US National Exhibition Entry - Satsuki

greerhw

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OK, I have to be truthful here, Ms Vickie's tree is very nice, but in the real world, not here on BN, I have seen Azaleas that were spectacular. What makes this very nice tree eligible, when you have some examples that would blow your socks off. Just an old man with an opinion.

keep it green,
Harry
 
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OK, I have to be truthful here, Ms Vickie's tree is very nice, but in the real world, not here on BN, I have seen Azaleas that were spectacular. What makes this very nice tree eligible, when you have some examples that would blow your socks off. Just an old man with an opinion.

keep it green,
Harry

I totally respect your question... Maybe they didn't apply? Half the effort is having the willingness to put it out there.

I have no delusions that it's a spectacular tree... I do believe it's a very well refined tree that is beautiful... which is also why I went to some effort to put together a total display which would support the tree's elegance.

I'm putting several thousand dollars worth of my possessions into the care of people 3000 miles away... maybe others don't have the same faith that I do in the process. Or they just don't care.... yet.

I would love to see a day when my tree would be turned down as "dime a dozen" because the Exhibition is SO prestigious that I wouldn't dare think to enter it because it would be outclassed. I think that day will come... but by then... I intend to have trees which would make the cut in any case. That's the goal anyway.... lol

My thought when I did it was simple.... "What are you thinking woman???"... followed quickly by.... "No guts... no glory."

Warmest regards,

Victrinia
 
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Smoke

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OK, I have to be truthful here, Ms Vickie's tree is very nice, but in the real world, not here on BN, I have seen Azaleas that were spectacular. What makes this very nice tree eligible, when you have some examples that would blow your socks off. Just an old man with an opinion.

keep it green,
Harry

Your question may be better served by asking William who frequents here.

Victrinia, I like your display. I do not like either background. I would prefer a solid nuetral color that does not compete at all. The white one looks as if it is backlit which takes away from it being a solid color.

The dark one while being the favorite here is just to busy for my taste. A nice solid off white, fawn color would really be nice. The scroll is too low and the display seems cramped, yet I have taken many photo's of my own trees which are cramped so I understand what is going on here. Using the dark background, it should be displayed at least 10 feet behind the subject. At that point it would fade into a mottled mass of grey which might be very nice. At the close distance my eye tries to focus on the background too much.

Congratulations on your work, Al

Have fun with your tree display, make sure and get a good picture to share with us.
 
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Al...

I've been waiting on you like a newly opened resturant waiting for the premier food critic to give a review... That being said... all I can say is...

Hallelujah!!!!

I totally agree with everything you said about the positioning and the backgrounds. I shot with what was available to me... and didn't look the gift horse in the mouth. I don't have a sophisticated lighting system at home... so I took everything over to a dear friend's house, and we used what he had. My husband assures me that he and John actually tried to get the scroll higher, but it was as high as the stand could go... and I... in my excitment to see it all together at last, didn't notice the error.

I REALLY want to come to the display show down there when it happens next... what this experiance has taught me is that there is SO much more than just the tree... and now that my interest in this has been fully wakened, it will not be satisfied without more immersion into the art of display.

I have to admit... the only thing I actually sweated in this process was the moss... I changed it twice. lol But I think I finally did well enough to live with it. I clearly have not put enough thought or effort into moss before.... I may know a thing or three about trees... but the holes in my experiance became very apparent to me in this process as well.

I'm profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to realize that... because now I know what I need to work on.

Yours most kindly,

Victrinia
 

Smoke

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Al...

I've been waiting on you like a newly opened resturant waiting for the premier food critic to give a review... That being said... all I can say is...

Hallelujah!!!!

I totally agree with everything you said about the positioning and the backgrounds. I shot with what was available to me... and didn't look the gift horse in the mouth. I don't have a sophisticated lighting system at home... so I took everything over to a dear friend's house, and we used what he had. My husband assures me that he and John actually tried to get the scroll higher, but it was as high as the stand could go... and I... in my excitment to see it all together at last, didn't notice the error.

I REALLY want to come to the display show down there when it happens next... what this experiance has taught me is that there is SO much more than just the tree... and now that my interest in this has been fully wakened, it will not be satisfied without more immersion into the art of display.

I have to admit... the only thing I actually sweated in this process was the moss... I changed it twice. lol But I think I finally did well enough to live with it. I clearly have not put enough thought or effort into moss before.... I may know a thing or three about trees... but the holes in my experiance became very apparent to me in this process as well.

I'm profoundly grateful to have had the opportunity to realize that... because now I know what I need to work on.

Yours most kindly,

Victrinia

The people in Fresno by now are very tired of me harping each year on the importance of moss placement...or the use of it at all. Each year I give instruction on moss and how it should be applied but everyone does their own thing. It is not untill they decide to throw their hat into a display arena and they soon find out that maybe they should have payed a little more attention to the blowhard...

Que sera....

Al
 
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I would be deeply delighted to be an acolyte at your feet... It's one thing Daniel can teach me little about... because he does not pay attention to the finer points of display... he pays attention to the trees... which is all well and good until you want to do a high level display. Then you are fumbling a bit.

