Is all forgiven when a bonsai flowers? In this case, after the brilliant white dazzle (with soft touches of pink and yellow), there’s the strong trunk with a nice flaring base. But still, my eye keeps going back to the scar and the messy little stuff underneath it, and the somewhat clunky pot. Is it just me? From Jose Pañeda’s Photos – mis bonsáis.
Those magical few days…
I remember the first time I saw a what I thought was a so-so bonsai displaying gorgeous flowers. It was in Bonsai Today (long before I became the publisher) and the photo was from Japan. After some puzzling, it became apparent that the tree had been styled to display the flowers. Everything else was secondary. So secondary, that I imagine the tree would find a home out of sight on a back bench somewhere for most of its life. Except for those few days or weeks of magic each year, when the flowers appeared.
Gorgeous flowers, okay tree. This Camelia appears on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 66. Without the flowers, you’d probably never see it in the pages of a quality magazine, let alone on the cover.
Gorgeous flowers, excellent tree; the best of all possible worlds. No need to hide this gnarly old Ume on a back bench when the flowers are gone. This photo which appeared in an earlier post on Bonsai Bark, is from the Bonsai Guest House in Osaka Japan.
Absolutely unforgiven. This mess is from a commercial site (not worthy of link). It can be yours for only $150. No shame.
Wayne,
I’ve been a big fan of your website and a regular customer for years (your bonsai book selection is primo). But, unfortunately I am not a fan of Facebook, Twitter, etc. (I find these sites intrusive and have had issues with people posting information such as pictures and statements I have made on these sites. Although I do not consider my behavior as bizarre, illegal or otherwise, I cherish my privacy above all else. I am letting you know this because many links are now associated with these sites and many individuals may feel as I do – that if they have to be members of sites that request personal information they would rather not bother. I am not a Luddite, but I am a purist when it comes to privacy.
Respectfully,
Owen
Thanks for your thoughtful comments Owen.
I understand that this is the case for you and no doubt many other of our readers and customers. We use facebook because it is free advertising for Stone Lantern and Bonsai Bark and for bonsai in general, and because there is a wealth of fresh bonsai content every day.
The bad news is that many (if not most) photos are unattributed. Some are even wrongly attributed or posted in such a way that you might be led to believe that the person who posts them is the artist, when they aren’t. I’m sure the same goes for written content.
In response to this problem, I try to always attribute, often taking extra time to track down the real artists. I also try to link the artists non-facebook site when I can find it (many quality bonsai artists don’t have sites or even home pages). When I can’t find it, then all that’s left to do is to link the facebook source.
I hope this helps and thanks again,
Kind regards,
Wayne
Flowering bonsai can’t be painted with as broad a brush as “lousy tree”. Some species flower on old wood (eg. ume, chojoubai), allowing for very short internodes, excellent design, wonderful taper, and a great feeling of age. Others set buds late in the year, also allowing for similar characteristics (eg. satsuki). Conversely, there are those which flower only on new growth. If you prune the new growth to retain shape, you lose the flowers. There’s no way to win the “good looking tree” and “pretty flowers” discussion, though I would surmise there’s nothing to “win” and nothing to “lose”, provided the species and flowering characteristics are taken into consideration when contemplating the individual tree.
I agree with DaveP. I think though that as one deepens in the art, the primacy of an interesting trunk, nebari, etc., trump almost every other consideration. If your interesting trunk bears beautiful flowers, you go from interesting to arresting very quickly.
Like with that ume, part of the aesthetic worth aiming for is the contrast between ruggedness and delicateness that creates the tension endemic to good art and great bonsai.
Thanks DaveP
Yes. Agreed. There’s no way to win the ‘good looking tree’ and ‘pretty flowers’ discussion. I might go further and say in general, there’s no way to win the pretty tree discussion (no absolutes in art).
Thanks as always Al. And, of course, agreed. Few things better than a powerful, full of character bonsai that also happens to bear beautiful flowers.