Bad Material + Bonsai Master = Bad Material

[monza]

It all depends on how much your time is worth. Nothing wrong with a project tree. I do believe though, time is the one variable we all take for granted the first ten or more years we are in this hobby and then we realize that time is the most important asset we have. So, if you are immortal, please disregard this thread.

Kind regards,
Darth

A radical change? Must be Sith mind trick.

"Nothing wrong with a project tree."

 

[Poink88]

It all depends on how much your time is worth. Nothing wrong with a project tree. I do believe though, time is the one variable we all take for granted the first ten or more years we are in this hobby and then we realize that time is the most important asset we have. So, if you are immortal, please disregard this thread.

Time passes whether you like it or not. I am one who want to get bonsai as fast as possible but fast is relative.

Bonsai is just a part of our lives and we do it to fill some void. I agree about time being the most important asset, actually this is the reason why I have more trees than most say I should. I use time to develop them. Doesn't cost me extra (maybe water but I enjoy them all). My limiting factor is my space but as long as I can find a space for a tree...I'll fill it. I know I will eventually thin it down because they will all grow higher and wider but hopefully, I will get some equity out of some of them then. Also learn along the way.

So you see...I am not wasting anything.

 

[Poink88]

Darth,

If you would...please refer to this thread so you'll know more about my stance. We know we disagree on some issues but most are actually in line with yours (believe it or not).

http://bonsainut.com/forums/showthread.php?10289-General-bonsai-related-ramblings

 

[dick benbow]

what I've always enjoyed are comments coming from the fact that the quest artists have such marvelous material to work with.if we had stuff that good we'd be able to produce like results.

I don't agree with that one. Atleast speaking honestly about my own skills but I do agree that working with good material helps me to produce something I'm happy with.

I know at our club's last hosting of the regional convention, the #1 priority was to obtain fabulous material for the workshops.

 

[fourteener]

what I've always enjoyed are comments coming from the fact that the quest artists have such marvelous material to work with.if we had stuff that good we'd be able to produce like results.

I don't agree with that one. Atleast speaking honestly about my own skills but I do agree that working with good material helps me to produce something I'm happy with.

I know at our club's last hosting of the regional convention, the #1 priority was to obtain fabulous material for the workshops.

So I think the last statement speaks best to this issue. You didn't seek out below average stuff, you wanted fabulous stuff.

I think there is an epidemic of inability to rate the value of stuff in our society. Some stuff is better than others. When the hoarder stuff a 55 gallon garbage can with trash, newspapers, jewelry, bonsai pots etc... it means there is no ability to value what is most valuable. This problem creeps into all parts of our life. Some bonsai material has more value than others, that's just the way it is. If it takes 40 years to get something to have a glimmer of hope, my guess is that the actual good stuff has added to it's greatness exponentially.

Who of us hasn't watched someone speak of their favorite tree and wanted us to help it. All the while we know this tree has so many issues, why bother! How many times has a master been at a workshop and been uninspired by some trees that were brought to work on. They won't say much because they are professionals, but they know what is great and what isn't.

How many spectacular trees are there in nature. Most are just ho-hum trees of the field. But some are amazing, inspiring. We take photos of them, at least in our head, because if we could make one of our trees look like that, we know it would be special. We do have the ability to evaluate, we should use it more.

The capacity to recognize true greatness is as much part of bonsai as all the other training.

 

[Vance Wood]

what I've always enjoyed are comments coming from the fact that the quest artists have such marvelous material to work with.if we had stuff that good we'd be able to produce like results.

I don't agree with that one. Atleast speaking honestly about my own skills but I do agree that working with good material helps me to produce something I'm happy with.

I know at our club's last hosting of the regional convention, the #1 priority was to obtain fabulous material for the workshops.

I have to agree, good material (what ever that is) increases the likelihood of producing a good bonsai in most hands and great bonsai in the hands of a master. The problem I have encountered is that often the ones sent out to obtain good material don't themselves have a concept of what good material might be. I think, in reference to the earlier post where it was said their club spent a couple of years searching for the right stuff a year or two in advance of scheduling a master's visit is the best option to this conundrum.

On the West Coast this is a far simpler affair than in the Mid West mostly due to the availability of natural material gathered by professionals that know what they are looking for and how to gather it. I understand that Walter Pall has his own private stash around the country for times when he is in need of good material but this can't be cheap and it shouldn't be.