Shohin Off 2011

From Japan, indeed. Anyhow, well maintained.

Congratulations,

Alex

Alex wrote:From Japan, indeed. Anyhow, well maintained. Congratulations, Alex

Maybe something's getting lost in translation here. Not "maintained" - that would be a considerable underestimation of what Mark and Ritta have done. We saw the progression pics so believe me - they have taken good material to an exceptional height of excellence. I can't emphasise enough that this goes way beyond just clipping a few leaves every so often. These trees have been pretty much remodelled. Read Bob Bailey's post - that's the true picture.

Congratulations to all those involved in staging this weekend, hosting workshops, displaying their quality trees and all those who made the effort to go to Willowbog for this event. The trees were all top notch and really worth seeing close up.

I visited on Sunday, setting off from sunny East Lothian at 7:00am leaving myself plenty of time to get there for the workshop with Marco at 10:00am. (I'd estimated two and a half hours drive).
Things started to go wrong when I found out a section of the A68 had been closed - I followed the de-tour through some lovely scenery and arrived back on the A68 just at the Scottish / English border.
My directions to Willowbog I had printed from the internet were of no use to me due to the de-tour and I drove on into the Auld Enemy's Land confident I would remember the way from my visit last year.
Imagine my joy when I saw the sign for Bellingham, knowing Willowbog was very near by.
I took the road to Bellingham only to be stopped by a friendly guy walking his lovely 2 Black Retreviers, who informed me the bridge was closed and I couldn't get through. He gave me directions to another road which would take me to Willowbog.
I drove off not too confident about remembering his detailed directions but I thought I'd give it a try. He said to me it was roughly 10 miles. Imagine my horror now after driving 15 miles and still not being there, I continued driving not really sure if I was on the right road - suddenly a ray of sunshine appeared on the horizon - Fiona in her big blue bus, bombing down the road in the opposite direction from me! I thought to myself 'She must be going to Willowbog', I turned the car round and followed her.
After many miles of twisting, turning roads, my horror turned to nightmare as Fiona took the road leading to Newcastle. I continued following and managed to flag her down. I could have cried when Fiona told me she had just come from Willowbog and was heading out for a cycle run !
I turned the car at the nearest roundabout - bloody miles along the road and headed back the way I had come.
I arrived at Willowbog at 10:30, clocking up nearly 160 miles for what should have been a 100 mile journey.

The workshop with Marco was superb, I learned a lot over the course of the day and had some much needed work done to a Juniper I have.

It was great to see some familiar faces throughout the day and also to meet some new ones. It was a pleasure to meet John Brocklehurst and Bob Bailey, who were both displaying trees. John's Juniper with the tall jin (posted previously by Stone Monkey) was my favourite tree in the exhibition. Bob Bailey's mame displays were fantastic - you really have to see these trees in person to appreciate their size and detail.

The exhibition really was stunning, congratulations once again to all who took part.

I'm glad photos of the whole displays have been posted, my photo's are mostly of the individual trees, rather than the display. Apologies for cutting off some scrolls, stands and accents



























Iain Baillie repotting his Larch



Simon Monkey-ing with his Pine



Looking forward to the next one - Well done BSA

Paul

Yep, not sure looking at this makes me feel better for missing it

As nice as it is to see quality shohin,(and quality they are) what comes out of this thread is the great craic that everyone had over the two days.

Well done BSA

Mrs. Fiona,

Nobody has translated anything to me. I am not stupid. Japanese trees, well maintained.

Congratulations to the winner.

regards,

Alex

Alex wrote:Mrs. Fiona,

Nobody has translated anything to me. I am not stupid. Japanese trees, well maintained.

Congratulations to the winner.

regards,

Alex

Totally disagree Alex. Have you seen some of Mark and Ritta's trees more humble beginings? A real boon to the UK scene and highly respected.

How I wish I could attend all the great shows we have in our little piece of turf. Great stuff and thanks for posting.

will baddeley wrote:How I wish I could attend all the great shows we have in our little piece of turf. Great stuff and thanks for posting.

Next year's dates and an early game plan are already in the Announcements section, Will, so you can get your holidays booked round it.

Nest year's event will be an out and out show rather than a development weekend like ths one was. But a show with a difference

See Announcements for details.

Right your on. I'll have a word with Bigsteve and the splinter group.

will baddeley wrote:I'll have a word with Bigsteve and the splinter group.

Oooh do we have our first group entry already? How splendid. Go for it!

Amazing Shohin (no matter how they are born or raised )
Maybe the issue is that Mark and Rita, as well as others, are so good doing their work, that it is not possible to see from what level the basic material has been developed. Actually the skills are so good today in Europe by some of the dedicated bonsai enthusiasts that from good material excellent bonsai are developed today.
Mark and Rita's Shohin collection were also (at another place) mentioned as very good by Japanese Shohin expert Tomohiro Matsumi.

So if anyone of you English guys and girls need just a tiny bit more Shohin, you are very welcome to take a small trip to Denmark in the weekend of May 28. and 29. Focus on Shohin-bonsai and our special guest is Shohin expert Tomohiro Masumi from Japan.
There are good flight connections and direct buses to the town of the event. Read a lot more on www.shohin-europe.com/STARTPAGE/ARTICLES-tomohiro2011DBS.html

Feel free to contact me about any questions you might have regarding going to the event.

Regards
Morten Albek

This is really many, very nice trees, diplayed beatyfull....inspiration for me...thanks for sharing.

kind regards Yvonne

Well done Mark and Ritta on your fabulous display of trees (a well deserved award) and congratulations to all of the other exhibitors for their entries and of cause.... congrats to the organisers for putting on such a wonderful event.

