Is Bonsai Mirai Live Worth $300/year?

Anthony

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A tip from a painter ---------

If you can learn to write with a pen / pencil, you can draw.

If you can draw, the mind can be trained to retain visual information,
not details, but large shapes ----- masses.

If you sit and draw a tree or pieces of a tree.
Sit 3 days to a week later and re-draw what you drew previously.
See what you retained in memory.

If you can master these simple exercises, then you can create your own trees.
Placing into them what you believe to be the most important features,
be it branches, leaf mass or trunk or roots or ....................

You will derive much from the ability to draw.
It also shows how to wire, chew on it.....................................
Good Day
Anthony

Here is an image built from drawn observation of Pine trees.
Hope to have in say 10 years.

pinus.jpeg
 

BobbyLane

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Is this the "Hardening Deadwood" video?

I did a YouTube video back in May where I did an extensive amount of carving. Lime sulfur just doesn't do enough to protect that much wood. Thanks to @BonsaiMobius for their post in April, here on Bonsai Nut, I got Smith's CPES. I'm ready to use it, but I don't know precisely how. I only have a general idea.

How extensive is the Bonsai Mirai video? The description of it states:
"Watch Troy walk us through the process of hardening deadwood with Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer™ (CPES), a technique he brought to Mirai through his expertise in boat restoration. Through this application you can prevent and preserve rotting deadwood from further decay."
Is the video informative enough to count as a complete lesson in how to use CPES on bonsai?

Think thats tier 3 which i dont have access too. no this one is more about creating and manipulating wood/deadwood to create interesting external shapes/lines, to mimic how they would appear in nature. how to create deadwood in line with the natural grain, how to use the grain to guide you...with hand tools

ive been using machine tools to create deadwood for a while and started using hand tools recently as well which im improving at, well i learned a lot more about using hand tools after watching this and i was inspired to carry out a bit of what i learnt on this Yew today
2017-10-12_05-43-22 by Bobby Lane, on Flickr

sure, there are experts carrying out demos the world over, ive seen all the G potter vids, apart from Potter and now Neil, there arent many who describe every step and process in such great detail. sure, i have some books that usually i skim through and never pick up again. with videos i tend to watch them over n over without tiring. we all learn differently, many bonsai books bore me and are outdated anyway.
never been to a workshop, i like to do everything myself and learn through trial and error.
 
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choppychoppy

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The secret of Bonsai ------- shhh

Seed in colander ------> ground grow ----------> trunk and 6 branches

Dig up when trunk is x

Place in over sized container and refine.

Cost very, very little.

Here's the catch --------- The Design part.
Get some art classes, learn how to translate what you see in nature into
a drawing.
Trace image with 9B pencil from computer screen or print and trace.
Appreciate what you discover.

Learn to make your own pots. Design.

Cost factor very low.

You guys are taking a very simple situation and making it difficult and expensive,
Sad.
Good Day
Anthony

$300 US = $2,100. TT -------------- no way brotherman


Except you arent really doing bonsai just gardening. None of the trees ever look like anything but a round shrub that is planted in a bonsai-like container. There is almost no real styling or artistry in any way. And the drawings and paintings by your 'trained artist' don't look anything at all like any of the trees you produce. Tropical shrubs clipped into puffy shapes isn't really bonsai to me.

And for me personally your arrogance and pompous attitude is so far from what bonsai is that NOTHING you are doing is bonsai.

My opinions.
 

GrimLore

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Thus, my toying with the Tier 3 subscription. If he is as approachable on-line as he is in person, it is probably worth the expense.

I will caution you and others here - ANY video conference is dependent on your equipment and connection. If your equipment is of newer quality, handles live streams, and is hard wired to your router your only limit is the size of your monitor and the quality of your speakers.

Grimmy
 

BillsBayou

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Think thats tier 3...

That is a Tier 3 video. I just noticed that not all of the videos in the archive are Tier 2 videos. I'm glad you pointed that out. Now I can make a more informed decision on Tier 2 versus Tier 3.

Nice carving, by the way. Thanks for the feedback.
 

Vin

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I am not a subscriber but after reading some of the reviews here I may give it a try. Unfortunately, I barely have time to contribute here on the Nut so I'll have to give it up for a while. :(
 

Bonsai Nut

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A tip from a painter -- If you can learn to write with a pen / pencil, you can draw.

