Wannabe seeking master pine

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What with new developments at the Progressive Styling Contest (KnoB), I am seeking an advanced bonsai valued in the tens of thousands of dollars to enter as prebonsai nursery stock. It must be disordered and in need of styling, but should be an obvious masterpiece in waiting.

The tree in question will be styled by me, entered in the contest, and returned to its owner. It will be in good health, and increased in value as bonsai art (even though I am no master and not recognized as an artist). If there are any takers, I will come to you to pick up the tree, bring it home to style, and bring it back to you following the final requirements of the contest.

It probably wouldn't have to be in the tens of thousands, but in the thousands is a definite must. Any takers?
 

rlist

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Are you friggin' kidding? You are a nice guy and all, but you think I am gonna let you walk off with my several-thousand dollar tree, so that you can style it, have praise heaped upon you and then return it with a thank you for your time now out of my way? Come on... What'ya smokin' out there???

You want a great tree that is contest ready and valued at the $1000 plus range as a potensai? Well, come on out to Oregon with your check book and we'll hook you up.

Edit: The above comment is somewhat in good-natured gest. But, may I ask what you are really thinking here? I assume you have approached Boon prior to posting this request here...
 
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Tachigi

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I am seeking an advanced bonsai valued in the tens of thousands of dollars to enter as prebonsai nursery stock.

Chris, If I entertain this thought and consider your request. Would you provide a bond and insurance to protect my investment? I called a friend in the casualty business to find out what the premium would be out of curiosity. A tree with an appraised value of 10K would have a premium of about 1800 dollars based on 3 months of absence and requires you to be bonded before the policy would take effect. I have know idea what the bond premium would be. Add to that the cost of travel to the east coast and back, twice! Ricks offer from Oregon bonsai seems a more sensible choice.

Now, I am sure you have thought of all of this out, your a smart man. Sooooo....... I'm waiting to hear the other shoe drop. Where are you going with this?
 

Jon Chown

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Hmmm!!! Searched your Bolg just to see what you could do with a good piece of stock, but alas no Bonsai just a lot of garbage - Sorry couldn't trust you with a twig in a pot.

Jon
 

Graydon

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humorous and slightly absurd post

Chris - I know where you are going with this and I know why.

For those who are missing the point with Chris' post meander over to the KOB contest and take a peek at the entries so far. Check out the entry by Walter Pall. It's a nuts good tree. I think I gasped out loud when I saw it.

Let's keep in mind that Mr. Pall's entry is in the professional category. No rules were broken. Yes, it's quite a nice tree, even for "pre-bonsai".

I salute your sense of humor and your taste for the absurd Chris. But seriously, and be honest here, if you had the opportunity and funds free to purchase such a great piece of material - would you do it? Would you enter it? Would you proudly show the world?

I would. In a second.

By the way - I have the funds but all I can find is crap material. Or would that be pre-crap?
 

Tachigi

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OK .... two questions!

After reading the thread at Knob and seeing your posts which seemed amicable and agreeing. Why would you post here something to the contrary or at the very least sarcastic? Why not post it there where it might have some relevance and teeth?

Here I thought when you posted this want ad thread, that you had just took a dive off the deep end.
 
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Thanks, Jon. Always nice to see there's a sense of humor out there. Check out other blogs for bonsai while you are at it.

My point is, as I mentioned in the contest discussion thread, that while the rules do not disqualify a piece of material the likes of which most of us can never afford, which has had many years advantage, including collection and grafting of advantageous foliage, it also does not preclude borrowed material for prebonsai stock. So is the way to win a contest to look for loopholes, or to get in the spirit of things?

I fully intend to enter this contest. I have the material that I collected myself. As soon as I can determine, with my limited photographic skill, that my photos will not be eliminated, I will enter.

Lighten up folks. Jon, if you want to see my bonsai, living and dead, look at my website. Of course, they are not labelled as such on the website, because the focus is techniques. PM me if you want to know which are still with me.
 
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My point is, as I mentioned in the contest discussion thread, that while the rules do not disqualify a piece of material the likes of which most of us can never afford, which has had many years advantage, including collection and grafting of advantageous foliage, it also does not preclude borrowed material for prebonsai stock. So is the way to win a contest to look for loopholes, or to get in the spirit of things?

Ah but you are missing one very important aspect....Talent.

The best stock in the world doesn't mean a thing without the talent to take advantage of the possibilities presented. Someone gave that entry to Walter and told him to put up or shut up basically, well Walter certainly has the talent to make this stock better than what most think it could be. On the other hand, would that same person have given that same stock to you or myself to work on, I think not...unless he is insane.

I would venture that most people look at that entry and say, hell all it needs is a little trimming and some wiring...I bet Walter has a complete restyle in mind. Vision and talent, without them you can be given all the quality stock in the world and you'll still only have a yard full of potted trees, with them you'll make the stock much more than the sum of its parts.


Will
 

Rick Moquin

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Why is it that folks constantly need to stir the pot. It is terribly irritating to see this happen all too frequently lately.

Walter entered the contest in the professional category, not the open category, so what is the problem here? He is competing against and with the "professionals". The bar has been raised and IMHO if you cannot meet or exceed such standards, refrain form entering the contest, until you can.

