President's Message

by Mike McCallion

It has just recently been brought to my attention that there are some badly shaped bonsai out there.

No kidding. There are lots of badly shaped bonsai out there. And it didn't really just come to me recently. They are everywhere, and you have seen them.

Whose are they? Where are they? What do I mean by "badly shaped bonsai"? What do badly shaped bonsai look like?

The first two are easy questions: everyone involved in bonsai has badly shaped bonsai, or did at some point. And they are everywhere - in the best and worst bonsai books; in small club shows and in the best shows; on the web - EVERYWHERE on the web; and probably in your backyard. There certainly are some in my backyard. Some of the trees held up as the best in the world are also pretty badly shaped.

It's hard to answer the other questions, because this is art. It is subjective, and based on YOUR vision, interpretation, and experience. Trees I think are badly shaped might be too full, or have contradictory lines of movement. They may be unbalanced - or too balanced. It might just be a shrub without definition. There are lots of ways I could describe a bad bonsai, but then again, YOU might like it. Ask Bob Wilcox how well I point out bad bonsai. The tree I had the strongest negative reaction to at Ginkgo went home with a prize!

Everyone will have something to say about every bonsai. Every tree can have something else done to it.

(Trees in training are not badly shaped bonsai, because they are not yet bonsai.)

So they aren't badly shaped just because somebody at a show didn't like the piece, and they aren't badly shaped because some master thought there was a better tree to be made from it. It's your tree, so you need to decide if the shape can be improved.

I think many badly shaped bonsai are those that haven't had decisions made about them. There are decisions to be made about wiring, pruning, pinching, leaving alone, fertilizing and a host of other details. Deciding it is finished is also important. (Yes, developing a bonsai can be finished, though the work on it never is). Deciding it is never going to become bonsai is also important - I have trouble with that one.

Making the decisions takes practice, just like every other technique we use in creating bonsai. A tree which has decisions being made will show it. A tree you aren't making decisions about will never be bonsai. Let me repeat that - A plant in a pot will never be bonsai if you don't make decisions about it. Sure, it will grow. It will probably even thrive, if you're any good at keeping plants alive. But it cannot be bonsai unless decisions are made.

This is where exposure comes in. We all need input in order to make decisions. Going to shows, surfing the web, reading books and talking to other people will help you gain the exposure you need to make decisions and move your trees, and your skills, forward.

At this month's general meeting we want you to bring in trees that you need help making decisions on. If you have a question about what to do next, or where to start, or how to prune or wire it, or where the front is, bring it in, and other club members will help you get through some of those decisions. We can make "badly shaped bonsai" a thing of the past!