Progetto Futuro - 2 Episode

Finally it happened again.

The second session of the Progetto Futuro School was my main occupation for this weekend. The expectation ware high again, my had is not as full as it was the first time, but the school session was great and one additional step to new knowledge and experience is done. I learned a lot again and next to this I realized that after the easy basic steps it is getting harder and harder and on the other hand more and more interesting.

First we started with some theoretical knowledge, after that we discussed several design possibilities and then we started to work on our trees. The instructor Ivo Saporiti and his assistant Mauro Fregara teached me a lot again. The weekend was really great or as Ivo and Mauro would say: »Good Job«.

I worked on my Juniperus and I think, that from the first styling, the next step of development in the right direction is done.

03-2011- Juniperus

Think QandA V0.2. - Communication

Ding, dong, here he is again...Do you already know why you're dealing with bonsai?

l'm thinking and I found out that there are many reasons…probably there is no universal answer...as Harry in the comment of the first post mentioned, no rational answer. The different aspects of bonsai are the reasons that attract me. I suppose one interesting aspect of bonsai that attracts me is communication. Of course there are many other aspects...design, art, natural aspect, techniques,... but at the moment I find that communication is one particularly interesting aspect.

Bonsai communicates a story. One wise man, with whom I worked once, said: "It is impossible not to communicate"... true it’s not possible ....even if you are quiet you interact, so you communicate. Ok, that’s a good reason, we all love to communicate. And it’s a fact that bonsais communicate a story.

At exhibition bonsais are displayed with the accompanying plant and painted or calligraphic scroll (Kakemono). Each element has its role in the story, it’s a part of the message, which forms the whole story. The supporting plant or object shows the environment in which the tree lives, the image or calligraphy on the scroll is the second element which adds its part to the story and the bonsai is a central element of the story and via this we express, communicate something.

The challenge that I see here is as follows ...this is a way of expressing, that in Europe and around the world has been taken over from the Japanese, the Japanese from Chinese, but both of them had developed this way of communication and all the symbolism, through long history... for instance, Kanji symbols, there are more than 3,000 of them. Each such element has several meanings, than there are additional meanings of animal symbols, the whole ceremonial part of the presentation of bonsai like the role of Tokonama and the whole ceremony towards the visitors. Depending on the sequence and method of presentation they may have many different meanings... additional depth of symbolism, and the reasons for all this ware developed true a long tradition and history, which originated and has evolved from a need for this symbolism....here I see much added value, a way to make a deeper story.

In our area on the other hand the first association for the vast majority of people for the word bonsai is Bauhaus. They have many »bonsai« in Bauhaus… I admit, this is a bad example, the most possible extreme, which I basically don’t care about... but, the fact is that the perception of the most people in our part of the world is very different as in Japan. But on the other hand the fact is also that we create good bonsai, and we want to communicate good stories, a story which a “bonsai” from Bauhaus can’t tell.

So the main question is: “Do people who work with bonsai in Europe understand all this background, all of this deep meaning of symbolism, ceremonial parts of Bonsai?” Is it even necessary to understand to be able telling a good story? Does this perhaps imply that the stories are limited? Or the stories are only subject to other needs, cultural, artistic or even historical backgrounds. Perhaps this is the key to a good message and a good story.

Currently I dare to think that I understand that a good bonsai should be nicely integrated into one story, it has to have one red line. Pot, roots, trunk, each branch, crown, and various add-ons such as soil, moss,.... have to form one integrated design.

And that's it? I think that there has to be more than that ... this bonsai is interesting, this part of the tree is dead, because it was struck by lightning, it really has a good movement, which is nice and according to the rhythm of the movement of the crown, designed to the smallest detail, the tree is a provocative, it has character, its dynamic,... Great, all this must be, this is the "minimum", a very difficult and complex minimum to make and I need very much knowledge and experience to get at least there...but still I’m interested in what may be the added value of trees in our culture that is at least in my perception in Japan achieved with their entire complement of symbolism, ceremony and history.

So what can be added to the tree as extra depth of the whole image, the whole story?

The whole process of transformation from the starting material to final form?
This is certainly something that, at least me as a beginner, attracts very much ... but in the end we display only the final result.

The creator and his story, his artistic dimension?
Maybe a good bonsai consists of trees, pot and the creator, his stories, soul, creativity, artistic specialties,...

Idealization and perfectionism of all individual elements?
In works of almost all best artists in Europe, it is certainly clear ... every detail is finished to perfection and idealized.

To sum up and learn to understand the whole symbolism, ceremonies from Japanese or Chinese culture, history and include them in the story?
Almost certainly we can’t change this long tradition. At least in some parts this will always be a subject and therefore present.

Probably all this and much more is what adds value to the story of the tree, some additional depth, which hides some additional stories, meanings, complementary elements that have to be explored... and probably such trees are the ones that attract us most, make us observe them for a longer time, make us come back again and again....

And therefore this combination of aspects, methods and different elements each creator must find for him self... no matter where he lives and whom he communicates ... to find the way of telling his story ...aha, that's it.

Really?

Think QandA V0.1. - Why?

Today someone asked me: "Why are you dealing with bonsai?"

Aaaah ... this guy again, what he wants from me this time? OK, basically a very simple question, with a very simple answer ... because I like it, it makes me happy, bla, bla ..

But the guy doesn’t let go and continues: "This is your answer; the only reason is - because U like it?"

