[IBC] Funny Question
Ron Martin
Why do I always pick a tree that has a lot of potential for my demo? My answer to him was why would anyone pick a tree with no potential to do a bonsai with. Especially if one was doing the tree in public !
A demo is not a contest where one does not get the pick of the litter.
I know that people like Walter Paul , Colin Lewis etc. can take anything and turn it into a thing of beauty. I have seen them do it and am amazed at their skills.
Me I am just a guy from South Carolina. Modest skills are all I have. I need all the help I can get.
It got me to thinking though. When a club has a "artist" in what do they want to see.
Do they want to be dazzled by the transformation of a "sows ear" or do they want to learn techniques. How do they select the tree the "artist" is going to work on.
Lots of questions I could ask. Anyone got any answers ;o)
Ron Martin
Summerville SC
Zone 8
"All knowledge is plagiarism. Only stupidity is original"
********************************************************************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Iris Cohen++++
********************************************************************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-...@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++
Alan Walker
If we don't have access to anything very good at the time, we will often ask the guest artist to bring his or her own material, so that we won't have the embarrassment of providing inadequate bonsai material.
I have seen the opposite approach used to good advantage as well. I recall one demo a couple or three years ago in which Guy Guidry purposefully used an ordinary dog of a Japanese black pine full of
"problems" and showed us how he could make a decent start of a bonsai with it. There was much to be learned with such an approach, as we all have faced these problems. Guy noted that this is a common problem
in the nursery business. Obviously you don't always get great stock material, but once you have it, you need to transform it to make it marketable as bonsai. (Well, maybe not for the mallsai business, but
this is so for legitimate bonsai businesses.)
Alan Walker, Lake Charles, LA, USA
http://LCBSBonsai.org http://bonsai-bci.com
===============================
Ron Martin wrote:
I just got of the phone with a gentleman that has attended a few of my bonsai demonstrations. After all the pleasantries were over he posed a question that got me to chuckling.
Why do I always pick a tree that has a lot of potential for my demo? My answer to him was why would anyone pick a tree with no potential to do a bonsai with. Especially if one was doing the tree in public !
A demo is not a contest where one does not get the pick of the litter.
I know that people like Walter Paul , Colin Lewis etc. can take anything and turn it into a thing of beauty. I have seen them do it and am amazed at their skills.
Me I am just a guy from South Carolina. Modest skills are all I have. I need all the help I can get.
It got me to thinking though. When a club has a "artist" in what do they want to see.
Do they want to be dazzled by the transformation of a "sows ear" or do they want to learn techniques. How do they select the tree the "artist" is going to work on.
Lots of questions I could ask. Anyone got any answers ;o)
Ron Martin
Summerville SC
********************************************************************************
Henrik Gistvall
>
> Ron: I agree that I usually want to see work done on the best material possible. Hopefully, that is what I want in my own collection. At my club we always try to come up with really good material for demos.
> If we don't have access to anything very good at the time, we will often ask the guest artist to bring his or her own material, so that we won't have the embarrassment of providing inadequate bonsai material.
> I have seen the opposite approach used to good advantage as well. I recall one demo a couple or three years ago in which Guy Guidry purposefully used an ordinary dog of a Japanese black pine full of
> "problems" and showed us how he could make a decent start of a bonsai with it. There was much to be learned with such an approach, as we all have faced these problems.
I agree but it always has to be up to the artist. I had an similar
expeience at a demonstration in Denmark where Tony Tickle, Mike
sullivan, Terry Foster, Hans van Meer and Carlos van den Vaart (phew).
They all vere faced with very difficult material but managed to
transform them in to very good bonsai, demonstrating interesting
techniques and good tips. Some can handle such a situation and some
can´t. Most important is that the artist knows what is expected from him
and what material he has to work with. Like Alan said its better the
artist brings his own material instead of complaining. It can also be
the case the artist makes special demands, for example the tree must be
raffled after the demo. This artist will probably not get the best
yamadori tree.
I for one think that most artist think they have to make a finished
bonsai. IMHO this is not true. Maybe if the audience is most beginners
or people with no knowledge in bonsai but for experienced growers, no.
Once again who is willing to lend a vey good yamadori tree if the artist
is going to work to hard on it and risk its health. I rather see more
interesting techniques and this goes for workshops as well. I know how
to wire a tree and bend the branches in to the right position, and can
do that on my own. This dosen´t mean you should use a poor material but
that a finished bonsai is not necessary for it to be a good
demonstration. Of course there are cases where a finished styling is a
better option, but thats probably for a prepared tree, or in workshop
where the material is very difficult and you need to know how to style
it.
Henrik Gistvall, Uppsala, Sweden
Ron Martin
possible. Hopefully, that is what I want in my own collection. At my club
we always try to come up with really good material for demos.
> If we don't have access to anything very good at the time, we will often
ask the guest artist to bring his or her own material, so that we won't have
the embarrassment of providing inadequate bonsai material.
> I have seen the opposite approach used to good advantage as well.
I recall one demo a couple or three years ago in which Guy Guidry
purposefully used an ordinary dog of a Japanese black pine full of
> "problems" and showed us how he could make a decent start of a bonsai with
it. There was much to be learned with such an approach, as we all have
faced these problems. Guy noted that this is a common problem
> in the nursery business. Obviously you don't always get great stock
material, but once you have it, you need to transform it to make it
marketable as bonsai. (Well, maybe not for the mallsai business, but
> this is so for legitimate bonsai businesses.)
> Alan Walker, Lake Charles, LA, USA
> http://LCBSBonsai.org http://bonsai-bci.com
> ===============================
Alan
Both types of demos have merit. Both can be very educational. I just wish my
skills were good enough to do both.
Guess I should do what I do best (?) . Take something with potential and
show the basics of how to do it. Leave the art work to those better
qualified.
Ron Martin
Summerville SC
Zone 8
"All knowledge is plagiarism. Only stupidity is original"
********************************************************************************
Billy M. Rhodes
<< When a club has a "artist" in what do they want to see.
Do they want to be dazzled by the transformation of a "sows ear" or do they
want to learn techniques? How do they select the tree the "artist" is going
to work on. >>
I have never been involved in selecting material for our club's visiting
artists. However, I do know that the material usually comes from Jim Smith's
place, so I think we start out ahead of the general nursery stock.
When I attend a demo I want to learn something. I usually do.
Billy on the Florida Space Coast
Ron Martin
Guess the best thing is for the speaker to communicate with the club an find
out exactly what they want.
Ron Martin
Summerville SC
Zone 8
"All knowledge is plagiarism. Only stupidity is original"
********************************************************************************
Ron Martin
chutzpah
> than I have to attempt to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear in front of
a
> crowd.
But down in the trenches us low lives (pad pun) do help to motivate an
audience for the big guys. Basics are important. Let the talented teach the
ART.
Alan Walker
than I have to attempt to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear in front of a
crowd.
********************************************************************************
Ron Martin
> I have never been involved in selecting material for our club's visiting
> artists. However, I do know that the material usually comes from Jim
Smith's
> place, so I think we start out ahead of the general nursery stock.
> When I attend a demo I want to learn something. I usually do.
>
> Billy on the Florida Space Coast
>
Smith's place is one of them. Others are Jim Moody's nursery (Jupiter
Bonsai). Miami Tropical also is a good place. Good tropical trees are not
all that hard to find.
Good temperate trees on the other hand are a bit different. A bit harder to
find. A lot of nurseries say they have good "demo" trees but I have yet to
find them. Mostly I am stuck with growing my own.
Ron Martin
Summerville SC
Zone 8
"All knowledge is plagiarism. Only stupidity is original"
********************************************************************************