Fundamental Bonsai Design (part 3)

The Tree Never Read The Book

What you will discover as you sit down to create your

first bonsai is that your tree has never read the formula and pretty much grew branches where it saw fit. Indeed,

if you have a piece of plant material that has all of the ele- ments described above in exactly the positions described... you have performed something of a bonsai miracle. It is vital to your bonsai development that you understand...

There are no hard and fast rules in bonsai... only guide- lines. And there are no perfect bonsai. The trees initial creation as well as its gradual development over the years, is a cooperative venture between you and the tree. It is

not a contest of wills. The formula is designed as a guide- line to help you visualize what needs to be done. Under- stand it and how it works to your advantage by helping to create asymmetry and a feeling of age in your creation.

It is not intended to be a hard fast set of rules and should never use it as a wooden club to force your tree into artis- tic submission.

If the classical design formula is not working then forget the formula for a moment and consider the subject itself. It may well be that your tree does not have a viable number one branch or that some other design element called for in the formula is missing. It happens more often than not and frankly is simply not that important. What IS important is that YOU have studied the formula enough to understand that a primary branch is needed. That under- standing will allow you to modify the bonsai’s design to compensate for such missing elements. The final prod- uct is the important part... not adherence to the formula. Trees must have balance and grace. But there is balance in unbalance and symmetry in asymmetry.

No two people will create the same bonsai in the same way that no two people would paint exactly the same picture of a bowl of fruit . Many possibilities are available

in the chosen plant material. It is up to the artist to select and create the one which best serves his purpose.

This Scots pine bonsai lacked a primary branch on the right hand side. The solution which brought the tree into correct balance was to train a seconday trunk into

a horizontal position thus compensating for the missing primary branch. The result is a well balanced asymetrical triangle. The design of many bonsai subjects will need

to be adapted in such a way. The creation of art from raw plant material is a cooperative venture between artist and tree.