Bonsai Philosophy, a discussion.

[doc spring _work]

So happy this blew up while I was asleep. I'm loving all the perspectives, and I don't think I've read anything id disagree with. It's truly fantastic how many people can do bonsai for so many different reasons.

Bonsai in and of itself isn't valuable, it truly is the human experience within caring and appreciating bonsai that gives us value, from simple stress relief, to responsibility of caring for others legacies. Some may even enjoy the spiritual side of the tree although I think that's less common here.

All of it is just truly beautiful! Thank you all for engaging so far and I look forward to indulging in further reading of the simply amazing perspectives I can gain from some of you with many years under your belts

 

[NMbonsai]

Working on bonsai is a very, deeply ritualistic act for me. First, I wait until the kids are in bed. Then, I turn on The Grateful Dead. Next, I crack open a frosty cold beer and have a quick talk with Mary Jane. Then I make sure the tools are clean and sharp as I prep the workspace. And then.... choppy choppy time!

Yes! I love working on my trees out in the spring sunshine, headphones on, listening to a long second set jam, usually from the mid seventies or early eighties. Youtube can be a beautiful thing! The kids are long gone, living their own lives. Gave up the beer a few years ago. I quit talking with Mary Jane about 25 years ago, unless you were referring to your wife. I kinda doubt it!

 

[just.wing.it]

Yes! I love working on my trees out in the spring sunshine, headphones on, listening to a long second set jam, usually from the mid seventies or early eighties. Youtube can be a beautiful thing! The kids are long gone, living their own lives. Gave up the beer a few years ago. I quit talking with Mary Jane about 25 years ago, unless you were referring to your wife. I kinda doubt it!

Haha! Samantha and Mary Jane haven't talked in a long time.

 

[Michael P]

Whenever I hear a discussion of the philosophy of an art I think of Archibald MacLeish's Ars Poetica.

Ars Poetica

* A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs, Leaving, as the moon releases Twig by twig the night-entangled trees, Leaving, as the moon behind the winter leaves, Memory by memory the mind— A poem should be motionless in time As the moon climbs.

www.poetryfoundation.org

Respectfully paraphrasing the last lines:

A bonsai should not mean
But be.

 

[Wulfskaar]

Great thread @doc spring _work !

I think that our ancient ancestors spent millions of years living in trees. Trees provided safety, food, shelter, and a great view. With that in mind, I think our appreciation of trees and their forms is deeply ingrained in our psyche, much like faces and facial recognition.

As far as the art vs craft discussion, I agree that you can't really have one without the other, much like the 2 wheels of a cart example. A painter must know about how to pre-treat a canvas, what brushes to use, and painting techniques. That is the craft part. The art part comes by using the craft skills to express beauty or emotion or whatever they are trying to express on the canvas.

In bonsai, you have to learn the craft of keeping trees alive, as well as the techniques used to express what you want to express in the tree. The art is using those skills to express what your mind wants the tree to be.

I don't agree at all that it's purely a craft.

 

[shohin_branches]

I love spending time with my trees saying hi to them every morning before I trudge off to my soul sucking corporate tech job.

 

[BrightsideB]

Non-Attachment is the best thing bonsai has taught me. We don’t actually own them and they will die just like us. They are in our care. We may have bought them. But they are truly a companion within my philosophy and practice.

They may be status symbols to some and that is sad. That usually means the person uses it to fill a missing part within themselves.

 

[Desert O'Piñon]

Philosophy?

I'm not sure the in-depth explanation would be well-received, so here's the Cliff notes.

I am incredibly blessed in my life. My material wealth is meager and fleeting, but I have the best wife in the world for me. I have an amazing, highly intelligent son. I have been surrounded by love pretty much my entire life; from my original family to my wife's family who fully adopted me into their circle.
To make it simple, "I ain't got much, but I have everything."

Bonsai has taught me, above anything else, to be patient, and also that there is a time for everything under the sun, something I've struggled with my whole life. I don't see myself as God, and I'm not a tree. But there are many concepts in bonsai that correlate.
For me anyway, a lot of the things we do to our trees represent things that happen in life.
A trial and struggle late in our youth, maybe a great loss is a broken branch that over time becomes beautifully rugged deadwood.
A betrayal that we suffer, a secret to a trusted friend revealed to all, in our vulnerability may be represented by neagari, our roots exposed for all the world to see. But with proper care, it can become a defining feature of the overall design.
A harsh season in life can cause dieback, even to the point that a complete redesign is the only option, has the potential to change a gorgeous upright tree into a fascinating cascade.
Were these the original plans? Nope. Nuh-uh. Not a chance. But sometimes, something wonderful comes from the hardest things we face. And if our roots, our base is strong, healthy, and anchored well into the foundation, we will survive these things to thrive, even if in a different way than we planned.