Well, and because I want to create something that is alive and constantly evolving, something that never ends, because I like searching for yamadoris in nature, because I get to know different, very interesting people, because it is creative, because I learn a lot, because it’s a area where you never get to the end, because you get used to look at things from a long term perspective, because I learn to be patient, because it relaxes me, because with every tree you create a story that never ends, because this is also a different way of communication, because it is fundamentally interesting, a lot of tradition, modernism, symbolism, mixing of various themes, knowledge, reflection, where several elements create one story....

And he listens to me, laughs and says: "Basically you don’t really know why you're dealing with bonsai, I’m just waiting that you »sell« me some cliché »because it is a way of life."

So today the whole day I’m thinking about this question and at this moment while I am writing this, I came to the conclusion that I still really don’t know why. I enjoy it, that’s clear. But my feeling tells me that there is more, much more, another dimension, a depth which I will try to explore. The curious guy who asked me this question is enjoying this a lot... i wouldn’t care about this if the guy who asked me this question wouldn’t be me. 

What now?

No quick fixes,... so we agreed with the curious guy, that I write all my points of view, reasons, thoughts on my blog, with all additional topics connected to this question... he reads them, raises new questions and we search for answers,...this experimentally behaviour will be named Think Q&A. Lets see....

If someone likes it or is willing to share his points of view….please feel free to share your comments...

Two day package

The last two days were quite by my taste. The "two day custom package« consisted of one day strolling around the Kras region and one day participation at the workshop organized by the SBK (Slovenian bonsai club) ... such a combination of good people and trees cant be bad.

The tour true the Kras region was as always a little tuff, very nice, even windier and above all very interesting. Matija, Dante and I spent a great day ... of course the main reason was search for yamadoris ... but about that one other time….collection time..

The second day passed at a workshop which was organized by SBK in a nice, small village Šampas. First some chit-chat, than some protocol and finally work on trees... individual, sometimes together, most of deciduous trees, others on conifers....fun for everybody.

Several trees on the workshop have very good potential ... the results depends on time, knowledge, effort, vision, talent and both souls .....the soul of the tree and the creator.
 

Day of Culture by Tora

This day of culture passed on a slightly different way (08. February is the National day of Culture in Slovenia). Jože, Miha, Jan and I visited a work shop In Tora and under the supervision of Tomaž and Rajko each of us worked on our trees ... IMHO that’s a very likeable way of spending the day of culture.

The company was as always excellent, the atmosphere great, basically a perfect day to learn, gather experience and create.

Tora with surrounding area

Unlike previous workshops, this time we all worked on deciduous trees, which require a different approach than conifers.. the result is not visible after the first design, you need to work step by step and take into account that after the first creation, the desired shape of the tree will not be visible to the naked eye ... you have to see the vision of the trees, understand the tree and then follow the steps to the final shape ... "watch and learn" a little bit differently.

I worked on my Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus) which I collected from the wild ... classic yamadori with its charm, its potential but also their whims, weakness and errors.

Carpinus Betulus Yamadori - 03-2010

The basic dilemma in the beginning was to choose the direction of the shape, to design it with only one dominant trunk, or keep both?... if leaving just one, which one? ... After a good discussion with all participants a decision was made ... I start with the lower right part of the tree and after that we decide... soon it became clear that both trunks have to remain.

Hornbeam - before styling

Time once again passed too quickly, the work is not completed, but an intermediate result is visible. In the coming days I will finish the work on the dead wood, work out the narrowing of the trunk below the top of the tree, style the left root, refine the nebari and perhaps some other detail.

Hornbeam - after styling

In the next steps I will focus on the development of the first left branch, try to make it more dominant, to achieve a balance between the left and right part of the tree.

Hornbeam (Carpinus Betulus)

Another issue is, of course ramification of the crown, which is not so problematic on Hornbeams and can be achieved relatively quickly and easily. 

The third issue concerns the nebari at the rear of the tree...

The fourth issue is.... The fifth issue is ...., Fifty-sixth issue is....the important thing is that I’m getting there.

The beginning of the story of this tree is available here.

Tour the Kras

Sun, no wind, idyllic landscape, almost no people and one fox in the run ..... is a brief summary of the last tour in the Kras region. We made a really great long trip true the region, Matija and I took a full advantage of the day and his dog Dante was discovering the area with a doggy smile on his face... everybody happy.

Happy Dante

Of course, the tour was also adjusted to search for the right terrain and potential yamadori's and here we got quite lucky....everybody happy.

 Prunus Mehalab - Yamadori

Prunus Mehalab - Yamadori

I’m in contact with the land owners already and if I get permission there will be some movement to my garden…again everybody happy.

Red Paradise

Today, the day began quite normally. Morning routine, work in the office, tasks, e-mails, phones and similar stuff ... until one click from Tomaz on FB it seemed to be a normal working day,...but a couple of minutes later I set in the car withTomaž with the route to the 'Red Paradise' . At the beginning of the trip we were exploring new ground, which did not meet our expectations, then Tomaz replaced the coordinates and we went to his hunting ground for "red pines".

After a few meters of climbing and Tomaz-s unexpected stunt, which I caught somewhere between the first and second down hill rattle... (It was a happy ending and I hope there are no serious injuries) ... we arrived in the Red paradise. The route was unkind, steep, rocky, sandy, raw, basic ... such as it should be to find the right material ... and after some additional climbing Tomaz found his red treasure ... as spontaneously as the trip started the name of the really great finding came from Tomaz.... “The mother of all red pines”

A great day ended soon ... the new season begins, in the next days new work, workshops, training, search for answers, the accumulation of experience will begin...the start is very good ... for me to.... on a previous trip I also found my material of the season ... “Grandmother of all beeches”.

Fagus Sylvatica Yamadori