Teach me about pots

[Dav4]

At a certain point, collecting pots by recognized master potters becomes its own “hobby”. Nothing at all wrong with it, people collect art of all kinds. Disparaging that is like telling someone who bought a Monet he is a snob for not putting a Terry Redlin print on that wall instead.

These are not utilitarian pots, but I didn’t buy them hoping I could plant them and leave them outside all year long. It is a small collection of unique pots by a recognized master. Snob appeal? Only if you know what you’re looking at.
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Fwiw, despite their unique provenance and relative rarity, all the pots shown above, and particularly the glazed ones, are very usable given the right tree. I wouldn't hesitate to pair them up with the appropriate tree in preparation for a show.

 

[Adair M]

For what it’s worth, I feel like I’m very ignorant about pots. I have a difficult time remembering all those Japanese names. And non-Japanese names, too!!! Lol!!! But, I have a pretty good eye for matching pots to trees. And I can discern quality pots from “production” pots.

Part of the fun of bonsai is matching a tree with a pot. It helps to have a variety of pots on hand when you’re repotting.

I posted a blue pot that was not exactly “featureless” in a post up above.

@Forsoothe!, I really don’t understand why you post the things you post. The way your post in this thread reads is saying, “Don’t try to learn, just do what I do, and you can make bad bonsai, too.” Now, I’m sure that’s not what you’re intending to say, but that’s how it comes off.

I believe most people come to this forum to learn how to improve their bonsai. You telling everyone to ignore “the experts” who are sharing their knowledge is misguided. We are all learning thus hobby. It doesn’t matter how good you get, or how much knowledge you have, there’s more to learn, more skills to obtain. For me, that’s part of the appeal if bonsai. I’m constantly learning something new.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Fwiw, despite their unique provenance and relative rarity, all the pots shown above, and particularly the glazed ones, are very usable given the right tree. I wouldn't hesitate to pair them up with the appropriate tree in preparation for a show.

Agreed, and I have used them for shows...just not for extended periods of time.

 

[Dav4]

For what it’s worth, I feel like I’m very ignorant about pots. I have a difficult time remembering all those Japanese names. And non-Japanese names, too!!! Lol!!! But, I have a pretty good eye for matching pots to trees. And I can discern quality pots from “production” pots.

Part of the fun of bonsai is matching a tree with a pot. It helps to have a variety of pots on hand when you’re repotting.

I posted a blue pot that was not exactly “featureless” in a post up above.

@Forsoothe!, I really don’t understand why you post the things you post. The way your post in this thread reads is saying, “Don’t try to learn, just do what I do, and you can make bad bonsai, too.” Now, I’m sure that’s not what you’re intending to say, but that’s how it comes off.

I believe most people come to this forum to learn how to improve their bonsai. You telling everyone to ignore “the experts” who are sharing their knowledge is misguided. We are all learning thus hobby. It doesn’t matter how good you get, or how much knowledge you have, there’s more to learn, more skills to obtain. For me, that’s part of the appeal if bonsai. I’m constantly learning something new.

Well, let's see... he's apparently a certified master gardener and he's been doing bonsai for decades... 40 years?... mainly by himself. Oh yeah, he's 76, so maybe a little cantankerous and stuck in his ways..... idk, just one man's opinion. I suspect you and I are on his ignore list anyway...

 

[rockm]

At a certain point, collecting pots by recognized master potters becomes its own “hobby”. Nothing at all wrong with it, people collect art of all kinds. Disparaging that is like telling someone who bought a Monet he is a snob for not putting a Terry Redlin print on that wall instead.

These are not utilitarian pots, but I didn’t buy them hoping I could plant them and leave them outside all year long. It is a small collection of unique pots by a recognized master. Snob appeal? Only if you know what you’re looking at.
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To prove the point to each his/her own---I like big, heavy clunky Western made pots. I find eensy weensy Japanese pots tedious. ;-) Although that green one is pretty nice ;-)

 

[shinmai]

I chuckle because I remember Terry Redlin from the 80's, when every DU banquet had his prints to raffle off. One of my friends put it so well: "When he was a kid, his parents must have gotten a great deal on a crate of burnt orange paint."

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

To prove the point to each his/her own---I like big, heavy clunky Western made pots. I find eensy weensy Japanese pots tedious. ;-) Although that green one is pretty nice ;-)

Cool. Is this the point in the discussion where we each claim superiority and start calling each other names?

 

[rockm]

190 Euro for a 6" pot. Strictly snob appeal.

Wow. Who's calling who judgy?

 

[GailC]

I see this is a subject that can get people worked up. Not trying to start a debate on who is better, just wanting to learn a little.
For what its worth, I never felt like anyone implied not to learn. I took it more like don't force yourself into a box on what is and isn't accepted.

I'll look into that book at some point.

 

[shinmai]

Cool. Is this the point in the discussion where we each claim superiority and start calling each other names?

Not yet—Obama, Hitler, gun control and socialism have yet to be mentioned.

 

[Adair M]

@GailC My reply was not to you, it was directed towards @Forsoothe!

On this thread, he admits he over pots his trees, on other threads he talks about his soil mix that NO ONE ELSE uses, he goes on about an elaborate schedule of using this and that chemical fertilizers...

And for all that, his trees are mediocre to poor. All this after 40 years of “experience”.

