Bonsai, It's Nature and It's Art

Bonsai are not exact duplicates of trees growing in the wild. Rather, they are evocations of the spirit of nature, of the life force of the natural world. They are manmade shapes that suggest nature, as does, say an impressionist painting, rather than duplicate nature, as a photograph might. The artist's feeling for balance, form, and line combine with nature's juices to evoke a larger adn deeper concept.

Viewing bonsai should be a kind of rest, a green pause in the staccato pace of daily life, a brief contact with nature's great calm. A single bonsai might suggest an entire scene to the viewer, with sounds and smells and the feel of the air.

To develop your taste and judgment you'll have to study trees, both those in their natural conditions and those trained as bonsai.

Conifers, good for bonsai style

Learn about trees in the wild by getting out and looking at them. Train yourself to recognize the conditions that make a tree grow in a particular manner. Investigate why a tree is formed in one way, deformed in another. Trees tend to lean toward water, away from wind, toward lowland. Foliage grows so that it will receive maximum sunlight. Trees that cluster in tight groves have most of their foliage high up, and such trees stand straight, most of the branches reaching up instead of out. Trees that are not crowded together usually have bushy foliage and spreading branches.

Pay attention to the conditions of weather, terrain, and soil that affect a tree's growth. Why do some trees have straight trunks and others twisted trunks? Why does a species grow vertically in one place and prostrate in another? Study of trees in nature will give you insight for training bonsai.

Through careful study of bonsai exhibits or photographs, you can also learn a great deal from what others have done. Not only is copying no crime, it's a venerable tradition for beginners and experts alike. Like snowflakes, no trees are ever exactly alike, and your copy of another tree could never produce identical results.

The best way to get a three-dimensional view of bonsai is to study them in person. Inquire about bonsai exhibits and demonstration and bonsai club shows at a local nursery or horticultural society, and attend them whenever you can. If there's a bonsai club in your area, the members' trees may provide worthwhile examples for study. In a club, you'll be able not only to see other trees but also to glean practical advice from other anthusiasts.
Many publications contain photos of outstanding bonsai specimens, they can be helpful in generating ideas for your own bonsai. The purpose of the bonsai portraits in this blog is the same: to display examples of bonsai that are both beautiful to look at and provocative of ideas.
None of the 'rules' offered in this blog should be considered rigid. Instead, take them as flexible guidelines for training your plants. Seldom, if ever, does a really exquisite bonsai flagrantly violate established esthetic standards. But many fine speciments show subtle deviations, perhaps because the tree itself wouldn't bend to an absolutely 'correct' shape or because the artists has experimented a little. And of course, as in other arts, different experts have different standards; different teachers teach different rules.
The following pages will present rules and standards generally accepted as correct, as artistically necessary and sound for creating exquisite bonsai. Beyond that, your experience in the art will determine what peinciple will guide your work.