How did you learn how to correctly practice bonsai?

[Deep Sea Diver]

But how do the dickens study?
I follow them but all they do is dickens around in the back yard. If that is the way then I am doing it right. I dicken around in the backyard, going from tree to tree until dark practically every day.

They are the next door neighbors. Fred and Wilma Dickens. They both study constantly.

Last week Fred memorized War and Peace, then came over to tell us the entire story word for word.

Wilma, not to be outdone, tried to do the same thing with the Brother Karamazov the next day, but we spotted her coming hid in the greenhouse one and discussed John Naka’s sketchbook.

cheers
DSD sends

 

[Cajunrider]

I have a headlamp and a few camping lights with my bonsai tools, so I don't have to worry about the dark stopping me from dicken around.

I would be lit up with skeeters if I do that here.

 

[rockm]

FWIW, there is no "correct" way to practice bonsai. There are ways that are effective and produce natural looking results. That can come from being taught "the rules" why they're important, how to use them and how to manipulate them. It can come from working alongside a more experienced bonsai person. It can come from looking at actual fine bonsai in person. Knowledge can come from a book, the Internet, a bonsai professional, or unpaid bonsai volunteer at a national collection. It can come from talking with bonsai folks, from importers, to growers to potters.

In short, the "correct" way is to soak up information and expertise where you find it. Being able to have a general idea of what is Bullshite (most of the "how to" stuff on the Internet falls into this category) and what is gold - most of the stuff you get from actual bonsai professionals with actual nurseries and/or a substantial investment in the profession, is precious, mostly accurate and mostly free of BS.

I learned from all those sources over decades. I'm certainly not an expert and my trees are certainly not on the same level as folks like BonsaiNut, Brian Van Fleet, and a long list of others, but I know what's what for the most part.

 

[electraus]

If practicing bonsai means playing with my trees, shaping them the way I want, and managing to still keep most of them alive is practicing bonsai correctly then yes I am.
Beyond that, I don't know what practicing bonsai correctly means.
I do know that my trees start to resemble, albeit just a tiny bit, the trees of the people that I admire in the past year or so.
I believe that I will need to attend some bonsai intensive courses to lift my skills to the next level. My trees are starting to gain in values both monetarily and emotionally since I've put so much time into them. I want to push them hard in the direction I like but I want to make sure they remain alive.

In the end, there is no better feeling for me than scratching my head looking at a tree for a long time, not knowing for sure what to do, then proceeding to make some bold moves to chop, split, prune, and then shape a tree, and then find the tree pleasing to my eyes.

That is precisely what I mean when I say “practice bonsai correctly.” Killing the trees isn’t as major of a problem for me anymore as much as shaping them in a way I want them to look. At this moment, the major issues I run into are very specific and I feel can only be taught by hands on practice (like forming a damn apex )

 

[electraus]

Thanks to everyone for replying and my apologies for not getting to everyone’s comments, as there are quite a lot and the number of responses to this thread became a bit overwhelming, but I gained a lot of insight and really enjoyed learning about everyone’s bonsai journey. My key takeaways from this are pretty much:

1. Join a club and find a mentor in that club
2. Enroll in an intensive series with a professional
3. Use this website as a resource
4. It’s normal that my learning has slowed down as I begin to transition into the early intermediate level
5. Maybe don’t buy John Naka’s book or Bonsai Today #1-#100 and put that money toward working with a professional instead.
6. Word my questions more carefully when I say something potentially controversial like “studying bonsai correctly”

Thanks again to everyone for sharing your journeys in studying bonsai and advising me on how to get unstuck in my own!

 

[Oz_Fox]

There are so many resources available! When I get hooked on a new hobby I usually dive into reading as much as I can, there is more bonsai content online to read than I could consume in a lifetime, maybe why I got hooked

Watch instructional videos from reputable practitioners or sign up for Bonsai Mirai, they have a huge backlog of videos almost every species you could think of, and live sessions every Tuesday you can ask questions. I’ve almost certainly learned more about bonsai from Ryan Neil than any other source.

Join a local club, nothing better than hands on guidance from locals who are familiar with local trees and wouldn’t be in the club if they didn’t love bonsai.

Practice, practice, practice on cheap trees so you’re not afraid to kill them before moving up to more expensive stuff. Learn from your mistakes!

Take advice from those with more experience, bonsai is slow, it may not seem apparent why the masters suggest certain things at certain times but they have worked these trees over years or decades!

 

[chicago1980]

Theory:
Books
Videos
Magazine
Visited gardens
Visiting nature
Online education (Mirai/YouTube/bonsai U)

Practical:
Local garden weekly classes
6 to 8 week classes with instructor
Multiple day workshops
1 on 1s
biannual intensive study


Its all cumulative over time.

I am not sure correctly is what I have learned, definitely approaches and techniques.

 

[shohin_branches]

I started with a book on bonsai and because it was still winter I read that book cover to cover multiple times.
I joined my local bonsai club. Took the novice class which is a four part into to bonsai course. It teaches you all the basics. Then I kept saving up money for workshops and classes. I worked as a janitor during high school and helped some members of my bonsai club with yardwork. I taught my first private class at 15 and I think I would charge $30 to help people repot trees. I bought more books attended every club event attended some classes.

Then our club decided to do a master level series with Ted Matson. I couldn't afford it but one of my friends that I took the novice class with had to have shoulder surgery so I got to step in and be her hands for a year of the master series. She made the decisions with Ted's help and I executed them with his guidence. It was an amazing opportunity.

When our club hosted MABA I was on the planning committee and I volunteered around all of the workshops helping artists bring in material. We had an under 18 registration price that was a little lower so I could afford to go as a little broke kid. I also worked at a garden center during the summer and took home a ton of garbage pile shrubs to work on.

My bonsai club is an amazing resource!

Now as an adult I work with my mentor (when I have time) and I volunteer at the local collection which consists of a lot of my mentor's trees. Our curator tells me what to do, gives me a little instruction to make sure I'm doing it the way she wants and then leaves me to it while I work and talk to people about bonsai.

I'm also in a bonsai study group that hangs out a few times a year and just shoots the shit while we work on trees.

I wish I could do more, but I work a demanding job with long hours.

 

[Shogun610]

I’m 7 miles from a professional and I’ve been working for nothing except knowledge , experience and opportunity on weekends and occasional week night for past 3 years. Starting merely with sweeping the studio ,weeding , then unwiring stuff up through now I’m trusted with client trees. Learned from other professionals my teacher works with when they are collaborating etc. Also watched the shit out of any YouTube video and read books / magazines, learn from this forum , and also made some bonsai friends to bounce ideas off of/ collect with etc.