Anonymous User
Banned
Learning from a Waste of Time.
Awhile back I was given a tree by an owner of a local bonsai shop and challenged to do something with it. It was a three branched wonder right from the get go, the only real thing I could think of doing with it at the time was to use it for firewood. But a gift is a gift and a challenge is a challenge, so I did what any aspiring bonsaist would do, I sat it on the back bench and promptly forgot about it.
Some time went by and I dug it out, chopped off two of the three branches that had died, pruned the hell out of the remaining branch, hoping for some back-budding, which never came. I looked at the tree again....the nebari wasn’t bad, one high root that would have to be covered, removed, or camouflaged, but other than that it had a nice spread that would have been decent on any other tree. The jins from the lost branches were at differing angles and impossible to fix now. The trunk stopped tapering about half way up the tree, and the single living branch was too small to really do much with.
Yet, this time I seen something in it, not a great bonsai, but an idea, maybe I could make something at least presentable out of it....even if not, I just had to explore the thoughts I had.
That same week I displayed a few bonsai at a local church for Good Friday and on a whim, I took along this tree just to see it in a different environment. The uninitiated viewers at the church commented more on this tree than any others there, this surprised me because the tree was obviously raw, unbalanced, and unrefined, but the uneducated loved it and many said how they could meditate on this tree for hours.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just my imagination?
I posted the pictures of the church display on-line after the display at the church, where, as fully expected, this tree was rudely jumped all over it like it was the last marshmallow at a weight watchers campfire by a couple people. Most reviews were unfavorable, but the majority were less personal, such as Harry Greer’s comment, “I gotta tell you the truth man, that third tree on the right is never going to make it, ever.” http://bonsainut.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23561&postcount=34 Even some of my friends asked me if I was joking, I wasn’t, I w as fishing. (And they were biting.)
Never one to be overly concerned with public opinion, or one to be easily discouraged, I sat the tree back on the back bench and fed the hell out of it, hoping for some back-budding, none came. However, the single branch elongated, ramified, and thickened slightly.
During this time, I was researching an article and was verifying some information in John Naka’s books when I ran across some interesting images that made me remember the “something” I had seen in this tree. Now inspired, I trimmed it, wired it, and let it be until yesterday. Now with only a guy wire on it, the possibilities I once saw are beginning to show.
Image from “Bonsai Techniques I” by John Naka
Page 129
Image from “Bonsai Techniques I” by John Naka
Page 130
Image from “Bonsai Techniques II” by John Naka
Page 216
Updated pictures to follow......
what would you have done?
Save the toss it in the trash or put it in the ground comments, no cop outs here, what would you do if challenged to make something out of this tree, as you see it?)
.
.
.
Awhile back I was given a tree by an owner of a local bonsai shop and challenged to do something with it. It was a three branched wonder right from the get go, the only real thing I could think of doing with it at the time was to use it for firewood. But a gift is a gift and a challenge is a challenge, so I did what any aspiring bonsaist would do, I sat it on the back bench and promptly forgot about it.
Some time went by and I dug it out, chopped off two of the three branches that had died, pruned the hell out of the remaining branch, hoping for some back-budding, which never came. I looked at the tree again....the nebari wasn’t bad, one high root that would have to be covered, removed, or camouflaged, but other than that it had a nice spread that would have been decent on any other tree. The jins from the lost branches were at differing angles and impossible to fix now. The trunk stopped tapering about half way up the tree, and the single living branch was too small to really do much with.
Yet, this time I seen something in it, not a great bonsai, but an idea, maybe I could make something at least presentable out of it....even if not, I just had to explore the thoughts I had.
That same week I displayed a few bonsai at a local church for Good Friday and on a whim, I took along this tree just to see it in a different environment. The uninitiated viewers at the church commented more on this tree than any others there, this surprised me because the tree was obviously raw, unbalanced, and unrefined, but the uneducated loved it and many said how they could meditate on this tree for hours.
Okay, so maybe it wasn’t just my imagination?
I posted the pictures of the church display on-line after the display at the church, where, as fully expected, this tree was rudely jumped all over it like it was the last marshmallow at a weight watchers campfire by a couple people. Most reviews were unfavorable, but the majority were less personal, such as Harry Greer’s comment, “I gotta tell you the truth man, that third tree on the right is never going to make it, ever.” http://bonsainut.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23561&postcount=34 Even some of my friends asked me if I was joking, I wasn’t, I w as fishing. (And they were biting.)
Never one to be overly concerned with public opinion, or one to be easily discouraged, I sat the tree back on the back bench and fed the hell out of it, hoping for some back-budding, none came. However, the single branch elongated, ramified, and thickened slightly.
During this time, I was researching an article and was verifying some information in John Naka’s books when I ran across some interesting images that made me remember the “something” I had seen in this tree. Now inspired, I trimmed it, wired it, and let it be until yesterday. Now with only a guy wire on it, the possibilities I once saw are beginning to show.
Image from “Bonsai Techniques I” by John Naka
Page 129
Image from “Bonsai Techniques I” by John Naka
Page 130
Image from “Bonsai Techniques II” by John Naka
Page 216
Updated pictures to follow......
what would you have done?
Save the toss it in the trash or put it in the ground comments, no cop outs here, what would you do if challenged to make something out of this tree, as you see it?)
.
.
.
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