me crazy to read descriptions and forward kudos about the wonderful concepts of art when it is soooooooo simple to post pictures and much more interesting and productive. That's just me and I apologize for the inconvenience I my have contributed to the discussion.
Giga
Masterpiece
It's actually not to shabby - hard to see the trunk line but I like it
parhamr
Omono
ghues
Omono
Hi All, here are the promised...more decent photos, well finely got some muscle (my son) who helped me move this heavy beast to my new outdoor workbench so that I can finish off my thinning process(lower section completed) many of the severely curved branches are setting up nicely but all major branches(platforms) are still wired and one my plus- the deadwood is aging very nicely.....future pot design, size still be be figured out.Note the small amount of "second flush"...on this one ...many (most) of my Mtn. Hemi's are doing the same.
Cheers G.
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LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
Pretty stirring!!!
Lookin' very cool and unique!!!!!
Apex is a little odd though......
Lookin' very cool and unique!!!!!
Apex is a little odd though......
barrosinc
Masterpiece
wow, had not seen this thread until now.
Had to double check like three times if it was the same tree.
The images are a bit confusing, does the content of the plastic pot fit in the ceramic pot?
Nonetheless, very nice job!!!
Had to double check like three times if it was the same tree.
The images are a bit confusing, does the content of the plastic pot fit in the ceramic pot?
Nonetheless, very nice job!!!
ghues
Omono
Many thanks,
The apex is a little too spreadout perhaps? Might have to remove a branch or two.
Same tree and it has been through a few image transformations. Yes the black plastic pot does go into the ceramic pot....the base of the tree is resting on top of a ledge on the limestone Boulder, so the plastic pot holds the roots(soil) that move down the boulder into the pot below, I have been removing 2" of the pot every couple of years slowly exposing the root structure.
G
The apex is a little too spreadout perhaps? Might have to remove a branch or two.
Same tree and it has been through a few image transformations. Yes the black plastic pot does go into the ceramic pot....the base of the tree is resting on top of a ledge on the limestone Boulder, so the plastic pot holds the roots(soil) that move down the boulder into the pot below, I have been removing 2" of the pot every couple of years slowly exposing the root structure.
G
barrosinc
Masterpiece
I think he meant it looks way to flat at the top.
ghues
Omono
Have to wait for his explanation of "a little odd".lol
LanceMac10
Imperial Masterpiece
I like the second photo as a nice front. The apex, to me , seemed a little large.
Ha, I'd wire it poorly, trying to compress the top down, or just kill it by removing it completely.
Then, I would reduce the large branch on the right, thinning enough to be able to frame the rock and the nice deadwood. But by then, I already killed it!!
But if it made it that far, I would turn it anti-clock-wise, just a few degrees, so the space between the trunk and rock is less prominent. Easy, cuz' I didn't actually "work" it.....should have thought that first.....
Maybe even try to get the apex lower than the cool point on that stone?
Of course, I would be total chickens#!% to even try anything I just said.....
Carry on
Ha, I'd wire it poorly, trying to compress the top down, or just kill it by removing it completely.
Then, I would reduce the large branch on the right, thinning enough to be able to frame the rock and the nice deadwood. But by then, I already killed it!!
But if it made it that far, I would turn it anti-clock-wise, just a few degrees, so the space between the trunk and rock is less prominent. Easy, cuz' I didn't actually "work" it.....should have thought that first.....
Maybe even try to get the apex lower than the cool point on that stone?
Of course, I would be total chickens#!% to even try anything I just said.....
Carry on
ghues
Omono
The rain stopped for a few hours......and I caught the sun highlighting my oldest yamadori nicely....... hard to believe that each pad was significantly thinned back in July (post #53 above). Next step..... Gotta love wiring (finer wiring to do) to work on this guy.....which will take a while seeing as though the forecast is for 
️ over the next week . Maybe I'll leave it until April (I'll also have more copper wire by then) as we can get a few days of heavy wet snow that "distorts" all ones hard work (Boxing Day last year). The moss has settled in nicely and another variety is appearing which will add an extra texture...it could be Oregon beaked moss (kindbergia oregana) but I'll have to wait for further growth to be sure.
G.
️ over the next week . Maybe I'll leave it until April (I'll also have more copper wire by then) as we can get a few days of heavy wet snow that "distorts" all ones hard work (Boxing Day last year). The moss has settled in nicely and another variety is appearing which will add an extra texture...it could be Oregon beaked moss (kindbergia oregana) but I'll have to wait for further growth to be sure.G.
