Guidelines for selecting appropriate display stand

[Adair M]

Last fall I had a standard sized tokonoma built into my living room. It's helped me grasp the concepts of proportion, color,design and white space. I prefer this type of display as opposed to those at most bonsai shows, where the trees are too crowded and even the best display can easily be overlooked. my point, besides reading...doing,practice,where you can see cause and affect.
The book I would recommend is David De Groot's principles of bonsai design...recently released...and covers many such topics well.

What the toko has caused me to delve into is, understanding japanese cultural things so i can begin to understand the refinements to toko display. Once grased, I've begun to translate them into amricn mindsets so visitors can begin to grasp what is deing said. I'm also in the process of acquiring more american trees to use for display. For example, here in the pacific Northwest
native americans have a deep reverence for yellow cedar. Their homes, baskets etc were made from this tree and makes for an interesting display.

I have more scrolls and tables then I have room to store them, yet in many circumstances I'd wish i had something in a different topic, size,width,color etc

It's been a fun journey, And like the japanese i try and make improvements daily.....

One last point.....is what I've learned being an apprentice to a japanese teacher. In both japanese garden design and Koi. The power of observation. Americans i think want things handed to them. apprentices with japanese trachers are expected to get things themselves by watching, seeing ...etc ( example: where i volunteer at the bonsai museum, many expect the curator to teach them how to wire. In Japan your given a pair of wire clippers and a tree with wire biting in that the master had wired. An american would be insulted to do such meanial work, japanese would be honored and would really study how the master's wiring was done. Go to as many bonsai shows as you can and see what they did that worked for that display. Observe.....hopefully you can find another to accompany you
to bounce things off of and get another way of looking at things.....In Zen thought, things are always changing, as sudents of japanese hobbies, culture, we should be open to the concept.

apologise for the long ramble, hopefully someone might pick up something helpful.

Dick, your comments on learning how to wire are right on. At my first Intensive, I was told to remove the wire off a large JBP. Before learning TO wire. As it happens, the tree had been previously wired by Peter Tea. Peter's wiring was done very well, by the tree had outgrown it. I did not, at that time, get to put wire on that tree. I worked on another tree. I wired one branch. Boon reviewed my work. It was "not bad", but not "good enough". Boon made me take it off and do it again. This time it was "better" but not "professional work". Took it off again. Put wire on a THIRD time. Boon reviewed it. This this time I got a grunt of "acceptance", and he said "Ok, do next branch. ". Mind you, I had been doing bonsai for 35 years at that time, and going in I thought I knew how to wire!

Sorry for the off-topic ramble.

Meanwhile, I'm looking for a nice stand. My old stand I've used for 40 years is ok for local shows, but it's time for a quality one.

 

[kakejiku]

I have refrained from writing on this post, but it keeps popping up to me, so I thought I would give my 2 cents. Everything has been very generic as far as answers are concerned, and yes everyone has their own opinions. However, if I knew the specific tree and styling you were aiming to obtain your shoku for it would be a lot easier for me to provide a suggestion. From the display style I have studied, called Gaddou, first defining the tree species and the styling of the tree is critical to deciding on each display component thereafter...
Can you share that info, and I may be able to share some ideas that I feel would work with Gaddou.

I will give you an example about the display for the USNBE. The tree that won best in show, I designed the entire display outline separate from the tree owner. I suggested he use a shoku similar to the one pictured here.

This one was used to increase the height and provide imagery of the shohin being on a cliff....I used the same concepts to accentuate the flow of the branching for his tree. He had already purchased this type of stand for the USNBE. I think it worked well for him....

 

[DougB]

Rule #1 is there are no rules. Just go with what looks and feels right to you!

Case closed.

 

[kakejiku]

OP, if you want to PM me, I will be glad to share the section on stands that I have translated so that you can learn about that aspect of display...Or you could ask Dick Benbow who replied to this thread, and he can share the information that I have shared with him. I think it would answer at least some of the questions you originally asked.