I don't suppose you would be willing to give a lesson on that subject for all of us... or do I just need to head down to Fresno for a meeting. :D

Lord knows I am willing to listen to the blowhard... I have thus far, and it's not led me astray in the least. ;)

V
 

ianb

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The people in Fresno by now are very tired of me harping each year on the importance of moss placement...or the use of it at all. Each year I give instruction on moss and how it should be applied but everyone does their own thing. It is not untill they decide to throw their hat into a display arena and they soon find out that maybe they should have payed a little more attention to the blowhard...

Que sera....

Al

Sounds like a good subject for an article either here or in Golden Statements....nudge nudge;)
 

irene_b

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I would be deeply delighted to be an acolyte at your feet... It's one thing Daniel can teach me little about... because he does not pay attention to the finer points of display... he pays attention to the trees... which is all well and good until you want to do a high level display. Then you are fumbling a bit.

I don't suppose you would be willing to give a lesson on that subject for all of us... or do I just need to head down to Fresno for a meeting. :D

Lord knows I am willing to listen to the blowhard... I have thus far, and it's not led me astray in the least. ;)

V
Post it here for all to learn...
 

Mike Page

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OK, I have to be truthful here, Ms Vickie's tree is very nice, but in the real world, not here on BN, I have seen Azaleas that were spectacular. What makes this very nice tree eligible, when you have some examples that would blow your socks off. Just an old man with an opinion.

keep it green,
Harry

I think what needs to be kept in mind is that spectacular is not art, and good art is never spectacular. Subtlety and understatement are the keys that will unlock the mystery of bonsai display.
Of course, that's much easier said than done.

Mike
 

greerhw

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I think what needs to be kept in mind is that spectacular is not art, and good art is never spectacular. Subtlety and understatement are the keys that will unlock the mystery of bonsai display.
Of course, that's much easier said than done.

Mike

No disrespect intended to Vic's tree, she did a good job, but I guess we will have to agree to disagree, I go to museums to look at art, I go to bonsai exhibits to be wowed by spectacular examples of trees. Subtlety and understatement are lost on an old redneck like me. I wish Vic all the best with her tree.

keep it green,
Harry
 

rockm

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You miss the point completely. This is simply NOT about the tree. It is about a composition. the whole thing, not just one thing. It is more than the tree.

There's nothing to disagree with really, only if the display is effective at evoking a mood.

This idea that good art should "wow" you to be valid is not really constructive for any artform. "Wow" is nice, but it's kind of shallow and short lived.

Art is personal. Bonsai is intensely so. What works for someone, may not work for someone else.

Creating a three point display requires thinking about more than a tree, and more about what the composition says to you as a whole.
 
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Mike Page

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What needs to be kept in mind when discussing bonsai accepted for the National Exhibition is that Bill Valavanis is the sponser of this exhibit, and he is dedicated to the ART of bonsai.
I recommend that when Bill publishes the National Exhibition book, that all serious bonsai students purchase a copy. Also, there may be some copies of the first book still available.

Mike
 

greerhw

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You miss the point completely. This is simply NOT about the tree. It is about a composition. the whole thing, not just one thing. It is more than the tree.

Being "wowed" by a tree is not what this is about.

There's nothing to disagree with--you either get it or you don't. You're looking for oranges at an apple stand.

Oh I get it alright, but that's not my hobby, trees are.

keep it green,
Harry
 

rockm

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then why do you comment on the display?
 

greerhw

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This idea that good art should "wow" you to be valid is not really constructive for any artform. "Wow" is nice, but it's kind of shallow and short lived..

Not at my house, I love to feed my koi, every evening I set and feed them and I'm still "Wowed" by their man made beauty, like wise with my trees. Everytime I water or work on trees, I'm "Wowed" by their man made beauty. You and I live in different worlds. I guess it doesn't take much to wow me.

keep it green,
Harry
 
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Harry...

I want you to know I know you are not disrespecting the tree or my efforts - nor do I believe you have commented on the display itself. I am not offended by the line of conversation at all... display at its core is very different than bonsai in general... the intentions and thought behind it is as important as the tree which contributes to the feel of it all. Which is as you said... not your cup of tea.

Keeping it green... mostly green... and sometimes naked, ;)

V
 

Attila Soos

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Congratulations, Vic! Your tree will be in a book soon, preserved for eternity. Nice reward for all your hard work.

Is this Kaho from the Nakamura nursery?
There was a shimpent of a batch of Satsuki material to the North-West, from Japan. Mostly Kaho and Kozan. Tak Yamaura from White Rock (Vancouver area) mentioned it to me a long time ago. Must have been about 18 years ago (in the 90s). Based on the age, size, and variety, your tree could be one of them.
 
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I believe Sharon Muth directly imported this one from Japan.... :) I am going to post photos of what it looked like when I got it.... very very different. ;o)

Thanks for the comment Attila...

Warmest regards,

Victrinia
 
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