Regarding the "trees from Japan" or as some have suggested: the "japanese" trees...... I wonder if the trees themselves appreciate that they have been ascribed a 'nationality'. LOL!!!!!! Surely art is about the piece of work whether it be a painting, sculpture or bonsai and not necessarily about the artist or the country of origin.

Bonsai is very much a transitional art form and if bonsai are well-cared for they are likely to outlive their current day custodians and will be passed on to their next carer just as some of Mark and Ritta's trees were previously cared for by an overseas bonsai enthusiast/trader before they acquired them.

When we view bonsai art, it is the tree we should be considering and enjoying for itself at any given moment in time, and not go worrying ourselves too much about where it came from — frankly, that's irrelevant! Wouldn't it be a sad day if all of the paintings in the National Gallery, London, were only British! Art is about diversity and about social, geographical and cultural creative expression and many of the shohin trees displayed certainly qualify for all of this.

Looking for the 'good' in things will always hasten progress, whilst finding fault only serves as a punctuation in time and all too often results in unnecessary negativisms!

cheers, Dan

Guys and Gals,

I think all Alex was saying was -- the trees don't look very British as of yet. I didn't see what he wrote as a negative.
Col tiempo.
Just like there is a British way of painting, or rather a way of putting an image together, that is very distinctive, and cannot be mistaken for say an Italian or Dutch painting.

Enjoying the trees. Thanks for posting them.
Khaimraj

Very well said Dan,if only I had your way with words!

Thanks Morten and Dan. This was precisely my point.

Hey Morten - are you allowing us Scots (and other Celts) as well as the English to your event? I'm really quite interested.

I won't steal anything, honest.

Khaimraj Seepersad wrote:Guys and Gals,

I think all Alex was saying was -- the trees don't look very British as of yet. I didn't see what he wrote as a negative.
Col tiempo.
Just like there is a British way of painting, or rather a way of putting an image together, that is very distinctive, and cannot be mistaken for say an Italian or Dutch painting.

Enjoying the trees. Thanks for posting them.
Khaimraj

What does a "British" tree look like, maybe in the UK we should just stick to English Elm and Scots pine and not bother with other species. Mark and Ritta are to be congratulated for their compositions, including the quality of trees the outstanding accent plants and the way they are presented and for helping to raise the bar of "British" shohin

A British tree, is one that has grown and matured under the conditions prevalent in the UK. In studying the typical shapes of local trees, and the variations within those typical shapes, a look that is distinctively British will come forth. In time this look will also affect all tree types possibly able to be grown in the UK. Same as has happened with English oil painting.
Col Tiempo.

It is not to be seen as a restriction, rather as an ability to adapt and grow mentally.
Hope that helps.
Khaimraj

The "nationality" argument is entirely spurious. Lest this gets out of proportion, the only issue was Alex's use of the word "maintain" and the comments of several posters seem to indicate that they all think as I did that it implies something along the lines of merely keeping something ticking over in the condition in which it was acquired. All I and others are saying is that this does an immense disservice to the huge amount of development work that Mark and Ritta have put into the trees. It wasn't maintenance it was transformation and that screams out to be credited. I have PMed Alex to point out that in no way was I suggesting he is stupid. But sometimes the word used is not appropriate, and this is what happened here. I am also sure the last thing Mark and Ritta would want is an argument over their trees as the other thing on a par with their expertise is their modesty. So can we forget discussions of tree "nationality" or at least put it to another thread altogeether. Instead, can we celebrate an event that truly was "shohin off" the quality already achieved in this branch of UK bonsai.



And please note that is UK bonsai - not just English!!!!!

fiona wrote:Thanks Morten and Dan. This was precisely my point.

Hey Morten - are you allowing us Scots (and other Celts) as well as the English to your event? I'm really quite interested.

I won't steal anything, honest.

Dear Fiona
Dammed - i should have written English, Scottish, Walisian, Irish (missed some)?
Everybody are more than welcome and we will be so happy to see you UK´s here - and from all other countries too. We will keep an eye on you though - LOL.

Thanks Dan for your points too.

Best regards
Morten

Stone Monkey,

Thanks for posting this informative thread. I wish that there were even more people interested in investing time to promote bonsai art, regardless the origin.

Alex,

I understand your comments and I am certain you enjoy the trees.


Russell,

I think you were a little harsh. That is really not the conduct of a gentleman, regardless of your personal and private feelings. You have always shown good character in this forum. I am sure you meant no harm.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

Maybe Alex should expand on some of his comments, as "perhaps" they have been misunderstood.

Getting pointless again. This is a thread celebrating the success of a very innovative event which pushed the bar of UK bonsai just that little bit higher. And the common theme running through this thread is that everyone (Alex included) has stated how great these trees are.

THAT is the real point so let's leave it at that as anything else detracts from the thread.

Once again it was a pleasure to be in the presence of so many fantastic trees, wonderful people in such a picturesque venue. Our generous hosts Peter & Jean and our ever patient tutors Marco, Peter & John surpassed themselves in offering hospitality, advice and friendship to me and “Dave” my pet monkey for the weekend.

The whole experience from the journey up with Les and Andy, car parking duties with “Dave” (giving the arrivals a wave and a few titters), workshops and Mark & Ritta’s talks were fantastic. I even managed to get clay under my nails too with the Stone Monkey “lets get all Picasso” pottery workshop. Friendships were either re-kindled or made anew and much merriment was had.

To close, I’d like to thank the BSA for another fabulous event and for all the Southerners who get a nose bleed going north of Watford,
you don’t know what you are missing – but I do!!!
Ook, Ook,
Simon

Hello,

I, humbly, post this. Please consider:



Red arrow shows direction of top of the tree. Formal display, like brick colored line, should show top portion of individual tree to meet each other. This way, composition is one and in balance. Like this example:



Just my mind.

Alex