 

[dick benbow]

coupla thoughts, WOW, Adair... I love the age of your display table. nothing looks worse than seeing a fairly old, refined bonsai on a new table. When I first got excited aout toko display, I had numerous tables built. They looked out of sinc with my older bonsai.

Maples-san (Kakejiku) I am and have been eternally grateful for your generous sharing of your knowledge. It has helped me so much in my journey of learning.

Doug B, What I have found in my journey, is that there are rules. And depending on who your instruction comes from, you may find that respected teachers have variances on numerous points. So I can understand where your comment comes from about doing what feels right to you. But for me, I have found that if I know the rules, I can use my own personal gifts as to when to chose to break them. Bonsai is art, and the ART of display is tover history it has been and will always be something challenged and reinterpreted. But without reinventing history, it's good to be a student of its evolution and change.

 

[jk_lewis]

Rule #1 is there are no rules. Just go with what looks and feels right to you!

Case closed.

That works for private viewing and maybe at an informal show, but for more serious settings, there tend to BE rules. It's called "tradition."

 

[Smoke]

". Mind you, I had been doing bonsai for 35 years at that time, and going in I thought I knew how to wire!

You "did" know how to wire, just not to someone elses acceptance. You paid lots of money for that so you felt the need to do it "his" way or why pay for the grief of removing wire two times?

even this will position branches.

 

[Adair M]

You "did" know how to wire, just not to someone elses acceptance. You paid lots of money for that so you felt the need to do it "his" way or why pay for the grief of removing wire two times?

even this will position branches.

I can say that my wiring is much better now that it was before attending the Intensives. Most conifers will have wire on them for their entire lives as bonsai. Even at the shows, as you know. A good wire job will have the minimum amount of wire necessary to do the job. And it should not be intrusive.

You take great pains to make perfectly mitred corners in your woodwork, don't you? Don't properly executed corners and joints look better than sloppy work with gaps, or mismatched corners and screws, nails, and excess glue showing oozing from the joints?

Same with wiring.

 

[Smoke]

I can say that my wiring is much better now that it was before attending the Intensives. Most conifers will have wire on them for their entire lives as bonsai. Even at the shows, as you know. A good wire job will have the minimum amount of wire necessary to do the job. And it should not be intrusive.

You take great pains to make perfectly mitred corners in your woodwork, don't you? Don't properly executed corners and joints look better than sloppy work with gaps, or mismatched corners and screws, nails, and excess glue showing oozing from the joints?

Same with wiring.

Terrible analogy because what I do is finished work. Wire for the most part is a training tool and the look of the wire and how its applied has nothing to do with its performance as a tool for getting a branch to stay in a certain spot. there is a difference between decent wire job and sloppy wire. The picture I posted is a decent wire job and perfectly acceptable to get the job done. Wire does not have to be applied to Kokufu standards to hold a branch in place.

Look I get it, you want good wire job, paid lots of money to do it over and over again to meet someone elses level but don't make it sound like if you don't do it a certain way it won't work. Thats just plain BS. Like the stands I build, if I were going to place a tree on it, I would want the wire to be as neat as possible, thats just common sense but wire for training does not have to be perfect.

 

[Adair M]

Terrible analogy because what I do is finished work. Wire for the most part is a training tool and the look of the wire and how its applied has nothing to do with its performance as a tool for getting a branch to stay in a certain spot. there is a difference between decent wire job and sloppy wire. The picture I posted is a decent wire job and perfectly acceptable to get the job done. Wire does not have to be applied to Kokufu standards to hold a branch in place.

Look I get it, you want good wire job, paid lots of money to do it over and over again to meet someone elses level but don't make it sound like if you don't do it a certain way it won't work. Thats just plain BS. Like the stands I build, if I were going to place a tree on it, I would want the wire to be as neat as possible, thats just common sense but wire for training does not have to be perfect.

