This is a series of bonsai classes written by:
Hud Nordin
Cybernetic Arts rkn@guest.apple.com
Post Office Box 2066 Telephone: 408.248.0377
Sunnyvale, California 94087 Facsimile: 408.248.0416
Class 5
[This is a continuing series of spontaneous and unrehearsed "classes"
on the subject of bonsai. Many new readers were coming on board asking
about how to get started. I believe you should just start making
bonsai. So, I will try to lead you through creating your
first. Besides this gentle counsel, be sure to read the FAQ (which
appears periodically) and search out some good books or people to
introduce you to the subject. I will post sporadically with a subject
containing the word "Class". I am going slow, so be prepared to be
frustrated. If you have questions or comments about building your own
first bonsai, post them "Re:" this thread. Write me
(rkn@guest.apple.com) for back issues.]
===
Pop Quiz!
1) Which is the more pleasing bonsai? A or B? Why?
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| * | * |
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| * |*** | |*** |
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| ***-| * * | ***-| |
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| / | / ***** |
| / | / |
| XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXXX |
| XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXXX |
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| A | B |
^L
2) Which is the more pleasing bonsai? C or D? Why?
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| * | * |
| ** | ** |
| ***-|-** | **-|-*** |
| * \ | \ * |
| |--** | **--| |
| **/ *** | *** / ** |
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| ****--| | |--**** |
| ***** | | | ***** |
| \ | \ |
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| XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXXX |
| XXXXXXXXXXX | XXXXXXXXXXX |
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| C | D |
^L
3) Which is the more pleasing bonsai? E or F? Why?
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| * | * |
| **** | **** |
| *|*** | *|*** |
| **** / | **** / |
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| XXXXXXX | XXXXXXX |
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| E | F |
^L
4) Which is the more pleasing bonsai? G or H? Why?
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| * **** | * |
| **---** /*** | ** |
| ***-|-**-* | ***-|-** |
| **** * \ **** | * \ |
| * ****---|-*** | |--** |
| * ** *****/\ * | **/ *** |
| **** **** | ****** | | |
| ******--****** | ****--| |
| * ***|/ * | ***** | |
| **** --\*** | \ |
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| G | H |
^L
Answers:
1) B, because the downward sloping branches give a feeling of age in
contrast to the youthful, upward growing branches of A.
2) C, because it has branches on the outside curves of the trunk,
yielding a more balanced, flowing feeling. (Notice how a simple
rule of thumb, "Keep branches coming out of outside curves," can
provide a more pleasing form.)
3) E, because the tree is placed off-center of the container, yielding a
more balanced feeling. (This may be a difference almost too subtle
for you to notice, but, again, a simple rule provides a more
pleasing overall form.)
4) H, because it looks more like a mature tree.
Question 4 should be an easy one for you. Perhaps the raw material
that you are turning into a bonsai looks more like G right now. You
should be beginning to transform it into something more like H. Have
you removed any material from your tree yet? You ought to. What is
holding you back? Have I offered sufficient encouragement?
If you compare H with C, you will notice how much the shallow bonsai
pot of C contributes to the overall appearance, in contrast with the
deeper training pot of H. Eventually we will be addressing that issue,
but for now, we concentrate on the form of the tree.
I should warn you that before too long, we will have to worry about
the roots, so, please, start addressing the form of your tree, now.
The reason we have to worry about the roots is that we are doing some
pruning and removing branches and reducing the mass of the
leaves. Those leaves lost were doing a job--feeding the roots. The
roots are often thought of as feeding the rest of the tree, providing
water and nutrients. But, it is a two-way street. The leaves convert
carbon- dioxide and sunlight into sugars which feed the roots,
too. So, having removed a lot of leaves, we now have a tree with
hungry roots. If we do not balance the amount of roots with the amount
of leaves, the tree will be weakened.
===
Back in Class 2, I mentioned some differences between bonsai and
natural, mature trees. I thought of another one: a bonsai usually has
fewer branches. While a bonsai attempts to be a scale-model tree, you
cannot keep all aspects in scale, for instance, the number of
branches. The branches of a bonsai more give the impression of a
mature tree than mimic it precisely.
A bonsai is an artwork that provides an impression of a tree, not just
a small copy of the real thing.
An often annoying similarity between bonsai and trees is that a bonsai
has leaves of approximately the same size as a tree. Though the bonsai
may be younger, and smaller, the size of the leaves is pretty well
fixed, genetically. To get the leaves more in scale, two approaches
are taken. First, plants with genetically smaller leaves are used,
like the tiny needles of the juniper, or the smaller leaves of the
Chinese elm (ulmus parvifola). Second, training for growth in a pot
often reduces the size of the leaves a plant puts out, and techniques
like defoliation--in which every last leaf is removed from a healthy
deciduous plant, promoting a second smaller set of leaves--are
utilized. If your material does not have small leaves to begin with,
then encouraging smaller leaves will have to be left as an advanced
topic of refinement.
===
I had intended to tell you what I did with my three raw
specimens. Next time. Do some pruning, so we can compare experiences!
There is probably enough to digest, here. At least if you have no
other access to bonsai pictures, you now have the few crude drawings
from the quiz, above. I continue to encourage you to seek out books on
bonsai, or to examine live bonsai, so you can have some idea of where
you are headed with your tree.
Oh, the preferred bonsai in the quiz are all "informal upright"
style. Remember, there are several styles--and many variations--and
informal upright may not be exactly right for your tree. The "text"
(Growing Bonsai) describes the 5 main styles.
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