Dear Jim:

When someone would enter our home, right opposite the front door on the
opposite wall is a stairway. The builder had built a half brick wall to
hide the stairs. We kept artificial flowers which, was tacky, but the
display was hollow and since I had never grown anything. Could not
figure out how to put live flowers there.

When I started into the Bonsai addiction, I decide to display a Ficus
Benjamina forest where the artificial flowers had resided.

I had a three sided box built with a solid water proof bottom which was
about three inches tall in the front of the open box. I filled this area
with water. I hung lights and built a waterfall (to create humidity) I
then painted a backdrop to mimic the waterfall. Visitors to our home
are always impressed with this display. When I caused this display to be
built, I had never heard the word of Tokonoma, since I was just learning
to keep my trees alive and not getting into the cultural part of
Bonsai!!! To me this was just a way to display my forest and had
absolutely nothing to do with the idea of a Tokonoma.

Carl L. Rosner

Jim Lewis wrote:

I'm doing a program on displaying bonsai for our club in April --
just before our yearly show.

While it will include ways to display trees are exhibits and
shows, I want to cover display at the owner's home, or for
special events where one might have just one special display of
tree (and whatever).

I'd enjoy hearing from those of you who have used your trees as
part of some "event" or other. Did you display the tree alone,
with other trees, or with other objects of one kind or another?

Were your displays "Oriental" or a mixture of the Orient (the
bonsai, perhaps) and the Occident (something else?)

Where did your display go? Few western homes have anything
resembling the tokonoma (and I suspect that MOST Japanese homes
are the same, these days). Was it a centerpiece of a table?
Against a wall somewhere? In a corner? Entranceway?

I know Craig has used them in his Church, and Iris has tied her
trees into Judaism. I've brought bonsai into our local Taoist
organization; have others of you done similar things?

Please reveal all. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden




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