Tired of Topiary!

Although I am the self confessed “Cotoneaster King”, unlike the Cooler King Steve McQueen I’m not as versatile (in Bonsai terms at least) so this year will see me turning my back on my roots and looking to follow a different path. This is not to say that I’ll be dumping my shrubbery friends but I’m looking to learn how to make proper Bonsai. The previous comment my sound strange but there is a certain amount of snobbery within the hobby and I’d like to prove to myself (and others) that I’m not a one trick pony and I can style proper trees. I was told recently that I “have a lot of Cotoneasters*” and I think that this was a polite way of nudging me onto other things. With this is mind this Winter has seen a radical overhaul and re-think for 2012.

(*I’ve got another one on the way but don’t tell anyone!)

I don’t care what anyone says, unless of course you are some stellar artist, decent trees need decent material so out went some of the better duplicates from my garden so that I had less distractions from my goal. I have a bad habit of flitting from one project to another and I need to structure myself more but sometimes that’s easier said than done. With that done I moved onto laying down a “tuition foundation” which includes a class with Peter Warren in the Spring and attending Burrs in November. I feel that this gives me a more than good starting point and I also hope to attend some more workshops during the year to help me on my quest. Don’t get me wrong I know I’m a Bonsaist and not a Bonsai Artist.

I’m not hoping to be the next Marc Nolanders or Kevin Wilson but I was told “if you aim for the moon and fall short, you are still up there with the stars” so my “moon” is to have my trees recognised as my own work in their own right that would not look out of place at a top Exhibition. The “stars” would just be acceptance to afore mentioned Show and seen as a person who understands Bonsai and his limitations. Has the Ego Landed? – No, I just wanna be the best that I can be. Not too much to ask is it?