Bonsai: a reflection of nature, captured in miniature, as seen through the eyes and soul of the practitioner

I have only been growing bonsai for 4 years. That makes me a newcomer to the art, so my opinions carry about as much weight as campaign promises made by a politician. Be that as it may, this is a free country and this webpage is my forum for expressing my thoughts and opinions. You are always welcome to respond to whatever I have to say; I only ask that in doing so you try to remain civil. If you cannot do that your comments will be ignored.

Sometimes I think bonsai should be added to that list of things you do not talk about in public such as religion and politics. It seems there are too many differing opinions and theories as to what constitutes a good bonsai and what doesn't. It is this quagmire of dissension that I wish to wade into and offer up my own thoughts.

Bonsai is a mix of horticultural skill and art. It cannot be considered bonsai if one of the two parts is missing. Like the Yin and the Yang, both exist side by side forming a whole entity. You can have all the artistic ability and creative vision in the world, but if you know nothing about how to care for plants your tree will die. On the other hand you can know all there is to know about caring for plants but have no artistic vision and all you will end up with is a shrub in a pot. For me, bonsai has been a crash course learning process on both sides. I used to kill plants just by looking at them so it has been a struggle to learn the basic skills required to keep one alive, especially after cutting away branches and trimming roots off of it. On the other hand I had, and continue to have, difficulty creating an attractive bonsai from raw material. To be able to see into a mass of foliage and find trunk movement or envision future branch structure is still the most difficult aspect of bonsai for me.

When I first started growing bonsai I bought Sunsets book on bonsai, glanced through it, and then proceeded to put every plant conceivable into a pot and call it a bonsai. My trees had no taper to the trunks, no visible nebari, poor branch structure, and a good percentage of them died within 6 months from the damage I had done to the root system. Luckily I am stubborn and I didn't give up. I went out and bought some good books on bonsai. First I bought the Complete Book of Bonsai by Harry Tomlinson. Then I bought John Nakas books Bonsai Techniques I & II. I scoured the internet for information on everything bonsai. Finally I began to get a handle on the basics for caring for bonsai; all I needed to do was to develop my artistic ability.

That is when I began to notice that there seemed to be a division amongst bonsai enthusiasts regarding style. It appeared similar to our American political parties, conservatives and liberals. There are those in bonsai that adhere strictly to the guidelines and traditions passed on through the generations. Any deviance from those rules is frowned upon. Then there are those who feel that rules are only there to be broken. Bonsai is a personal art form and whatever pleases the practitioner is acceptable. Let me play devils advocate for a minute while I examine both arguments and offer my own counter-arguments.

To the traditionalists I offer the following argument. Bonsai is an art form that has a long history full of tradition. That is indisputable. Yet art is something that is meant to evolve as time passes by. Bonsai is an imitation of nature yet nature follows no guidelines or traditions. If you walk among a forest or grove of trees you will find many that fall outside what you would categorize as suitable bonsai styles. Each tree is to be appreciated on its own merits, not strict rules set in stone. Even among your rules the bunjin style violates these rules and still is found as acceptable. Bonsai is art, and being so if a tree is compelling in one way or another it should be accepted as bonsai and the practitioner praised for his abilities.

For those of you who choose to create bonsai that violate all the rules I offer the following. Bonsai does have a long history full of tradition. That in itself is to be respected and honored. If it weren't for those who came before you, there would be no art of bonsai for you to practice. As in all art there is some that has merit and some that does not. Some of the new "modern" art is an offense to the eyes no matter what rules or guidelines you follow. Bonsai is the same. I would think that nature itself would be your guide. If in nature a particular tree violates bonsai convention then that is reason enough for you to imitate it as a bonsai specimen. I only ask that you do not criticize and condemn those who wish to follow tradition in the creation of their bonsai.

I have yet to find my own personal style. I am still in the process of learning and applying basic horticultural skills to my trees. I do respect and honor the works of many, yet I find it hard to distinguish between Japanese, Chinese or American styles. I admire the works of Colin Lewis Harry Tomlinson and Ernie Kuo. I enjoy the works of the Japanese masters in Bonsai Today. I have never seen any of John Nakas trees other than those in his books, but I respect all that he has done for the art of bonsai. I also respect Nick Lentz for his abilities. I just read his interview on the Bonsai Enthusiast and find he has some very intriguing thoughts.

There are also many trees I have seen created by bonsai masters that for one reason or another just do nothing to stimulate me. Some have no character at all even though they may be perfectly symmetrical and without any other visible flaw. I find offensive trees that have been grown in the ground for untold years to develop a massive trunk, then trunk chopped to later develop the ramification. I just don't picture a tree in nature with a massive trunk and then a multitude of skinny twigs for the branch structure.

Since becoming involved in bonsai I have begun to pay close attention to every tree that passes by the window of my truck as I drive the roads of California. Sometimes one catches my eye and I stop and take a photo of it in the hopes that someday I may have a potensai that may be suitable to imitate it. I have also begun to do as John Naka did in his books; picture how trees found in nature would look as a bonsai. I am not sure yet where the art of bonsai will take me. I do know that Mother Nature will be my guide. I have always been somewhat of a loner in life. I imagine that that will also be the case in my life as a bonsai practitioner. It gives me comfort that not every tree found in the wild is a beautiful specimen. If nature get away with creating one eye-popping specimen out of hundreds, then I think I would be satisfied to create one eye-popping specimen out of numerous mediocre bonsai specimens. Bonsai is a reflection of nature captured in miniature, as seen through the eyes and soul of the practitioner. Every person looks upon nature differently. It will be interesting to see how I reflect it in the trees that I will one day create.