First, design is only one small portion of what he discusses in each stream. A lot is plain horticulture - the role of plant hormones, why you don't want to overprune junipers, when and how to prune single-flush pines, what kind of soil to use for a California juniper, etc. Some is general technique - like how to use raffia, or what type of wire to use in different situations, or how to graft or airlayer. He did two videos just talking about how to recognize potential in nursery stock - where he would buy a nursery tree for like $60 and turn it into an amazing work of art.

I think your argument is a little shallow. It's like saying "I live on a mountain where if you look hard enough, for long enough, you can usually find a rough diamond. Now I look at a lot of pictures of finished diamonds... and if I look long enough, that tells me everything I need to know about how to plan, cleave, girdle, block and brillianteer diamonds. I wouldn't think of watching a video where a master of this craft talks about and demonstrates what he is doing, and how and why he is doing it... because I already know!"

No one is trying to force you to sign up for a product you're not interested in... but don't knock it if you have never even tried it.
 
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Giga

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Sorry Choppy,

not here to argue. Just leave information.
Good Day
Anthony

Your pretty closed minded - don't argue about it, don't do it then if your have a stick up your butt and don't ruin it for other people. It's a great tool and Ryan needs to make a living too. I love the videos and it's not just art he's teaching - there's a lot of basic skills. like pruning back to two buds - it's a simple technique that builds ramification but most wouldn't think that and prune differently, or you can change your technique to sharpen better skills.
 

BillsBayou

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While I've been focusing on the subject of the thread, someone has been laying down a thick layer of hubris. I have my own layers of hubris to add:

POST ONE:
The secret of Bonsai ------- shhh
Seed in colander ------> ground grow ----------> trunk and 6 branches
Dig up when trunk is x
Place in over sized container and refine.
Cost very, very little.
You don't need a seed in a colander. You can container grow seeds into bonsai. I'm not sure where the "6 branches" thing comes in.
However, if you want to grow a bonsai from a seed, you're going to be greatly disappointed. You should plant many seeds. Then winnow your supply each year looking for those trees that fall within your vision for bonsai, or, lacking a specific vision of a tree, keep the trees that show potential in a variety of areas.
Don't wait until you dig up your tree to refine it. I would say more, but you're leaving out a mountain of information. I cannot go into everything you have left out.
Here's the catch --------- The Design part.
You got the "catch" correct. Bonsai is about the design. Develop a vision for your tree. Follow that vision over the many years it will take to develop your tree to fit your vision.
Get some art classes, learn how to translate what you see in nature into a drawing.

BULL

SHIT

You don't need to sign up for art classes. Art can help you understand proportion, scale, illusion, but you don't need to sit down with a pencil/pen/paint art teacher and frustrate yourself learning landscape painting when all you wanted to do was grow a pretty little tree.
Trace image with 9B pencil from computer screen or print and trace.
What image? You wrote that I need to take art classes to learn how to translate what I see into a drawing, and now I'm using a very specific pencil to trace what I just learned how to draw after I've gotten it onto a computer screen? You're confusing me. You're confusing everyone.

Appreciate what you discover.
What I discover is I'm paying for art classes and I can't draw shit. Tomorrow the teacher says we're going to be drawing nude models. That'll be fun. But I still can't draw shit.

Learn to make your own pots. Design.
NO

FUCK

NO

There are very talented, very respected, world-renown bonsai artists who couldn't throw a pot unless they picked it up first.

Why do I need to design pots? Who wants to look at a Bill Butler pot? I sure as hell don't. I'd rather look at the design of my tree and find a pot that fits the design. A pot someone else has already designed and made. Byron Myrick, for example. I've got plenty of his pots. They're awesome. I would have to quit bonsai for a few years, and photography, and glass work, and my family, to learn how to BEGIN to be a potter. My wife would be pissed.
Cost factor very low.
Gold-plated bullshit.

You've got me taking drawing and pottery classes. Before I have even one acceptable pot, I'm going to make a few dozen shitty ones first.

COST FACTOR: EXPENSIVE
You guys are taking a very simple situation and making it difficult and expensive, Sad.
I want to learn bonsai and you think I need to take art classes and pottery classes first. Who's paying for these classes?

POST TWO:
Try and remember that the practice of Bonsai is for -
This introduction tells me that we're going to get more definitive statements. I love definitive statements.
[1] Inspiration -------------- as in ideas towards an Art form - Painting Sculpture. Poetry ................
[2] Peace of mind ------------ extension of mental and physical health
Just might be the one thing I agree with.
It is not about winning competitions, trophies and pretending you are an Artist.
Ahhhh... The eternal battle of defining art and artists by how much recognition they seek or receive. Can someone be an artist if all they do is produce bonsai with the express purpose of winning competitions and trophies?

