cockroach
Chumono
That material was “raw field grown stock”. But, it was raised to become a bonsai. So, it had been cut back a couple times while in the ground. But she said it was leggy, overgrown, with most of the foliage at the ends of long branches. She cut back a lot of foliage, not just for design, but to get sunlight into the interior of the canopy. To get backbudding and eventually new branches in closer to the trunk.
Please understand my next comment: this kind of demo is part of the problem we have with bonsai education here in the US. Nothing against Kathy, she did what was needed to start this material off to a good start. Her Jin work was excellent! But, the expectation is that a Master can turn a bush into a show worthy bonsai in 30 minutes! Which is just ridiculous! That thing needs at least 5 years before it’s anywhere near showable.
All we ever see at most demos is raw stock be given an initial cutback and rough style.
Rarely is a demo made using material that that been thru the initial styling stage and be ready for the first step of refinement. Why? It’s usually because of the cost of the material. Clubs usually aren’t willing to purchase an advanced tree, because the typical approach is the tree gets auctioned off after the demo, and who knows if the club will recoup their cost!
At the Winter Silohette Show, Tyler Sherrard and Juan Andrade worked on an advanced JWP with old bark that apparently was on its own roots. Not a graft. This tree was a gift from Boon to Tyler to celebrate his graduation from apprenticeship in Japan. This tree was not overgrown, it did have interior growth, but it had not been styled. This demo, any pruning was done not to induce backbudding, but for styling: positioning, and making sure lower branches would be thicker than branches higher in the tree, etc. Yes, some branches were jinned. White pines are mountain trees and they do naturally have jins, whereas JBP are coastal trees and rarely have jins. The end result was spectacular! It should be show worthy in a year after it fills out a little.
The problem is, material like that costs about $5000!
So, the typical demo cannot show how to really begin refinement simply because of the cost of material. (Tyler’s tree was not auctioned off after the demo! Lol!!)
There was someone there filming the demo, I hope it gets posted on the Internet.
I completely agree with your above sentiments. And agree Kathy did what she could.
Your point about demo quality is an interesting one for me. Again, and always, the following comments and thoughts are just my opinion on a very limited experience.
When a "master" is doing a demo, should they not be bringing along a tree of their own to show the thoughts, reasons, methods/techniques as well as skills to illustrate to the people watching the demo. Granted, Taiwan is smaller and easier and more pertinently, cheaper, to get personal quality specimens to a demo. But, it should still be a priority to give people a real life view of what path the demo techniques set the bonsai on. If the material that is started with is deemed quality enough. Then the extra tree may not be necessary. In Taiwan, demos are used as a platform to highlight work from the "masters".
I feel that, this is how the big names got their start back in the day. The men and women we talk about today. They worked hard locally and with good material for people attending to learn what is needed for good bonsai down the road. I think the internet has a big part to play in this, as mentioned in my earlier post. Everyone wants the superstar from across the world/country to demo for them on sub-standard material and shoestring budgets. I am sure, if not positive, local bonsai growers, stylists, artists (call them what you will) may and do exist all across the world. If we spent budgets on getting them to shows locally the material used could be better quality leading to a better learning experience. Furthermore, if a "big name" wants to come do a demo to promote her/himself (which at the end of the day is what it is all about and kudos to them for it) they should be putting in some of their own work and material selection/provision. All to quickly these days we treat skilled bonsai folk as pseudo celebrities because we see them on TV (read Youtube/blog/vlogs) and some come to expect the treatment that comes along with this "title".
Having said that, I have nothing against any bonsai artists and in fact enjoy the back and forth "banter" between the warring factions in the bonsai microcosm of horticulture and art. I am very grateful for the videos and tutorials they put out as I personally have gained from many of them. Good and bad ones. But in a science and art form that promotes and requires peer to peer learning through demos and workshops people need to really give not just appear to be giving.
Once again, please understand I am not here to start arguments, pick sides or get hackles up. These are the ramblings and personal opinion of an amateur.
Bonsai on as a community people!