Nina Shishkoff wrote:

Maybe I am reading the wrong magazines.

snip

That's what clubs are for! I learn absolutely nothing from
photo-spreads of gigantic collected trees turned into gigantic carved
museum pieces. But I learn a tremendous amount from seeing the bonsai
of friends develop over a period of years. I see what they did,
compared to what I did with a similar tree (which might have
collected on the same trip or at the same nursery). Also, friends
are great for studying your tree and making cryptic comments like
"Oh. I see you removed *that* branch. Hmmm. Interesting choice."
--
Nina Shishkoff

Frederick, MD

The thing I learn from articles in Bonsai Today, for instance, is not how to make
one of my trees look like one of theirs, but how to look at a tree. For instance,
a number of articles in BT include very detailed descriptions of why the artist
chose a particular angle of planting, factors that went into the decision about the
front, etc. For me, paint-by-the-numbers doesn't work. I want to design my trees
to look good, with designs that work artistically. Looking exclusively at pictures
of trees that are at the same level as mine won't do it. I need to have goals to
work towards. Having images of well-developed trees, along with seeing others'
trees, does this for me.

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a

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