 

[Nera]

I am still new, but for me, it is similar to my roses - the love, caring for something else by looking after it and then watching it thrive, is the reward. So in bonsai, I have that same love, then with the work we put in, and waiting for the vision to start taking shape. I am enjoying the whole process.

As for Traditionalist and Naturalist, I feel I am somewhere in between. I do still love and appreciate traditional trees (so I feel there is definitely a place for this in my work), but I also like respecting the natural growth pattern of trees. Here in South Africa, we have a lot of tree species indigenous to us that we can use as bonsai, and then many go with the natural growth habit. I have seen that some people here abandon the "birds must be able to fly through the trees" concept with the local varieties, and for most of them I'm not totally enamoured with the look personally. The one indigenous tree I really love though is the Acacia, it just works perfectly for bonsai with how it grows naturally.

 

[Nera]

I am still new, but for me, it is similar to my roses - the love, caring for something else by looking after it and then watching it thrive, is the reward. So in bonsai, I have that same love, then with the work we put in, and waiting for the vision to start taking shape. I am enjoying the whole process.

As for Traditionalist and Naturalist, I feel I am somewhere in between. I do still love and appreciate traditional trees (so I feel there is definitely a place for this in my work), but I also like respecting the natural growth pattern of trees. Here in South Africa, we have a lot of tree species indigenous to us that we can use as bonsai, and then many go with the natural growth habit. I have seen that some people here abandon the "birds must be able to fly through the trees" concept with the local varieties, and for most of them I'm not totally enamoured with the look personally. The one indigenous tree I really love though is the Acacia, it just works perfectly for bonsai with how it grows naturally.

Correction, I am in between but I do think I am probably a bit more to the traditional side in my own work.

 

[Nera]

Nigel Saunders mentioned in one of his videos, how many Trident Maples are turned into trees with really massively thick trunks, and he said he felt it was "quite cartoonish" (too far removed from natural looking growth). For me, this is where I personally agree with him so I would stick to a slimmer look for that. However, it's really a personal choice for all bonsai enthusiasts, to each their own.

 

[Cajunrider]

My bonsai philosophy comes from age and scale of influence. When I was young, I planted trees on a large scale every where I could. I dreamed and tried to create lush green landscape. I literally have planted so so many trees from Asia to America.

Now that I am old, I am doing that to miniature trees in my backyard. Bonsai enables me to have hundreds of trees on just 1/4 acre - Bonus!

 

[NMbonsai]

Nigel Saunders mentioned in one of his videos, how many Trident Maples are turned into trees with really massively thick trunks, and he said he felt it was "quite cartoonish" (too far removed from natural looking growth). For me, this is where I personally agree with him so I would stick to a slimmer look for that. However, it's really a personal choice for all bonsai enthusiasts, to each their own.

I agree. For me, what looks really "cartoonish" and unrealistic are the so-called "Sumo style" black pines that seem to be the rage nowadays. Every Japanese black pine I haver ever seen, both in landscape plantings here and pictures from Japan, are tall and curving with more balanced proportions between the height, branches and trunk.

 

[Nera]

I agree. For me, what looks really "cartoonish" and unrealistic are the so-called "Sumo style" black pines that seem to be the rage nowadays. Every Japanese black pine I haver ever seen, both in landscape plantings here and pictures from Japan, are tall and curving with more balanced proportions between the height, branches and trunk.

Absolutely!

 

[Wulfskaar]

Non-Attachment is the best thing bonsai has taught me. We don’t actually own them and they will die just like us. They are in our care. We may have bought them. But they are truly a companion within my philosophy and practice.

They may be status symbols to some and that is sad. That usually means the person uses it to fill a missing part within themselves.

Having had no kids, they do kind of fill that missing part for me. I hope that my trees last beyond my own life. I do plan to plant a few I've grown from seed in the ground to be real trees that will grow for a long time. Whether they are large, normal trees or bonsai, I hope that long after I'm gone, birds might be born in those trees, or people sit under their shade, or my bonsai bring someone else as much enjoyment and peace as they bring me.

Just recently, I noticed birds sitting on branches of trees I grew from seed. It made me very happy.

 

[Paradox]

My philosophy about bonsai is pay attention to detail, get tree to live and be healthy in a pot and handle repotting, bonsai techniques which leads to creating a bonsai

 

[Nera]

Having had no kids, they do kind of fill that missing part for me. I hope that my trees last beyond my own life. I do plan to plant a few I've grown from seed in the ground to be real trees that will grow for a long time. Whether they are large, normal trees or bonsai, I hope that long after I'm gone, birds might be born in those trees, or people sit under their shade, or my bonsai bring someone else as much enjoyment and peace as they bring me.

Just recently, I noticed birds sitting on branches of trees I grew from seed. It made me very happy.

I chose not to have kids. My "children" are my Jack Russell, my bonsai and my roses, and I couldn't be happier.