So, he’s taken to calling those of us who have taken the trouble to learn the best techniques names. Calling us elitists and such. How can I be an elitist if I’m telling everyone how to do what I do? Sure, I spent some money to travel to learn the stuff I now know about bonsai. And I document it here. Is that elitist?

 

[shinmai]

I see this is a subject that can get people worked up. Not trying to start a debate on who is better, just wanting to learn a little.
For what its worth, I never felt like anyone implied not to learn. I took it more like don't force yourself into a box on what is and isn't accepted.

I'll look into that book at some point.

Setting aside bombastic blowhard bullshit for the moment, let me offer a couple of thoughts. First, the reason some ‘experts’ are down on blue pots is that most production pots are shiny and look cheap. The simple fact is that a good blue pot will work with virtually any flowering bonsai—not always the best choice, but usually a safe one. Second, the reason that you don’t feel like you ‘get it’ is because you haven’t seen a whole lot of tree/pot combinations. Go to someplace where there is an arboretum collection, or a botanical garden, where the pairings are done by professional experts and not some dingdong spouting unfounded opinion. I suggest that you go by yourself, and spend time just looking at them, absorbing the aesthetic like a sponge. Do the same at any exhibition you can attend. The next best thing is looking through exhibition books, especially the ones in Japanese because then your own interpretation isn’t affected by someone’s commentary. Again, just look, don’t just flip through, and try not to think. Trust me, after you’ve done this with a few hundred images and impressions, you’ll begin to ‘get it’ without having to really give it conscious thought. At least, that’s what’s been working for me. Your mileage may vary.

 

[rockm]

Setting aside bombastic blowhard bullshit for the moment, let me offer a couple of thoughts. First, the reason some ‘experts’ are down on blue pots is that most production pots are shiny and look cheap. The simple fact is that a good blue pot will work with virtually any flowering bonsai—not always the best choice, but usually a safe one. Second, the reason that you don’t feel like you ‘get it’ is because you haven’t seen a whole lot of tree/pot combinations. Go to someplace where there is an arboretum collection, or a botanical garden, where the pairings are done by professional experts and not some dingdong spouting unfounded opinion. I suggest that you go by yourself, and spend time just looking at them, absorbing the aesthetic like a sponge. Do the same at any exhibition you can attend. The next best thing is looking through exhibition books, especially the ones in Japanese because then your own interpretation isn’t affected by someone’s commentary. Again, just look, don’t just flip through, and try not to think. Trust me, after you’ve done this with a few hundred images and impressions, you’ll begin to ‘get it’ without having to really give it conscious thought. At least, that’s what’s been working for me. Your mileage may vary.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Not yet—Obama, Hitler, gun control and socialism have yet to be mentioned.

Uh-oh...you just mentioned them. Add Trump, soil, and fertilizer and we’ll have an explosive thread in no time.

 

[Carol 83]

Uh-oh...you just mentioned them. Add Trump, soil, and fertilizer and we’ll have an explosive thread in no time.

Then there's repotting, global warming, keeping junipers indoors, what's the best beer......

 

[GailC]

Uh-oh...you just mentioned them. Add Trump, soil, and fertilizer and we’ll have an explosive thread in no time.

You just leave that piece of shit trump out of this and we can all stay happy

 

[penumbra]

Being a potter with an extensive collection of pottery, I love a well made bonsai pot and have several that are not in use. Personally I don't care who made them, that enters into a rich man's game. A rich man I am not. I have to say that I have seen a lot of highly priced bonsai pots that I wouldn't take if you gave them to me. Also, unless you are entering your bonsai in a show where it will be scrutinized from every perspective, who the hell cares what you put your bonsai in. Use a Campbell's Soup can if it pleases you.

 

[Dav4]

So look, we are under a winter weather advisory here in N GA and I’ve had to place all of my recently re-potted trees and trees that think it’s April in my garage because it’s going to be 27°F tomorrow morning and there’s likely to be 2 inches of slush on my driveway… We had 4 inches of rain yesterday and I’ve got minor flooding in the TV room in the basement, forcing me to dig up an old French drain and troubleshoot around poor installation (don’t look at me!)... I’ve got a mastiff that refuses to sleep in his own bed… and I’m smoking a pork loin when it’s been snowing off and on all day and only reach 35°F in my backyard… And Carol is still drinking crap beer.
Y’all need to relax!

 

[TN_Jim]

We had 4 inches of rain yesterday and I’ve got minor flooding

Looks like a freedom drain to me

I trenched out a long drainage line to keep the wet sludge off the mulch..all damn day, gonna feel that mess soon -cheers to ya!

 

[Carol 83]

So look, we are under a winter weather advisory here in N GA and I’ve had to place all of my recently re-potted trees and trees that think it’s April in my garage because it’s going to be 27°F tomorrow morning and there’s likely to be 2 inches of slush on my driveway… We had 4 inches of rain yesterday and I’ve got minor flooding in the TV room in the basement, forcing me to dig up an old French drain and troubleshoot around poor installation (don’t look at me!)... I’ve got a mastiff that refuses to sleep in his own bed… and I’m smoking a pork loin when it’s been snowing off and on all day and only reach 35°F in my backyard… And Carol is still drinking crap beer.
Y’all need to relax!
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Sorry about your troubles. Pup looks sad, pork loin looks good. Did you inject it? I've never tried smoking a pork loin, figured it would dry out pretty fast. Crap beer it may be, but a woman with a beer gut is kind of . P.S. snowing like hell here.