Brian Underwood
Chumono
I have been meaning to write this thread for the last couple months, sorry guys.
I had the opportunity to work with Ryan at the end of February and jumped at it. I sold a few of my trees and bought a nice sierra juniper from Ned Lycett of Deadwood Bonsai ( http://www.gsbf-bonsai.org/bonsai_shopper_2_List.html ). I picked a tree with some interesting movement and a decent sized trunk. I have seen a dozen or so sierras that Ryan has worked, so I kept his abilities in mind when choosing material, with the intention of learning as much as I possibly could.
There were 5 other participants in the workshop which took place from 9am-5pm, so Ryan made his rounds and helped each student with their various projects. When it was my turn, we had a discussion on what my abilities were and what I wanted out of the tree. I basically stated I want to learn as much as I can. He then asked me "Why do we like junipers?" To which I replied "Uh... foliage? Er... twisted trunks? Uh..." The correct answer was deadwood, the visual representation of the struggle between life and death. A bit more eloquent than my previous mumblings. We then chose a trunk line, changed the planting angle, and he told me to Jinn the rest.
I had the opportunity to work with Ryan at the end of February and jumped at it. I sold a few of my trees and bought a nice sierra juniper from Ned Lycett of Deadwood Bonsai ( http://www.gsbf-bonsai.org/bonsai_shopper_2_List.html ). I picked a tree with some interesting movement and a decent sized trunk. I have seen a dozen or so sierras that Ryan has worked, so I kept his abilities in mind when choosing material, with the intention of learning as much as I possibly could.
There were 5 other participants in the workshop which took place from 9am-5pm, so Ryan made his rounds and helped each student with their various projects. When it was my turn, we had a discussion on what my abilities were and what I wanted out of the tree. I basically stated I want to learn as much as I can. He then asked me "Why do we like junipers?" To which I replied "Uh... foliage? Er... twisted trunks? Uh..." The correct answer was deadwood, the visual representation of the struggle between life and death. A bit more eloquent than my previous mumblings. We then chose a trunk line, changed the planting angle, and he told me to Jinn the rest.