I am positive that is the best way.
Problem is, not everyone has the time/money/resources to do it regularly.
So here comes the book, the Internet, YouTube.
And of course, the contradictions.
Still, do some research and find consistency.
For example: If you like Ryan Neil’s work, subscribe to his website and videos. Learn which of his students post blogs and follow them. Ryan was a Kimura student. Research Kimura. Learn to wire like he does. And how Ryan does. Make friends with other Ryan students. Organize Study Groups where a couple of like minded people can get together and support each other.
Meanwhile, if you find someone who takes a different approach to bonsai, it’s ok to ignore them! Or at least while you are learning the basics of your teacher’s approach.
A bit of an example: as all of you know I’m an SoB, Student of Boon. The Atlanta Bonsai Society brings in a variety of bonsai artists during the year to give demos, workshops, and critiques. At one meeting Kathy Shaner was giving a demo on a neglected shimpaku, and I offered to help her clean it up. ( Get rid of weak and dead foliage.). I did this while she was working deadwood on the other side of the tree. Then when it came to wiring, she told me to wire a couple branches on one side while she wired on the other. Well, Kathy wires very differently than Boon. Kathy wires very loose! Hardly touches the branch at all. I wire so that the wire just barely touches the branch. So, after I completed my wiring, she told me it was too tight, so I didn’t argue with her, I didn’t try to copy her style of wiring, I just stopped wiring and went to a different task: cleaning the underside of the pads to remove downward hanging foliage.
Kathy’s wiring style is pretty much unique to her. I don’t know of any other Masters who do it her way.
I do know she has lots of students and followers.
Now, i think it would have been very possible for someone to have gotten very confused about wiring trying to do both Kathy’s way, and Boon’s way. Both artists are very successful. As are their students. But they take a very different approach to a fundamental bonsai skill: wiring.
So, I let Kathy have her say about how to wire that tree, I just didn’t do it. Just as several years ago Watren Hill told me to decandle a Japanese Black Pine in October. I didn’t do that either!
Both of these famous bonsai Masters told me to do something very much contrary from what Boon was teaching me. I chose to ignore what they said and stick with Boon’s program.