IMH & HO don't play with the big boys until you are ready to do so. Here is an example of the stock he buys. Yes he has the opportunity and the means. Does anyone actually think that Walter did not previously walk a mile or more in our shoes in the beginning? Does anyone actually think he did not feel some of the frustration displayed here by the folks crying foul, during his learning curve?

What are we doing on these forums acquiring an education or bickering with each other. Folks say if you don't like what's on the channel then flip to another one. Well that can be said and done but, what happens when we have allienated all the pros from the network? Wouldn't TV be boring then, with nothing worthy of watching? What chanel do you flip to then, the wannabe chanel?

Although I do not participate in contests for personal reasons, they are nonetheless educational. I am sure that the "pros" have and will learn a valuable lesson from this one. It is not about winning it is about playing the game, is it not? What can be taken away from this competition, analyzed, filed and put to future "good" use? Isn't this what this is all about?

You know god gave us to ears and one mouth. I believe he wanted us to do twice as much of one than the other. If you can put up then perhaps you should...

Walter has threatened to withdraw his entry, I hope this does not happen, as it will be interesting to see where he takes this tree. Don't get me wrong folks, I personally do not like "all" of Walter's trees. Some tickle my fancy and some not. Perhaps the latter is because of a 2 dimensional picture without a story or, the vision of the artist to go along with it.

In closing I hope that the contest organizers will be able to dissuade Walter if he does indeed follow through with his retraction.

This is about learning if one cannot navigate the TV and find something educational to watch, then perhaps it is time to turn the TV off, or better yet get rid of it.
 
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Why, Will, thank you for saying I have no talent! That's a real boost!

I am sure Walter is planning a complete restyle, and I am sure that the tree will be stunning when he is finished.

In a way I was disappointed that Walter decided not to use the tree he discussed before, a collected tree, because while it is a little daunting, I was kind a little excited to be competing directly with him. Of course, I can't really come up with anything to compete directly in that category, so I will have to work with what I have.

We will see whether I have any talent or not. Perhaps you are right. However, looking at that stock, my solution may be different that Walter's, but I would really love to have a chance at a piece of material of that quality.

We'll just have to see what my entry looks like and decide if it shows any talent at all, won't we?
 
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Why, Will, thank you for saying I have no talent! That's a real boost!

Chris, please reread my post, I never said you did not have talent, nor did I imply such. I distinctly quoted a section of your post where you talked of the advantage such stock gives and then I responded that you were missing one important aspect (from your summary) which was the talent. I went on to say that even the best stock is meaningless without talent.

My personal feelings of your capabilities or lack thereof were never bought up, except in your mind.



Will
 
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For the record, Walter's entry is acceptable, it violated no rules and only serves to raise the bar among professionals.

This is going to be a great contest indeed.


Will
 
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Ah but you are missing one very important aspect....Talent.

Perhaps a clearer sentence would bring out your intent in this sentence. I will concede that you included yourself later in the post.

Sorry I misread it.
 

Vance Wood

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I hope no one takes what I am going to say as a challenge or rebuke, but I feel I have to write this. Not too long ago someone made mention that they would love to see what I could do with a really good piece of pre-bonsai stock understanding the results I was able to get with some really crappy nursery trees. I took that as a compliment, and I still do. So with that in mind I find it rather peculiar that the choice of some really great material should be condemned, I would use it if I had it. Which after all is the reason I don't usually go looking for expensive pre-bonsai material. It is not that I am notoriously cheap (which incidentally I am), but I have not found any material worth paying good money for. Just because it happens to be sold as pre-bonsai does not make it first rate material in my book. This particular tree is first rate.

I have also heard that Walter Pall is thinking of withdrawing this tree from the competition, something I hope and pray will not take place. I would love to see how this tree is transformed in Walter's hands. As far as I am concerned this whole thing is about improving bonsai and learning from some of the best if not the best. Not only that, going head to head with them, it's kind of like the bonsai version of The Joes versus the Pros.

As to the tree: If you look at it and when you get over the initial drooling over it, there are quite a few problems with it that are going to take the master's hand to correct. First of all it is seriously over grown, almost to a point that interior branches may take on the appearance of Pom Poms. We don't know what the secondary or tertiary branching is like it is so thick. This tree could be a real brick in a pie event.
 
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I think if you reread the thread in question, someone mentioned yamadori as being something you should try. And please reread all of my posts in the contest thread and here, to put things in context. I want nothing better than to see the direction that Walter takes that tree. If I had material of somewhere in the galaxy of that tree, I'd go head to head just for the lesson to be learned. As it is I am a little disappointed he will not be in the same category I am in, again, just for the lesson to be learned.
 

bonsai barry

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As it is I am a little disappointed he will not be in the same category I am in, again, just for the lesson to be learned.

You could always enter the professional division. Could be the first step in a career transistion! I'm considering such a move, I found a Home Depot procumbens with lots of potention (for under $10).:D
 
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That's my point, Barry. I am required by the rules of the contest to enter in the Professional category. It's just that I am entering a yamadori tree, not bonsai stock.
 
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Chris is referring to the rules that state if you have ever been paid to do a demo, workshop, give classes, or own a bonsai related business, you must enter as a professional.

This is not unlike what qualifies a person as a professional in sports.

I like this segment of the rules very much as I personally feel that if someone is charging for teaching, they should be able to show results that are comparable to other teachers. I feel the same way about those people who are in the business of bonsai.


Will
 
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