Your answer is clear. Not only is it clear, but you took the time to INSULT people who do this. "...pretending you are an Artist." What an arrogant joke.

(Some of you may have noticed that the further I go, the more pissed off I'm getting. Sure, but this is good stuff, like a box of Chips A-Hubris cookies. I can't stop reaching in to get the next morsel.)
Like Tai Chi ------- can be used for battle -------- but it is for health.
I agree with this. However, in between the things that make sense, you decided to insult people. I don't think you're finding the inner peace you seek.
"Om shanti shanti shanti.... Om shanti shanti shanti... Fake artists are winning competitions and pretending to be artists... Om shanti shanti shanti..."
Try again.

The Books have all the information and a visit to a master's nursery will explain any 3d problems.
No. You cannot get all the information you need from books. The gap in your education cannot be filled by visiting a master's nursery to explain the 3D problems. You need help from practicing artists (yes, even the ones who win competitions and trophies). You need... (oh, but if I told you everything you're omitting, we'd be here all day)
Take hand written notes ------- think it out. Check out Mr. Valavanis , Mr. Rosade.........................Take some art classes.
Yes...... yes.... yes... NO
*****You will waste a lot of money and be unable to regain it.***********
If I'm taking drawing and pottery classses, I will.
Have watched this when the Ceramics boat came into town.
Good Day
Anthony
* This is a hobby help each other ------------- or direct them to a club.
Or an art class?

POST THREE:
A tip from a painter ---------
Rats. I was hoping you'd begin this one with another definitive statement. Rather, this post begins with much more humility. It's a tip. I like tips. I love tips. I knew a mohel who worked for tips.
If you can learn to write with a pen / pencil, you can draw.
If you can draw, the mind can be trained to retain visual information,
not details, but large shapes ----- masses.
If you sit and draw a tree or pieces of a tree.
Sit 3 days to a week later and re-draw what you drew previously.
See what you retained in memory.
Hmmm.... I like this. Memorization through writing/drawing is an effective tool in learning. I have no idea what this has to do with bonsai, however.

If you cannot draw a tree, I say you should draw triangles and sticks. You can develop the similar sense of proportion/scale/illusion you would get with a more detailed illustration. Just draw general shapes.

If you can master these simple exercises, then you can create your own trees.
What the heaping pile of crap are you laying down on these people? A piece of paper is not a tree. A pen is not a pruning shear. Drawing is not directed growth.
Placing into them what you believe to be the most important features, be it branches, leaf mass or trunk or roots or ....................
No. Not if we're creating trees by first drawing shapes on paper and using those skills to create trees in the grossly incomplete manner you've introduced.
You will derive much from the ability to draw.
It also shows how to wire, chew on it.....................................
I think you've been chewing on live wires.

There is nothing you have written here that is going to keep a tree alive, grow branches where you want them, shape a branch, pot a tree, and so forth.
Good Day
Anthony
Here is an image built from drawn observation of Pine trees.
Hope to have in say 10 years....
(image redacted)
Hope in one hand, shit in the other. See which one fills up first.

I'm not usually so confrontational. Not in person, not on the Internet. But your posts are arrogant, insulting, are not pointing anyone in the right direction, and much of it is just wrong. I can forgive bad directions and wrong information. But coupled with arrogance and insults? No. Sorry.
 
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milehigh_7

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Every tool's worth is determined by what is produced when the tool is used properly. That said, if you are going to use the instruction and that $300 takes you from being able to make a $100 a $10 tree to be able to make a $50 tree a $500 tree then value wise, you are on top. If you are unteachable then not so much. Sometimes the value of the tool lies in the talent of its owner.
 

Giga

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While I've been focusing on the subject of the thread, someone has been laying down a thick layer of hubris. I have my own layers of hubris to add:

POST ONE:

You don't need a seed in a colander. You can container grow seeds into bonsai. I'm not sure where the "6 branches" thing comes in.
However, if you want to grow a bonsai from a seed, you're going to be greatly disappointed. You should plant many seeds. Then winnow your supply each year looking for those trees that fall within your vision for bonsai, or, lacking a specific vision of a tree, keep the trees that show potential in a variety of areas.
Don't wait until you dig up your tree to refine it. I would say more, but you're leaving out a mountain of information. I cannot go into everything you have left out.