That's true, Smoke, wire does not have to be perfect to work. There are times poorly placed wire won't work if it's not properly anchored.

And, yes, the artistry of the wire doesn't matter in the early training stages.

I went to Boon's to learn how to take my trees to "the next level". I never had trees as refined as the ones in Boon's garden. In fact, I had never seen any in person that highly refined. I had seen pictures, but I didn't know how to take that next step.

Most conifers are shown with wire. Deciduous, not so much. I primarily work with pines, and pines pretty much will require wire at all times. Sure, after a while the primary and maybe even secondary branches will be set, but all the little twigs will need wire.

The tree you posted does have a decent wire job. It was wired with aluminum, which means the wire is thicker than copper would be. Several branches have double strands of wire. I don't know if the wire was doubled because one wire wasn't strong enough, or whether that's part of the anchor for the wire. It appears this tree is in training and not yet ready to show, but if were to be shown, I think the tree looks like it has too much wire on it.

Wire is both a training tool, and a refinement tool.

Anyway, have a Happy New Year! And I hope to see you and your lovely wife at BIB because that means she's not having to undergo any cancer treatment. All the best to you!

 

[Smoke]

That's true, Smoke, wire does not have to be perfect to work. There are times poorly placed wire won't work if it's not properly anchored.

And, yes, the artistry of the wire doesn't matter in the early training stages.

I went to Boon's to learn how to take my trees to "the next level". I never had trees as refined as the ones in Boon's garden. In fact, I had never seen any in person that highly refined. I had seen pictures, but I didn't know how to take that next step.

Most conifers are shown with wire. Deciduous, not so much. I primarily work with pines, and pines pretty much will require wire at all times. Sure, after a while the primary and maybe even secondary branches will be set, but all the little twigs will need wire.

The tree you posted does have a decent wire job. It was wired with aluminum, which means the wire is thicker than copper would be. Several branches have double strands of wire. I don't know if the wire was doubled because one wire wasn't strong enough, or whether that's part of the anchor for the wire. It appears this tree is in training and not yet ready to show, but if were to be shown, I think the tree looks like it has too much wire on it.

Wire is both a training tool, and a refinement tool.

Anyway, have a Happy New Year! And I hope to see you and your lovely wife at BIB because that means she's not having to undergo any cancer treatment. All the best to you!

I agree, but keep in mind that not everyone can afford copper, not everyone has access to copper and so on. See my new thread, we should try to refrain from etching so much of this in stone, that's my thoughts.

 

[Adair M]

Copper is more expensive than aluminum. Sometimes only one strand of cooper can hold better than two strands of aluminum. That increases the cost of aluminum.

And copper IS reusable if it's unwound rather than cut off. And I'll add something else on your Tips thread.

 

[DougB]

That works for private viewing and maybe at an informal show, but for more serious settings, there tend to BE rules. It's called "tradition."

Only if you want to please the judges.

 

[jk_lewis]

Only if you want to please the judges.

Last I heard, that was/is the goal for juried shows. Otherwise, just stand by your tree and fart each time they pass by.

 

[kakejiku]

Only if you want to please the judges.

I was wondering if your tagline at the bottom was 余白の美　四拍の微(This is a joke one by the way...but still feasible)　余白の微 or if a more accurate translation would be 間の美しさ
There are many nuances lost in translation. For example, you use yohaku for empty space, but yohaku only peripherally means empty space. It is more accurately used for the margin area on paper.
If your true intent was a literal meaning of empty space, then Ma would in most instances be a more appropriate word.

When you are displaying your bonsai, you are also communicating to others, but when you do it your "own" way, the audience may not be speaking your language or understand your intention....
That may be why it is important to first understand the rules so you can communicate effectively and people do not misunderstand your message.

 

[DougB]

Thanks kakejiku. Correction appreciated.

I often see the "peoples choice" awards go to a tree that the judges did not even look at. An then I wonder -- who is the tree really communicating with?