JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
I just love trees..... so I would do it anyway.
Would you do bonsai if it was normal?
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mattspinniken
Omono
I would do it anyway and if everyone did it the market for trees etc would be crazy. Its a fun thought actually. Also, my guess is most people that do bonsai don't do it to "show off" or be impressive. Imagine putting "bonsai enthusiast" on a dating app today....haha not going to gain you much ground there. My wife knows im nuts.
Kievnstavick
Shohin
I think I would have gotten into this hobby a lot sooner had it been the norm with much quicker acquisition of knowledge. I don't think I would really be as into it as I am in this life.
My dad has had an interest in Bonsai (which I only learned when I told him I was considering starting) and he has a few Bonsai Collection booklets. I'd imagine if it was the normal hobby for people, then my dad would have probably been pretty deep into it. Thus allowing me to have an early continous exposer and education.
I have this habit of being disinterested in whatever the general population is into. (Hipster-esque if you will). I take interest in the uncommon or rare interests. Probably some strange conditioning or genetic trait where I strive to be unique by taking the road less traveled.
On the other foot, I have a passion for growing plants and a fascination with the almighty presence of trees. Witnessing the first steps of life unravel from a seed and watching it gain strength as it grows produces this deep rooted joy.
All in all, with this hypothetical, I'd like to imagine I'd only have a very few select trees and a large batch of certain species growing.
My dad has had an interest in Bonsai (which I only learned when I told him I was considering starting) and he has a few Bonsai Collection booklets. I'd imagine if it was the normal hobby for people, then my dad would have probably been pretty deep into it. Thus allowing me to have an early continous exposer and education.
I have this habit of being disinterested in whatever the general population is into. (Hipster-esque if you will). I take interest in the uncommon or rare interests. Probably some strange conditioning or genetic trait where I strive to be unique by taking the road less traveled.
On the other foot, I have a passion for growing plants and a fascination with the almighty presence of trees. Witnessing the first steps of life unravel from a seed and watching it gain strength as it grows produces this deep rooted joy.
All in all, with this hypothetical, I'd like to imagine I'd only have a very few select trees and a large batch of certain species growing.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
You’re starting with the assumption that doing bonsai isn’t normal…
Yes, because it is not. At least in the West, where most of us are. Japan may be different, never been there. Not really interested in a discussion about the definition of "normal", no offense. The idea for this thread was more along the lines of understanding what drives us to do bonsai, a hobby the vast majority of people are not particularly interested in.
pandacular
Omono
I feel like I have reasons I can answer this both ways. The main reason I think I would potentially say yes is that essentially as soon as I realized that bonsai was possible for the lay hobbyist, I got deeply interested and invested in it.
On the other hand, I’ve always been told I have eclectic interests. It’s not been something I’ve consciously sought out, but it’s enough of a pattern that I can’t fully ignore it.
I also think that it would be an art that would be much harder to take up if it had the popular appeal of other artforms. Painting, music, dance—all of these present a massive obstacle to being able to reach a level of passable quality to present your work to a public audience. While that obstacle exists for bonsai in the US, there is just a different group we’re competing with, most of whom were not started out as young children.
Finally, I greatly value the ability to meet and work with top professionals and amateur artists. This level of access that we enjoy simply does not exist in more popular arts, and I think bonsai in the West is in a sweet spot in that regard. The fact that I can email most any bonsai artist and request to visit their garden is something that I do not take for granted.
On the other hand, I’ve always been told I have eclectic interests. It’s not been something I’ve consciously sought out, but it’s enough of a pattern that I can’t fully ignore it.
I also think that it would be an art that would be much harder to take up if it had the popular appeal of other artforms. Painting, music, dance—all of these present a massive obstacle to being able to reach a level of passable quality to present your work to a public audience. While that obstacle exists for bonsai in the US, there is just a different group we’re competing with, most of whom were not started out as young children.
Finally, I greatly value the ability to meet and work with top professionals and amateur artists. This level of access that we enjoy simply does not exist in more popular arts, and I think bonsai in the West is in a sweet spot in that regard. The fact that I can email most any bonsai artist and request to visit their garden is something that I do not take for granted.
Brian Van Fleet
Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
I forgot how much fun you are.
RKatzin
Omono
No sir, my assumption is that people that do bonsai are not normal, run of the mill people. You for instance are a very extraordinary person. Case in point.
Cajunrider
Imperial Masterpiece
My affinity lies with the trees. If I could, I would do geo forming with whole forests. I did a lot of forest planting earlier. Now that I am older, bonsai allows me to have a mini 200 tree forest in my backyard. I don’t care if everyone has that in their backyard so yeah I would do bonsai regardless.
Grunge_Bonsai
Sapling
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My real answer — as a zen meditation practitioner, working with the trees enhances my practice. I also do sitting and walking meditation daily. In short, it really clears my mind, and is another creative outlet for me (I am also a printmaking artist). I am just trying to leave something behind that impacts people in a way that expresses that mindset. So, if everyone did it, it wouldn’t matter to me. They would still each do it differently.
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shohin_branches
Shohin
I was 13 when I started bonsai. I had to hide it from my peers because it was weird. I don't really show my trees. I never did a good job documenting my trees so nothing would be different. I'm in a fairly large bonsai society and I have known some of my fellow members for over 20 years. When I visit their houses most of them have better trees than I do. I know hundreds of bonsai people with better trees than me. So that's my current life and I have lots of tree nerd friends that I can just talk about tree nerd stuff with. Then my late 30's non bonsai friends don't have to hear about my bonsai trees we can just talk about bourbon, our dogs, or babies.
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