Um, well, yeah, artists should create art, but artists have to eat. You'd have to sell a dozen $5 grand trees every year to keep your head above water in some metro areas, maybe seven elsewhere. but once you've sold those trees, buyers for them are even more scarce, unless you have a "patron" who's got deep pockets. As for Mirai, it's kind of unique. Location has a lot to do with it, I'd bet so does tech market money...
I'm something of an astronomy fan. If I went to a Stephen Hawking lecture, I'd hope he wouldn't be talking the same astrophysics and string theory he talks with colleagues about the entire time. I'd expect some stuff I could understand. His explanation of what the Milky Way is would probably be fascinating, because it wouldn't be the same stuff in the textbooks, I'd bet. Same for bonsai artists.
I understand the grind bonsai artists go through. It ain't pretty. More of them are settling down with their own studios, these days...That, however, is a direct result of their travelling. They haven't just nailed their sign to a post and thrown open their doors. They've developed their own markets and clients grinding out the miles on the road and at club meetings.
