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I had a regular column in the Bonsai Focus magazine for many years, writing about all aspects of bonsai from discussions about exhibiting, Bonsai as therapy, Women in bonsai, Judging, Carving, ethics ... more
FAQs about Bonsai Kodama:How many episodes does Bonsai Kodama have?The podcast currently has 18 episodes available.
June 08, 2021Bonsai artists: growing the new generationWith the gold standard of an apprenticeship in Japan out of reach of most budding bonsai masters, are we overlooking a more home-grown resource to bring on the next generation of bonsai artists....more7minPlay
June 08, 2021I question whether attending a workshop or watching a demo will your bonsai skills.Demo’s are the mainstay of most bonsai exhibitions worldwide, inviting well known artists to perform is considered an essential to increase attendance to a show. But will watching a demo actually improve your skill or are they there for entertainment or worse? I have been told that watching the demo is a chance to have a sit down eat your sandwiches!...more6minPlay
June 08, 2021"I had a bonsai once... it died!"Why do the general public has such a distorted perception of bonsai.I am sure we have all had the same experience; you are introduced to someone and polite conversation flows and they enquire, “What do you do in your spare time” you tell them that you enjoy Bonsai and they invariably reply “I had a Bonsai once…it died” some times they respond with “Bonsai… aren’t those are the little Japanese trees they sell in the Mall, you have to trim the roots don’t you?”...more6minPlay
June 08, 2021Why do we use Japanese Terms when discussing bonsai?Lets consider the vocabulary used in Bonsai: it’s artists and jargon. Do we maintain the Japanese terminology or, if the art is to reach a wider audience should fewer Japanese terms be used to explain the art?...more5minPlay
June 08, 2021Is bonsai art?Art is generally understood to be the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power, I would say that Bonsai does fit comfortably into this definition except where practitioners do not use their imagination....more5minPlay
June 08, 2021Bonsai Rules OKVery good bonsai will still depend upon talent, experience, and imagination, as well as a general conformity to the rules of bonsai… however you are remembered for the rules you break. What is most important is that the tree is pleasing to the viewer and whatever elements are used within the display they do not take precedence, the Bonsai MUST always be the focus....more5minPlay
June 08, 2021When does a tree in a pot ‘become’ a Bonsai?I recently I posed the question “When does a tree in a pot ‘become’ a Bonsai?” to Bonsai friends worldwide, some professional bonsai artists and some just beginning to create beautiful trees, I received many answers listen to them here...more6minPlay
June 08, 2021Hermann Hesse on What Trees Teach Us About Belonging and LifeThis is a reading from one of my favourite books: Wandering: Notes and Sketches by Hermann Hesse... There is nothing more important to our existence than trees, for they are connected to the very air we share. "When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy.”...more11minPlay
October 30, 2020How do you find a good Sensei/Master to teach you Bonsai?It doesn’t take a lot of searching on the internet to find a legion of sites that claim to be able to “teach” you bonsai. YouTube in particular is peppered with such sources, some of which are extremely good but many of which fall very short of the mark in terms of the tuition given. This is often because the videos are poor quality, or because the presenter is not good at public speaking. Even worse, however, are the rather many sites that give the viewer information that is quite simply wrong....more6minPlay
October 29, 2020Raising the Potters BarIf we are to create our own national or regional identity in bonsai, then surely that should include having our own potters create the pots is a must? Why is still considered more prestigious to use old Japanese and Chinese containers when there are potters across Europe whose quality matches the pots coming out of Japan?...more7minPlay
FAQs about Bonsai Kodama:How many episodes does Bonsai Kodama have?The podcast currently has 18 episodes available.