US Bonsai in 20 years?

[justBonsai]

What ever happen with the Shohin show you were talking about? Cool to hear you talking about wanting to start your apprenticeship and how you're a pro! @justBonsai

LOL this is some resurrection. I can't even remember typing this. You know I vaguely remember the intent to do that show but I think it never came to fruition.

Life certainly has changed A LOT since I wrote that comment. I went through many difficult but I think necessary life experiences that grew me as a person and helped cultivate my bonsai skill and philosophy. Always can be something to complain about or problems to deal with, but I am very grateful and happy to be doing bonsai full time the last 3 years now.

 

[yenling83]

LOL this is some resurrection. I can't even remember typing this. You know I vaguely remember the intent to do that show but I think it never came to fruition.

Life certainly has changed A LOT since I wrote that comment. I went through many difficult but I think necessary life experiences that grew me as a person and helped cultivate my bonsai skill and philosophy. Always can be something to complain about or problems to deal with, but I am very grateful and happy to be doing bonsai full time the last 3 years now.

We are so lucky to have you in the US!

 

[yenling83]

Ha, this is fun to see this thread revived after 15 years.

To those that have been around since then, I am wondering whether the state of US bonsai has really changed all that much since 2010. Has it changed more, or less, than you would have expected?

I have just been involved in bonsai for about 6 years now, but personally, I don’t predict that it will be drastically different in another 20. Of course the trees that get into the big shows will be more refined and aged. However, I don’t see bonsai evolving at a similar rate as something like AI, for example. For what it’s worth, I view that as a positive.

Anyway, just my 2 cents….

I think the biggest change in the last 15 yrs for American Bonsai has been all the younger people doing apprenticeships and sharing the info they learned both online and in person.

While all these people were around in 2010, their impact to American Bonsai was significantly less
-Peter Tea
-Ryan Neil
-Michael H
-Tyler S
-Matt Reel
-Julian T
-Andrew R
-Bjorn B
-Seth N
-Carmen L
-Todd S
-Danny C
-Jonas D
-Eric S
-Juan A
-Mario K
-Sergio
-Adam T
-Young C
-Adam J
-and other's I just can't remember off top of my head

There weren't as many pro's back in 2010 going hard in the paint.

 

[misfit11]

I think the biggest change in the last 15 yrs for American Bonsai has been all the younger people doing apprenticeships and sharing the info they learned both online and in person.

While all these people were around in 2010, their impact to American Bonsai was significantly less
-Peter Tea
-Ryan Neil
-Michael H
-Tyler S
-Matt Reel
-Julian T
-Andrew R
-Bjorn B
-Seth N
-Carmen L
-Todd S
-Danny C
-Jonas D
-Eric S
-Juan A
-Mario K
-Sergio
-Adam T
-Young C
-Adam J
-and other's I just can't remember off top of my head

There weren't as many pro's back in 2010 going hard in the paint.

This right here is exactly what I was thinking. The number and increased involvement of these bonsai professionals has absolutely exploded in the last 15 years. With the establishment of more of these professionals, their respective nurseries, workshops and demos, online presence, increasing quality of shows (like PBE) , better quality material available etc., the level of US bonsai is now starting rival that of Europe.

 

[DeepSouth]

I feel like interest in horticulture, generally, has actually increased quite a bit. Most younger millennials (my age group) that I know have pretty good collections of plants, especially houseplants. Many, including myself, also have a vegetable garden to grow fresh produce. There are plenty who are interested in bonsai, but intimidated to start because they believe that they will have to wait decades to have anything interesting. Therein lies the issue - people miss the fact that the joy of bonsai is not about the final tree, per se, but the journey of getting there. I enjoy growing my pre-bonsai as much as I enjoy pruning my developed ones. I also keep a collection of "interesting" trees in pots that certainly don't look like a mature tree, but have unusual and attractive features, such as bullhorn acacia.