Andrew - I like your attitude about bonsai. Too many people treat them like
a commodity: used cars, garage sales, old furniture and bonsai. If one has
this attitude, he misses the whole point of bonsai. A true bonsai artist
treats his trees as part of himself. He may give them to others if he knows
that the recipient can care for them as much as he does, but he doesn't sell
them.
I once went to a convention at which Ben Oki was doing a demo. A visitor
asked him if the tree he was working on was for sale. When the answer was
"no", the visitor asked:"But if were for sale, what would be the price?"
Ben quietly replied: " A thousand dollars."
The visitor gasped: "Isn't that a lot of money?"
"Yes, said Ben, but when you consider that I put 100 hours into that tree,
it only comes to $10 an hour for my work. Do you think I'm worth that
much?" Then, as an afterthought, Ben said: "But it's not for sale."
Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew G"
To:
Sent: Monday, July 05, 2004 5:39 AM
Subject: [IBC] How many of you hord/keep bonsai?


Hi everyone
Just reading a recent thread where someone is moving state and a response
to
it was someone suggesting the person sell their bonsai away and "start
again" apart from their favourite/s.
Now between my fiance and I we have about 18 bonsai.
Of them about 6 are what I class as true bonsai, another 9 may get that
title after this winter has passed as all of the other are in training
pots.
I have had some of them for 5yrs (but were older than that when I acquired
them) and for that past say 4.5yrs have been quite negelcted in training
pots, yet have turned out great.
Others that have been acquired more recently have received much more care
and will continue to do so.
But I could not imagine letting go of any of them. A big thing is the
whole
time factor for bonsai and starting over again seems pretty daunting.
I would like to think I still have some of these 50yrs down the track.
We may seem to have many, but we are waiting to finish an area of our
garden
so they can be on permanent display in one section.
I am always on the look out at work for natural specimens but will stop
collecting soon.
I refuse to buy any already "made".
So just wondering, many people here frequently sell them, to start over?

P.S. Happy 4th of July to you
Andrew Forster Mid North COast NSW Australia


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