You got the "catch" correct. Bonsai is about the design. Develop a vision for your tree. Follow that vision over the many years it will take to develop your tree to fit your vision.


BULL

SHIT

You don't need to sign up for art classes. Art can help you understand proportion, scale, illusion, but you don't need to sit down with a pencil/pen/paint art teacher and frustrate yourself learning landscape painting when all you wanted to do was grow a pretty little tree.
What image? You wrote that I need to take art classes to learn how to translate what I see into a drawing, and now I'm using a very specific pencil to trace what I just learned how to draw after I've gotten it onto a computer screen? You're confusing me. You're confusing everyone.

What I discover is I'm paying for art classes and I can't draw shit. Tomorrow the teacher says we're going to be drawing nude models. That'll be fun. But I still can't draw shit.


NO

FUCK

NO

There are very talented, very respected, world-renown bonsai artists who couldn't throw a pot unless they picked it up first.

Why do I need to design pots? Who wants to look at a Bill Butler pot? I sure as hell don't. I'd rather look at the design of my tree and find a pot that fits the design. A pot someone else has already designed and made. Byron Myrick, for example. I've got plenty of his pots. They're awesome. I would have to quit bonsai for a few years, and photography, and glass work, and my family, to learn how to BEGIN to be a potter. My wife would be pissed.

Gold-plated bullshit.

You've got me taking drawing and pottery classes. Before I have even one acceptable pot, I'm going to make a few dozen shitty ones first.

COST FACTOR: EXPENSIVE

I want to learn bonsai and you think I need to take art classes and pottery classes first. Who's paying for these classes?

POST TWO:

This introduction tells me that we're going to get more definitive statements. I love definitive statements.

Just might be the one thing I agree with.

Ahhhh... The eternal battle of defining art and artists by how much recognition they seek or receive. Can someone be an artist if all they do is produce bonsai with the express purpose of winning competitions and trophies?

Your answer is clear. Not only is it clear, but you took the time to INSULT people who do this. "...pretending you are an Artist." What an arrogant joke.

(Some of you may have noticed that the further I go, the more pissed off I'm getting. Sure, but this is good stuff, like a box of Chips A-Hubris cookies. I can't stop reaching in to get the next morsel.)

I agree with this. However, in between the things that make sense, you decided to insult people. I don't think you're finding the inner peace you seek.
"Om shanti shanti shanti.... Om shanti shanti shanti... Fake artists are winning competitions and pretending to be artists... Om shanti shanti shanti..."
Try again.


No. You cannot get all the information you need from books. The gap in your education cannot be filled by visiting a master's nursery to explain the 3D problems. You need help from practicing artists (yes, even the ones who win competitions and trophies). You need... (oh, but if I told you everything you're omitting, we'd be here all day)

Yes...... yes.... yes... NO

If I'm taking drawing and pottery classses, I will.

Or an art class?

POST THREE:

Rats. I was hoping you'd begin this one with another definitive statement. Rather, this post begins with much more humility. It's a tip. I like tips. I love tips. I knew a mohel who worked for tips.

Hmmm.... I like this. Memorization through writing/drawing is an effective tool in learning. I have no idea what this has to do with bonsai, however.

If you cannot draw a tree, I say you should draw triangles and sticks. You can develop the similar sense of proportion/scale/illusion you would get with a more detailed illustration. Just draw general shapes.


What the heaping pile of crap are you laying down on these people? A piece of paper is not a tree. A pen is not a pruning shear. Drawing is not directed growth.

No. Not if we're creating trees by first drawing shapes on paper and using those skills to create trees in the grossly incomplete manner you've introduced.

I think you've been chewing on live wires.

There is nothing you have written here that is going to keep a tree alive, grow branches where you want them, shape a branch, pot a tree, and so forth.

Hope in one hand, shit in the other. See which one fills up first.

I'm not usually so confrontational. Not in person, not on the Internet. But your posts are arrogant, insulting, are not pointing anyone in the right direction, and much of it is just wrong. I can forgive bad directions and wrong information. But coupled with arrogance and insults? No. Sorry.

Takes down notes.....
 

Paradox

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While I've been focusing on the subject of the thread, someone has been laying down a thick layer of hubris. I have my own layers of hubris to add:

POST ONE:

You don't need a seed in a colander. You can container grow seeds into bonsai. I'm not sure where the "6 branches" thing comes in.
However, if you want to grow a bonsai from a seed, you're going to be greatly disappointed. You should plant many seeds. Then winnow your supply each year looking for those trees that fall within your vision for bonsai, or, lacking a specific vision of a tree, keep the trees that show potential in a variety of areas.
Don't wait until you dig up your tree to refine it. I would say more, but you're leaving out a mountain of information. I cannot go into everything you have left out.

