do you really believe in yourself? Can you work on a really good piece of material without suffering the doubt that you can do it right. I think it is time all of you become all you can be.
I can't speak for others, but I've observed 2 things to this point.
1. In my experience personally working with Michael Hagedorn & Boon, they don't just show you how to make better bonsai, they TEACH you. In a weekend with Michael or Boon I work on 2-4 trees, and then I take that knowledge that I've learned and apply it to the rest of my collection. They never do something without explaining why they did it, and so over time you begin to think like them. The more you are around them, the more you learn to approach a tree like they would when you're on your own. In other words, they teach us to fish rather than just giving us fish.
2. In my experience observing other students of Boon and Michael, they are more confident in their bonsai skills than any other bonsai enthusiasts I know. Most students of Boon that I know teach others, look at John Kirby, Eric Schrader, The Smiths, etc. etc. etc. It's because they've been properly taught how to do bonsai, they've mastered the basic techniques as taught by an experienced professional. Sometimes we have in our heads that bonsai is all about the artistry of fancy techniques, but in Post-Dated Michael writes that:
“The practice of bonsai is not the accumulation and mastery of fancy difficult techniques- which are used infrequently at most- but proper application of basic care like watering and fertilizing, the timing of shoot pruning, and training our eyes to see balance and beauty, which are used for every bonsai.”
Boon and Michael have from day one taught me the mastery of basic techniques and to see and create balance and beauty in the material I'm working on. There are some clients of them that don't do any work on their trees, but from my experience the majority of Boon and Michael students do, and their trees prove that!
Andrew
