Tag bonsai show

Bonsai knowledge and skills resources – How do we learn?

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Read as much as you can.

I recently saw a few posts on social media where people new to Bonsai asked for advice and also for good sources of reliable information. The “reliable information” made me think even more. Most of this happens in the internet and as mentioned, on social media. In a lot of cases the credentials of the people answering these questions cannot be easily established and one of the things that really get to me is that people give advice without establishing where the person asking the question is from. I have recently moved 500km north on the North Island of New Zealand and now know that even a relatively short distance like that makes for a very different climate and a complete rethink of when to do what with my trees.

Join a club or two or three.

So, where and what are the best places and people to go to. My personal philosophy on this is that you should use as many resources as possible. One of the answers amongst a whole host of really good ones out of a discussion of which club to join (think this was in Australia), was that one must be weary of clubs as there is usually a dominant teacher there with set ideas and that one should actually just watch You Tube videos. Nothing wrong with the videos, but the person went further to mention one specific series of videos, again with one dominant teacher. No change then.

By all means, join a club. It is a very good thing to do. As a matter of fact, join more than one. Supplement this with watching a variety of videos, there are millions on line. The emphasis here is on the variety. Out of this, always relate it back to what you already know, where your knowledge and skills come from and how that relates to your trees, your philosophy and your climate. This reflection part is to me the most important phase of learning. Digest all of the information that you have and take what suits your situation. Books, whether in digital format or printed (still my favourite) should be part of this learning. Attend conventions, workshops and demonstrations. This is probably where you will learn most.

Many online videos exist.

This learning journey never stops and if you are exposed to a “sensei” who does not learn anymore him- or herself, run as far away and as fast as you can. Bonsai is the ultimate lifelong learning exercise.

Bonsai as Art

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I am seeing more Bonsai being exhibited as part of other art forms in what is generally referred to as an art gallery or a general art exhibition. This, in my mind is great, but we need to do more of it. One of the things we probably need to do as Bonsai artists is to promote it better as an art form. Where we see this happening, the results are normally outstanding. Without this general exposure to the general art public, the acceptance of Bonsai art in mainstream art circles, just will not happen.

From Pinterest

In my search for links between art and Bonsai to help with this infiltration into the general art world, I started by looking at definitions of what art is. See below.
Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
It will be so easy to slip the word Bonsai in there along with painting or sculpture. It is the second part of this definition that really speaks to me. For me Bonsai is appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. That speaks for itself. Bonsai does exactly that. The debate is over and all we now need to do is to get our Bonsai into mainstream art galleries. As mentioned, this happens, but I would like to see it happen more often and in a way where there is no debate and just a general acceptance of Bonsai as a legitimate art form that can hold its own in any art exhibition and not just for horticultural shows or Bonsai on their own.

Some useless, but interesting statistics:

An internet search for Bonsai art presented 3.5 million results.

Another search for Bonsai horticulture yielded 493 thousand results.

My deduction from that is that Bonsai is seen as an art form, but when that vast amount of results are further analysed, very few of those relate to Bonsai as a mainstream art form. We are getting there, but there is still a lot of work to do.

Please share your thoughts on this in the comment section on this page.

The World Around the Tree – getting a Bonsai tree to a show

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On returning from the New Zealand National Bonsai Show and Convention, I reflected on my experiences and performance in the run up to the show, during the show and on getting back home.

The context is that I had one tree in the National Show and four trees in the regional show. I also had three more nursery material and cutting grown trees with me that I wanted to use as part of my demonstration at the show (more on this in a blog to follow).

My tools came with, stands of various sizes and shapes were packed, cameras made it into the van as well as a laptop to be used during the demonstration. Cleaning materials, a 5 litre water spray bottle and accent plants filled the last bit of space up and then I realised that I needed to take a bag with clothes and toiletries for three days. What a mission!

The focus is always on the tree and to get that focus right, you need a lot of things to make that tree look good. I have listed my extras above and I must say that I did myself proud in the sense that once I arrived at the venue and unpacked, setting the trees up, I did not rush around missing things. This comes with experience, but more so from thorough planning and organising everything in advance. Use checklists to be safe. Make a list for each tree as each tree might have its own specific requirements. Set your display up in the weeks before the show. Take a photo of the best possible configuration and make sure you have packed everything securely as per the photo.

I have always wondered why people with babies have more bags and things packed for the baby when they travel than for themselves. Now I know, a Bonsai tree demands the same care and preparations to look good at the destination.

Ps. I forgot to mention that I also had two Suiseki and their stands with me. One of which was awarded the top prize / trophy for the best New Zealand sourced Suiseki. More on this in a blog to follow.