You got the "catch" correct. Bonsai is about the design. Develop a vision for your tree. Follow that vision over the many years it will take to develop your tree to fit your vision.


BULL

SHIT

You don't need to sign up for art classes. Art can help you understand proportion, scale, illusion, but you don't need to sit down with a pencil/pen/paint art teacher and frustrate yourself learning landscape painting when all you wanted to do was grow a pretty little tree.
What image? You wrote that I need to take art classes to learn how to translate what I see into a drawing, and now I'm using a very specific pencil to trace what I just learned how to draw after I've gotten it onto a computer screen? You're confusing me. You're confusing everyone.

What I discover is I'm paying for art classes and I can't draw shit. Tomorrow the teacher says we're going to be drawing nude models. That'll be fun. But I still can't draw shit.


NO

FUCK

NO

There are very talented, very respected, world-renown bonsai artists who couldn't throw a pot unless they picked it up first.

Why do I need to design pots? Who wants to look at a Bill Butler pot? I sure as hell don't. I'd rather look at the design of my tree and find a pot that fits the design. A pot someone else has already designed and made. Byron Myrick, for example. I've got plenty of his pots. They're awesome. I would have to quit bonsai for a few years, and photography, and glass work, and my family, to learn how to BEGIN to be a potter. My wife would be pissed.

Gold-plated bullshit.

You've got me taking drawing and pottery classes. Before I have even one acceptable pot, I'm going to make a few dozen shitty ones first.

COST FACTOR: EXPENSIVE

I want to learn bonsai and you think I need to take art classes and pottery classes first. Who's paying for these classes?

POST TWO:

This introduction tells me that we're going to get more definitive statements. I love definitive statements.

Just might be the one thing I agree with.

Ahhhh... The eternal battle of defining art and artists by how much recognition they seek or receive. Can someone be an artist if all they do is produce bonsai with the express purpose of winning competitions and trophies?

Your answer is clear. Not only is it clear, but you took the time to INSULT people who do this. "...pretending you are an Artist." What an arrogant joke.

(Some of you may have noticed that the further I go, the more pissed off I'm getting. Sure, but this is good stuff, like a box of Chips A-Hubris cookies. I can't stop reaching in to get the next morsel.)

I agree with this. However, in between the things that make sense, you decided to insult people. I don't think you're finding the inner peace you seek.
"Om shanti shanti shanti.... Om shanti shanti shanti... Fake artists are winning competitions and pretending to be artists... Om shanti shanti shanti..."
Try again.


No. You cannot get all the information you need from books. The gap in your education cannot be filled by visiting a master's nursery to explain the 3D problems. You need help from practicing artists (yes, even the ones who win competitions and trophies). You need... (oh, but if I told you everything you're omitting, we'd be here all day)

Yes...... yes.... yes... NO

If I'm taking drawing and pottery classses, I will.

Or an art class?

POST THREE:

Rats. I was hoping you'd begin this one with another definitive statement. Rather, this post begins with much more humility. It's a tip. I like tips. I love tips. I knew a mohel who worked for tips.

Hmmm.... I like this. Memorization through writing/drawing is an effective tool in learning. I have no idea what this has to do with bonsai, however.

If you cannot draw a tree, I say you should draw triangles and sticks. You can develop the similar sense of proportion/scale/illusion you would get with a more detailed illustration. Just draw general shapes.


What the heaping pile of crap are you laying down on these people? A piece of paper is not a tree. A pen is not a pruning shear. Drawing is not directed growth.

No. Not if we're creating trees by first drawing shapes on paper and using those skills to create trees in the grossly incomplete manner you've introduced.

I think you've been chewing on live wires.

There is nothing you have written here that is going to keep a tree alive, grow branches where you want them, shape a branch, pot a tree, and so forth.

Hope in one hand, shit in the other. See which one fills up first.

I'm not usually so confrontational. Not in person, not on the Internet. But your posts are arrogant, insulting, are not pointing anyone in the right direction, and much of it is just wrong. I can forgive bad directions and wrong information. But coupled with arrogance and insults? No. Sorry.


L. O. L.

Mic drop....
 

sparklemotion

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i think you should ask yourself and be honest now. that juni with the ram rod straight broom stick trunk! would you have walked straight past it or would you have saw what he saw in it??? lets be honest once he separates that layer, its going to be really something:)

I have nothing bad to say about his skills in bonsai or horticulture, his artistry, nor his eye for good material.

