You're right, Stacy. All of it. Which is why I think this whole "American Bonsai" movement is horse droppings!
I said I thought your display is beautiful. Very well done. But, it's all about the display. The tree is pretty much lost in it.
I don't think that's what we want to to with "American bonsai".
First off, to be "American", I think you need to be using species of trees native to America. Not a Fukian Tea or a Ficus.
As to using cultural influences, none of us are orininally from here except the Native Americans, who themselves were migrants from Asia. So, should our "scrolls" instead be Apache blankets? Our accents be made of turquoise and silver?
No, truely, I think the whole movement is a crock. Effort is spent on defending it when the effort should be placed to trying to advance our native trees to the level that the Japanese have advanced their trees. THAT's what American Bonsai should be focusing on. Not how to display them. How to develop and refine them.
Most of the trees at the Artisan's Cup are still unrefined. Great trees, yes. But still unrefined. Unless, unrefined is "American Bonsai"!
I still think it's a tempest in a teapot!
I also, forgot to mention, that I as an American doing Bonsai, am also questioning (not necessarily intentionally, seeing my main goal was to just create a nice display), the role in which the tree has to be the focal point... can it exist in an environment, seeing that in nature, trees don't actually exist in a vacuum... but coincide with other objects in their environment. For instance like the sky, perhaps mountains behind, birds flying by etc.
All of which has been done for years in traditional display of the Japanese... Seeing that they use scrolls to often depict these kind of things, as well as accent plants... And let's not obviously forget landscape plantings on slabs or rock plantings, that originate mostly from penjing.
So, how much is too much, that it takes away from the tree? For some... obviously they probably would agree with the traditional Japanese logic, that it is as you say... all about the trees... The Chinese for centuries, have been making it all about the environment in which the trees exist, as well as the trees. As an American, I believe we can explore more of this, and branch out, which is why my display is what it is.
In a photo, obviously one gets a very narrow view of what actually is happening. You are not able to walk around the tree and the display, and therefore are not able to comprehend how the tree interacts with it's environment. With that said... in this day in age and our common way of life, I think our brains are more than able to comprehend more than one thing at a time, and easily come to terms with the notion that it is all about the trees... especially seeing that the sign leading into the Exhibit, says usually "Bonsai"... so, it really should come to no shock, what folks will be looking at when they enter the room... With that said, you and others will be able to get a chance to see the Fuikien Tea and it's display first hand, seeing I have just been informed that it will now be included in the US National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester.
As far as the "American Bonsai" movement and your disregard towards it... cheer up! I am one of the folks that believe American Bonsai should be what it wants to be! I am not the one telling folks what they can and cannot do... I didn't hold a convention trying to define it, have a panel of judges that consisted of only 2 Americans tell what our scene should look like, and show only a small percentage of what Americans actually work on... I think if a person wants to be able to use a scroll, than this is no more or less un-American Bonsai, than Bonsai itself. I also, you will recall, am not the one saying my display is not American... So, you and your view that American Bonsai should be all about being Japanese... would always be safe with me! Which would be the point I have been arguing since the beginning, that "American Bonsai", can be what it wants to be...
