What should a Bonsai Planting Accent say ?

I'm with the tree. If it weren't for him I wouldn't be here.

Leo Schordje wrote:The Milwaukee Bonsai Society show encourages inventive displays with local Wisconsin sensibilities.

havent had the time to fully peruse this thread, but leo, your statement jumped out at me...

just wondering how you came to that conclusion, or what you based it on, or how they allegedly "encourage" inventive displays ?

sorry, but i could not come up with a way to ask that without sounding sardonic...

beer city snake wrote:

Leo Schordje wrote:The Milwaukee Bonsai Society show encourages inventive displays with local Wisconsin sensibilities.

haven't had the time to fully peruse this thread, but leo, your statement jumped out at me...
just wondering how you came to that conclusion, or what you based it on, or how they allegedly "encourage" inventive displays ?
sorry, but i could not come up with a way to ask that without sounding sardonic...  

One good example is your own display, the Ficus you put in the October 2014 show. They did not make you take it down, you even got a ribbon, not a first, but a ribbon none the less. Your display with that fun scroll made by your young niece was not at all in the formal japanese style.

Ok, maybe I overstated by using the word ''encourage'', but they do allow us all to pretty much do displays the way we like. (as long as it fits in the space allowed). Tolerates might have been a better choice of words. The old guard, that really know their stuff, like to just sitting back and watching the reactions to new ideas. There is a small vocal minority (2 or 3) that would protest, but none of the old guard would back them, so unconventional displays remain in the show.

The point I was making in this tread was display context and local show rules govern which type of accent can be used.

Dick, Kaikajiu or someone knowledgeable please correct me if I am wrong. (copied and pasted from my web pages)

A Bonsai term referring to a planting of grasses or herbs grown to be displayed with a bonsai, or for appreciation of itself in its own right.  Kusamono 草物 is the most often used term, and the most generic, the name can be used regardless of the use of the planting. When the grass or herb planting is displayed alone, as the primary focus of attention the term Sanyasou 山野草 is often used in Japan. The term Shitakusa 下草 specifically means an under planting, and should be only applied to accent plants that are used to represent the grasses and herbs growing under the main tree. Usually the tallest point of the shitakusa will be below the top of the stand of the main tree. Hence, not all Kusamono when displayed with a main tree are Shitakusa.

Accent planting is a better term to use in the west, when used with a tree, as it is generic.

Looks like you spelled it out very well. I do think it is important to understand the different terms and what they EXACTLY mean. It used to drive me cracy in my koi hobby with the japanese terms for colors/kinds of red. It didn't translate to english very well, yet made a world of difference in understanding the selection of little koi and how the color would change as they aged.
I'm very fortunate to have Maples-san as a teacher and have learned to respect his knowledge of display.

leo - i think it would be a triumph of the spirit to be asked to take down a display because it was too unconventional !!!

you once mentioned mapplethorpe here on the forums and boy-oh-boy, but a mapplethorpian display would really raise some hackles on the old guard !!! but of course the tree would have to be rock-solidly flawless in order to pull something like that off.

just something to shoot for

beer city snake wrote:leo - i think it would be a triumph of the spirit to be asked to take down a display because it was too unconventional !!!

you once mentioned mapplethorpe here on the forums and boy-oh-boy, but a mapplethorpian display would really raise some hackles on the old guard !!! but of course the tree would have to be rock-solidly flawless in order to pull something like that off.

just something to shoot for

ah, Maplethorpe,
what is the correct naked body part to display with a shimpaku?

dick benbow wrote:Here's a tip that will help you get away from that new planting new pot sydrome...(you can thank me later) also for use with new bonsai pots for use wih old trees!

Take your new highly glazed pot and brush on a product called Glass etching creme.( check with your local arts and craft hobby shop) Allow it to adhere to the outside of the pot for about 20 minutes.

dick - i hope you check back on this post as it is starting to fade...

i want to ask you what brand of glass etch you used ?

after reading your tip i immediately went to a craft store and found that the brand they carry was almost $40 for a small 20oz jar

i then checked amazon and found a brand that was less than $30 for a large bucket, but had very mixed reviews...

thanks !

I looked for my notes during Eric's class where I did get the name brand, but sorry to report I seemed to have misplaced them. I did talk to another who attended the class at the recent stone juried show. He said he was going to Walmart to get a product which would be cheaper than the hobby shops. I did talk to an sdditional individual
who said because of the strength of the product he bought he did have to run a particularly bright glaze thru the process 3X to get the soften effect desired. Hope some of this answer is helpful.

I looked again for my notes before sending, and lo and behold I found them. The brand he was using was called "armour Etch".

thanks dick !

the armour etch is the one w/ the consistently good reviews and the one that is used by glass etching hobbyistststsss
so it figures that the one that works is the expensive one

but today i stumbled upon a 40% off coupon at hobby lobby which is where i saw the armour etch

based on the reviews, i bet the cheap stuff i found on amazon (XIM 44082 Etching Cream) is the same stuff your guy used that took 3 apps...

cheers !

Gosh, how did folks even survive without the internet and IBC in the previous generation?
certain truths seem to remain however...IE "you get what you pay for ".

Now about that coupon

Thanks for the feedback

dick benbow wrote:Gosh, how did folks even survive without the internet and IBC in the previous generation?
certain truths seem to remain however...IE "you get what you pay for ".

Now about that coupon

Thanks for the feedback

i feel fortunate to not be of the current generation (what i call the sci-fi gen) as i can exist perfectly well without a "device" in my hands...
heck, i can even remember black and white tv !

i think being able to remember pre-connect-to-everything-in-an-instant times helps to truly appreciate the amount of knowledge (good and bad) that is now at our fingertips...

but i digress...

so, about that coupon, here you go:

http://www.shopathome.com/discounts_and_coupons/default-brand-hobby-lobby.aspx?refer=1055600&src=SEPDSE&vendor=google&Distribution=Search&keyword=hobby%20lobby%20coupon&MatchType=e&AdId=61406141185&placement=&device=c&network=g&gclid=CJPF6pLjoMQCFY-DaQodpAgAUg

thank-you!

Here are a few questions, you should ask yourself-it is not necessarily a complete list, nor is it ranked too precisely:
1. What do you WANT to say, when you display a bonsai?
2. where does your bonsai grow? can you define that with your companion plant?
3. How do you express the season?
4. How can you complement the bonsai-consider, color, shape and size.
Here are some of the most common "mistakes" that I have observed: Too tall, Too big, too small
I try not to repeat the same colors and shapes of pots, and plants-so for instance try not to have 2 pots of the same color, same shape. If I display a pine, I don't like to see a companion plant with lots of straight spiky grass, that repeats the shape of the pine needles.
If you decide to show a blooming flowering plant in Fall, please make sure it is a Fall blooming plant(Now a days you can get plants that bloom most any time of the year, shipped from the opposite hemisphere-so yes, if you live in the Southern hemisphere then adjust accordingly. don't show a bougainvillea with a larch-they come from different latitudes.
And the list goes on, but enough for now

Kora, thank-you. I hope you'll continue to post these "little nuggets" of pure gold that you've learned over your study. I'm still panning for these little niggets, so by putting them in "the pan", it helps in acquiring the right stuff.