US National Exhibition Entry - Satsuki

Here's my display with two backgrounds... I like them both for different reasons... The photos aren't perfect (I wish the table position was more dead-on, but I didn't realize it until I got home from the shoot)... but I am pleased with the overall feel of the display. Comments are always welcomed, but at this point, I can't really change anything...

Enjoy...

Victrinia

Hello,

I prefer the second display. The color of the veil sticks better with the color of flowers, and the display is much more cheerful, in agreement with the season.

A thing saddens me: Why a dead wood on an azalea ? I think that the tree would be more attractive without. Furthermore, the dead branch starts inside a curve. IMHO.

I love your Kusamono

Hahahhahaha clearly you do not know what spring is like in Washington state my friend....lol The background is very much the reality of things...

Deadwood on an azalea is a bit odd for most... but I actually like it, inside curve or no... actually my only real problem with it is that it doesn't extend into a shari on the trunk. I will likely change that later... but I could not now... no matter how tempted because there would be no time to heal. I'm also gradually darkening the jin still with india ink... so it won't be quite so stark in the end.

I love the kusamono also... the tuft of leaves in there is a dwarf form of gaultheria which is rarely used because it doesn't transplant well... but I was fortunate, and its in the same plant family as azalea... which is why I wanted it as a feature in the kusamono.

The kusamono is composed of gaultheria, Japanese Blood grass, White Diamond sedum, thyme, and two mosses.

Thanks for your comment.

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

One other item of note... The scroll is one of the ones that Paul Goff made for me... I LOVE that man's work.

In fact I donated an auction item for the Exhibition of having the opportunity to collaborate with him on a custom mounted scroll. I valued the experiance of working with him so much, I wanted someone else to have that pleasure as well. Plus owning a Paul Goff scroll is just a wonderful thing... and to have it made to ones own specs is very nice.

Kindest regards,

Victrinia

Victrinia Ridgeway wrote:Hahahhahaha clearly you do not know what spring is like in Washington state my friend....lol The background is very much the reality of things...

I would be delighted to know. Thank you for inviting me. ahahahah

You would not be the first internet bonsai friend to be my very honored guest. Nor would you be the last... I have a very open door. If you ever come to the US, you'd definitely have a place to crash, loads of good food, and trees galore to play with.

V

Even though i cant see the full images, i like the first ones back drop more.
I think its nice to see jin on an azalea, it makes a change and more artists should try it. There are some great azalea out there, many styled like a pine which would look better with jin/shari in the design. The fact that its on the inside of a bend doesnt matter, maybe if it was a live branch!.
Lovely tree.
Regards Nick

Even though i cant see the full images, . . .

Nick, If you can't see full images, right click on the picture. Select "view image" (or whatever your software calls it) and there it'll be.

I prefer the plain background. It may always be gray and cloudy in the Pacific northwest, but I find he blotchy background to be very distracting when I should be looking at the tree, the scroll and the accent.

The second display is full of optimism but I prefer the first one.

I have a question which perhaps is silly, but I am in the start of a journey to knowledge....
So, I think that the scroll looks like it is being hanged too much forward. Shouldn't it be more towards the background?
Is there any point to this query of mine?

Thank you!

my nellie wrote:The second display is full of optimism but I prefer the first one.

I have a question which perhaps is silly, but I am in the start of a journey to knowledge....
So, I think that the scroll looks like it is being hanged too much forward. Shouldn't it be more towards the background?
Is there any point to this query of mine?

Thank you!

Both displays are nice but the white flowers seem to call for a darker background to make them standout.

The scroll does indeed seem to be suspended in mid air - must have to do with the lighting. When I take studio photos now I try to have the background several feet behind the tree. So using a scroll would be problematic.

Howzit Victrinia,

Awesome display sister. I really like the first one the best. It brings out the color of the azalea and the detail of the trunk much better then the other background. On the lighter background the scroll seems to be competing for attention with my eyes because of the dark contrast to light. Where as on the darker background the white flowers catches your attention and from there moves to the rest of the display. The jin works well with the way the trunk moves. IMHO, it adds a nice touch to an already fine specimen.

A Hui Hou,

-Tim

@Rob Kempinski, @my nellie

The scroll is indeed suspended.... the pole suspending it was photoshoped out. the back drop is several feet away there is a strobe and bounces between the tree and the background to eliminate any shadows.

I like both of your display backgrounds but would agree with Rob that the darker one is better - certainly for a photo.

Can I ask if you have been allocated only a certain amount of table space at the exhibition? I would have liked to see the display stretched out over a longer length, but maybe this is not possible. I too would like to see it a bit further back from the tree. Great display though. Well done.

I love Paul's scrolls too. I have about eight scrolls of various sizes and some 50 inserts. He custome made one for me a couple of years back and interestingly it is not unlike your own. I wanted a dark background wiht a murky moon to give an overall impression of the scene being at night. Don't want to derail your thread but here it is:


Shohin display with Black Pine, "murky moon" scroll (P Goff) and Iris retculata accent. Pic not the best quality -I spent the BSA show photographing everyone else's trees and forgot to take my own. This was a hastily snapped shot before I derigged the exhibit.


ps can I come to your house as well if I'm over?

Thanks for all the feedback! I appreciated knowing your reactions to it, it's profoundly helpful to me. As my hubby pointed out, indeed the scroll is ahead of the background, but it is well behind the tree... it just doesn't seem so, because the depth is all odd. Can't get nothing past you guys...lol

Fiona...

I don't know how much space will be available, I'm told it'll be better than it was last time. I was encouraged to do a full three point display, so I am only hope they will set aside suitable room for those kinds of displays. Especially since it is the negative space which often helps evoke the strongest responses to a display. There is clearly not enough negative space here. The tree is pretty good size, so I had very little choice in the set-up of the display at my friend's home, where I took the photos. If I had my druthers... the scroll would have been higher.. and there would have been more distance between the kusamono and the tree.

We should post a Paul Goff Scroll Thread... I'd just love to see some of your faves.... Sweet display btw... love the whole thing.

And heck yah you'd be welcomed....



Tim.... Mahalo Braddah!!

And one other note for all... I just showed the photos of the different back grounds to give a different feeling to the display - so that it might speak to people in different ways. I will have no control over the background at the Exhibition... one can imagine it will be neutral.

Warmest regards to all,

Victrinia

Thanks for the preview, Vic...looking forward to seeing it in person in Rochester, and I'm sorry you won't be there, too.

In general, I am a fan of dark backgrounds...I think it gives the image more depth. Nice display overall!

Victrinia Ridgeway wrote: ... ... I just showed the photos of the different back grounds to give a different feeling to the display - so that it might speak to people in different ways. ... ...

And it surely did!!!

G'day M'Lady...

Wonderful composition(s)...very nicely executed.

Like John, I prefer darker backgrounds...especially black. But, in my opinion, the backdrop that you have presented is "too busy".

Howsomeever...like I said, wonderful...you do yourself proud my friend.

Aside...Fiona...I like your presentation as well.

Pat…mounted on my trusty stead, riding off wildly in all directions…

Thank you my friends for your additional comments and support... as always I appreciate them greatly. I also got a wonderful email from Paul about it, as I asked him his opinion of it... he was very insightful... I'll try and post it for you all to read, since he is such an authority on the finer points of display.

Warmest regards,

Victrinia

Just because I think it puts it in perspective.... this is what it looked like when I got it... structurally good, but a bit of a mess with it's nebari about three inches below the soil....