Ridgeway Trees at Pacific Bonsai Museum

Hi Victrinia,
Thanks for the great show and very beautiful love story.
Bonhe
 
Wow! Great thread and great work. It must be incredibly exciting having work displayed in that venue. I'm personally a fan of your ponderosa and the tsukumo (great movement). Your larches appear to be incredibly old, like they've been in those pots for years (and isn't that the point). Anyway, thanks for putting it all out there and taking the time to share with us bnutters.
 
And...the before pictures bring it all together. You never usually get to see those.
 
I would like to thank you for not only the photos...but the stories behind each,and the time it took for you to do just that...and share them with us. I admired them all...the larch...wow...the trunk texture and the foliage (is it still called foliage for conifers?) looks soft to the touch. Something I might have to look into myself...one day.

Again...thanks for sharing your love and talent of bonsai with us.
 
Beautiful specimens and very nice photos! I really enjoy them all but I am really liking the Larch(both) and that Ponderosa. Would love to see the fall color on the Larch as well. Was curious if you have cut/worked the bark on the Larch to get it so rough. Mine are all quite old and all have much smoother bark.

Grimmy
 
the sub alpine fir, I couldn't keep my eyes from moving past it. Not only because it looked like they used a shoehorn to get the roots into the pot but the clear sense of picturing what strong winds on a craiggy peak can create with the foliage. While I can appreciate the others in classic forms, that other viewers have commented on, I like the statement the fir makes for holding my attention. The others I'd say NICE! and quickly move on but the fir? I kept asking myself, why the pot, why the design. It held me frozen in time as I contemplated.

Maybe I'm spoiled seeing the collection and other's who have been invited to show with wonderfully maintained classic forms. But as I look back after this show, the tree I will remember will be the fir. :)
 
Congrats Victrinia, I'm sure it must feel pretty good to have this opportunity...and yes, the stories are fantastic. Thanks for posting this.

Chris
 
Jason.... There are no words to describe the feeling of awe at having been asked. I will tell you that when we dropped them all off, and got them settled on their tables, that when it was time to leave.... I felt like I was leaving beloved family at the airport. There was a wistful ache in my heart. The feeling surprised me. But so much love and time has gone into these sweethearts of ours, they are the children of our lives.

Cadillactaste... We probably have more larch than any other species, save Ponderosa and Alaskan Yellow Cedar. The needles are so very soft and tender, one has to be very careful with them in summer... a dry day can affect them hard if left unattended. Only in that their appearance can be marred, but still.... in bonsai that's a thing to be mindful of. There's a Eastern Larch that didn't make the show because of a tiny bit of damage that happened to the tree on a hot day. But they are marvelous and satisfying to work on if you can grow them, truly a responsive species to the art. Just always be very precise in their potting times. They have the smallest of windows.

Grimlore.... We don't do anything special... I do believe though that the fact that we daily wash them over as we water does hasten the aging on the bark... especially since they are otherwise in a full southern exposure. I don't have science to back that so much as personal observation. Water and sun in a daily ritual would have a tendency of breaking down the decaying bark... it is dead after all. So that is the best explanation I can offer. :)

Thank you again to all for the appreciation... thanks also for those who have read into the heart of the stories, and found the bond between the trees, Eric, and I. It is a love story... I wanted to make sure people understood that when I wrote the descriptions as well, and not just of trees. :o

I met my husband on BonsaiTalk... in a chat... he will tell you I was hard to woo... I will tell you he was just a child at the time. lol But I kidnapped him from Oklahoma... and that is a story all it's own. lol

Warmly,

Victrinia
 
dick benbow said:
the sub alpine fir, I couldn't keep my eyes from moving past it. Not only because it looked like they used a shoehorn to get the roots into the pot but the clear sense of picturing what strong winds on a craiggy peak can create with the foliage. While I can appreciate the others in classic forms, that other viewers have commented on, I like the statement the fir makes for holding my attention. The others I'd say NICE! and quickly move on but the fir? I kept asking myself, why the pot, why the design. It held me frozen in time as I contemplated.

Maybe I'm spoiled seeing the collection and other's who have been invited to show with wonderfully maintained classic forms. But as I look back after this show, the tree I will remember will be the fir. :)
Click to expand...

Benbow-san....

Your eye is worthy of your years of experience... of all the trees... that one was the one which David was most drawn to... followed by the Redwood.

That tree is one which will never be parted with... The thing which makes it fascinating is the it's a true bunjin. There are many thousands of bunjin in the world... sadly... and maybe 1% are worthy of that title. People make bunjin out of long whippy things which they don't have the will to grow out. You can't make bunjin like this... only the earth can, and we can bring out that form and honor it.

When Doc originally designed this tree, of all his lovely work, this was the one which Eric coveted. Coveting isn't a bad thing when it makes you not question an acquisition when the artist is ready to part with it. Fortunately neither of us gets in the way of the other when gripped by a fervor for a tree... there are no bonsai widows in this house. lol


Hugs,

V
 
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Very beautiful. My favorites are the Tsukomo cypress and the ponderosa pine. Is the Ponderosa pine stressed?

Rob
 
october said:
Very beautiful. My favorites are the Tsukomo cypress and the ponderosa pine. Is the Ponderosa pine stressed?

Rob
Click to expand...

It was repotted this spring... so the answer would have to be yes... but not unduly. :cool: It is growing within expectations of a significant repot. :)

Glad you enjoyed it my friend....

V
 
Congrats to the both of you! Not much else I can add here but beautiful and such carefully crafted work. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and the trees!
 
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Thanks much friend... I am glad you enjoyed it. Saturday we are heading over to docent for the day and work on trees in the collection. There's a spectacular Korean Yew in dire need of a haircut... so working on trees and being available to explain our work to visitors should be fun. :)

V
 
I was told you and Eric were coming over Sunday....and i was gonna try and catch up with you two then :( Saturday I'm judging the 17th annual Koi Show for the Puget Sound Koi Club.
Yesterday, ken and I worked on the other Korean Yew that came over the same time as the one your working on Saturday. Not nearly as aggressive in growth as the one your gonna work on..... We're gonna have to quit NOT meeting like this :) LOL
 
Curses!! lol Well shoot.... it would have been lovely to be surprised by you. :) I can't wait to get my hands on it. lol It'll be the first time for me... if it looks WAY different, don't blame me... blame Eric... lol jk... we'll be measured in our handling of that treasure. lol

Hugs,

V
 
CAM00696.jpg


Look what arrived in the mail yesterday... what an unexpected and lovely surprise. :)

V
 
Last I talked to David, he had two folks they were flying in before the end of the month to interview as his replacement. Gonna be some pretty big shoes to fill in my opinion.
I've been up to see your trees a coupla times ( they seem happy and well cared for). I hope to be able to share a workday on the collection's trees with you, on the 27th :)
 
They are indeed. I half considered it myself... lol But in truth, what I'm seeking is a position on the Board of Directors for the collection. If I can achieve that, I will be very happy... what has been created has to be grown and matured, but it must not - imho - lose the variety and richness that is portrayed for a single minded visual style. Being on the board gives an opportunity to help insure that the transition stays true the original intention of the collection. It's success has always been rooted in it's multicultural nature. Just as Elandan has been successful as a singular vision. We need both to be successful and to compliment each other so that our own bonsai tradition in the NW is grown.

Looks like I'm getting nominated to be on the board of directors for PSBA also.... O.O busy busy busy

Just my two, not so discreet, cents. lol

V
 
You go girlfriend. Rooting for you from afar. I can think of no better person to care how the collection moves forward than you...
 
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