Andrew: If you only have 18 bonsai, then it is not a difficult
decision to keep them all when moving. You can afford to be
sentimental. If you have considerably more, then my suggestion
of choosing which are the most important and keeping only them
starts to make more sense.
In my case, it is more a matter of "do as I say, not as I
do," for I am also quite a pack rat and typically do not practice
what I preach in this regard. Realistically, though, as time
marches on, you must watch out for becoming a prisoner of your
"things". George Carlin has a very funny comedy bit which
humorously exposes the vicious cycle we willing enter to acquire
more "stuff" and expand our homes and garages and such to make
more room for our "stuff" and fall victim of our "stuff" owning
us rather than the other way around. It's an insidious
compulsion. Today I read an article in the NY Times which quoted
"a passage from the Tirukkural, an ancient work of Tamil
philosophy, - "As one by one we give up, we get freer and freer
of pain." Food for thought in our materialistic trappings.
As for buying bonsai from someone else, that's an
individual choice. I've never bought a "finished" bonsai, but see
no need to be snobbish toward someone who does. We all know that
a bonsai is never "finished" anyway, until it is dead. Bonsai
are high maintenance possessions, and I have no fear that someone
else's design will insult my creativity. Bonsai designs evolve
if we have the horticultural skills to keep them alive long
enough. Whatever I can find to jumpstart my creativity and my
learning curve is welcome. Otherwise, I risk stagnation and
boredom. Someone once commented that some people may have thirty
years' experience, but they just took the first year course over
thirty times, while others will keep building year after year. I
figure I'm somewhere in-between.
Alan Walker
http://bonsai-bci.com http://LCBSBonsai.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew G
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 50 yrs. 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
************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by John Quinn++++
************************************************** ******************************
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail
+++++