The Atlanta Bonsai Society Spring Show 2016

[Shan Anand]

Baby is doing fine Lol @ Lance "I've been trying for three years. The doctor won't take him back!!"

 

[Don Blackmond]

No one wanted to watch you wire, Adair? That's a shame.

 

[Adair M]

No one wanted to watch you wire, Adair? That's a shame.

Actually, I had a pretty good audience. I encouraged folks to come sit or stand behind me so they could see what I was doing. You can't really see from the other side.

Got a lot of questions like "what's the wire for?" Or "does the wire stop it from growing?"

And "how long do you leave it on?" That got asked a lot. Almost as much as, "how old is that tree?"

So lots of people were amazed when I wired a branch, then set a branch, they could see how we actually style a tree. I heard several people say "oh! This is art! I thought these trees just grew this way!"

And I directed them toward the display trees, and told them to take a closer look and see the trees that were wired and compare to those which weren't.

 

[Don Blackmond]

Actually, I had a pretty good audience. I encouraged folks to come sit or stand behind me so they could see what I was doing. You can't really see from the other side.

Got a lot of questions like "what's the wire for?" Or "does the wire stop it from growing?"

And "how long do you leave it on?" That got asked a lot. Almost as much as, "how old is that tree?"

So lots of people were amazed when I wired a branch, then set a branch, they could see how we actually style a tree. I heard several people say "oh! This is art! I thought these trees just grew this way!"

And I directed them toward the display trees, and told them to take a closer look and see the trees that were wired and compare to those which weren't.

Good, I'm glad you had an interactive audience. I was being facetious with my comment. I assumed you had an audience omitted from the photo.

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked, "how old is it?"

 

[Dav4]

Actually, I'd say that Adair's 2 day wiring demo, his idea from the get go, was a perfect tie in to the show and getting people interested in bonsai. Being able to see a fully wired and manicured tree then sitting down next to Adair and ask him questions while he wired out a branch on his JWP was perfect...light bulbs getting turned on all weekend long.

 

[kakejiku]

Displays with Japanese scrolls with kanji on them should always include a card on the table explaining what the verbage says and its connection to the display. Respectful for westerners.

It does have a placard, bottom right hand corner. If you want the translation and phrase it is at my blog www.wallscroll.blogspot.com

Respectfully.

 

[Adair M]

Only got 1/2 of it wired...

 

[GrimLore]

Only got 1/2 of it wired...

IPA perhaps?

Grimmy

 

[sorce]

..light bulbs getting turned on

@Adair M that is so awesome!
And great idea!

We can sit here and talk about the future of American Bonsai....
Or get out and do!

Well done!

Sorce

 

[Adair M]

Sorce,

I "do" bonsai, and I teach bonsai. I have been messin' with little trees for over 40 years.

Cool thing about bonsai is there's always something new to learn. Sometimes these new things are a completely new technique or practice. Something to add to my bag of tricks! Sometimes these new things mean that the way I used to do things wasn't the best way, and I have to discard an old trick and replace it with a new one.

When I teach bonsai, I teach what's currently in my bag of tricks. My students may have a bag of tricks, or maybe their bag is empty. Empty bags are easy to fill. It's those full bags of obsolete tricks that are difficult.