I can't even say whether I think he's a good teacher for in-person workshops.

What I can say is that the videos that are available for free, which I assume are intended as a sample of the quality of the paid content, are badly edited (if at all), unfocused, rambly, and hard for me to watch. The free videos make him seem like a smart and skilled guy who is a terrible teacher. Hence my question -- are the paid ones better?

Maybe someday, I'll have absorbed all the knowledge that I can get from resources like Bonsai Iligan (RIP), Nigel Saunders, or even Colin Lewis' Craftsy class, and I'll need to turn to Mirai to learn that which I don't yet know. But right now, it seems like learning from him demands more (in my time, and my mental energy) than learning from others.
 

wrcmad

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I've been practicing bonsai for over 25 years, have a library of books, belonged to bonsai societies and clubs, gone to numerous conventions and attended hands-on workshops, and I can say without reservation that the info he provides cannot be found elsewhere... at any price. The only thing that would be better is if you had a personal apprenticeship with a bonsai teacher who had studied for 6 years in Japan and who is a full-time bonsai instructor - and who you worked with every week.
Agree. I subscribed to Tier 3.
Been practicing for over 30 years, society and club member, workshop attendee, numerous trips to Japan, and have found the info invaluable, and available nowhere else.
Sold all but a few of my library of books after 3 months of watching... realised I'd never read most of them again.
 

parhamr

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popcorn.gif

I’m a fine artist. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from an accredited university. I’ve been drawing, painting, and sculpting from my youth. I’ve taken private lessons. I didn’t learn shit about bonsai in any of my art classes.

I’m learning a lot about bonsai through Ryan Neil and I’m showing my appreciation of that by paying the price he is asking for tier 3. I’ve paid more than $300 for a half-day workshop, before. I can afford Ryan’s price and I greatly appreciate new quality content showing up every week.

Graham Potter hasn’t posted a new video in years.

Nigel Saunders provides some useful info but I’m not very interested in his favorite species. I’ve variously disagreed with some of the specifics of his practices but I respect him and appreciate his efforts.

I don’t always have a full 2 hours to sit and watch one of Ryan’s videos but I appreciate they’re there for me and that I’m funding this leap into the future of bonsai. The videography isn’t perfect but it’s a strong leap upward from what I’ve variously seen on some YouTube channels. They’re doing most of this live and don’t have the full luxury of the editing room.

My own bias is I know some of the stream production staff and have helped them with manual labor. They’re humans. They’re putting in an honest effort. I know they put in 12+ hours on Tuesdays.

I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth.
 
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Bonsai Nut

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What I can say is that the videos that are available for free, which I assume are intended as a sample of the quality of the paid content, are badly edited (if at all), unfocused, rambly, and hard for me to watch. The free videos make him seem like a smart and skilled guy who is a terrible teacher. Hence my question -- are the paid ones better?

I think that is a reasonable criticism. Some of the pre-recorded videos don't work for me either. Some are better than others and I think they are getting better with time. But there is definitely a range of quality in terms of what you get out of the pre-recorded parts. I view them as sort of setting the stage for the rest of the stream... but on their own they don't really do much for me.

Most of the stream is just that - a live stream where he is working on a tree within the context of a specific subject. This week it was California Juniper. He talked about the species in general, care requirements, and what characteristics make the species memorable for bonsai. He talked about the specific tree, its history (it was an important collected tree) and where it was going to end up after he styled it. He talked about his general artistic vision, but then asked for input from people in the chat channel about specific styling decisions. There is a lot of back and forth between people in the chat channel and Ryan. For the most part I think he answers every question that someone asks in the chat, and usually he doesn't just answer it but he talks about the question for a minute or two. There is some back and forth and some interesting fun parts where he asks for people to informally "vote" on whether or not to do different things with the styling - and why (like "should I remove this branch, why or why not?") The week prior to this one we got into quite an animated discussion about whether or not to shorten a piece of deadwood.

It is the next best thing to being there physically. And I think he does a really good job about presenting the tree in 3D. He always has the tree on a rotating stand and he is always rotating it - front, back, side to side, to discuss the merits of different decisions.

I will say that some of the streams are more meaningful to me than others. The stream on big bends was meaningful... the stream on air-layering not as much (because he didn't do anything that different from what I have already done personally) but I will say that EVERY stream I learn something new - every one.
 
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