Page 20 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2014Q1

Top; collected stone: Eel River, California (antique bronze Japanese been given permission to go on large tracts of land to “harvest” them. Many
doban). I have carried alone out of the woods. Placing stone in a garden appears to be
Middle; collected stone: Atlantic coast of Nicaragua in an antique one of the most challenging aspects to a landscaper. You have to know how
Japanese bronze suiban from the Edo Period. to set them and “plant” them to look natural. Too often people just place
Bottom; collected stone: Dennys River, Maine. them around like bowling balls, and there is no soulfulness.
Facing page, Top; collected stone: Menengai Crater, Kenya. East Africa.
Facing page, Middle; collected stone: Van Deusan River, California. bci: Can you describe your teaching method and the nature of the courses
Facing page, Bottom; collected stone: Umpqua River, Oregon. available from Stillwater Studio?
ms: I teach all levels of bonsai, but over the past few years, I have been
receiving more advanced students who want to fine tune and finesse their
styling and design skills. My methodology is to try and show the student
the artistic design forms in the material. You have to unlock the drama and
evocative nature in the tree.
bci: What are the most important aspects of leading a workshop on Bonsai?
ms: When leading a workshop, a teacher needs to give everyone ample time
to contemplate and work. The workshops can lose their productivity when
there are too many involved. I prefer small gatherings of 6-8 people at one
time. Although as I mentioned, I have more one-on-one students than any
other format.
bci: How is this different or similar to being on stage doing a demonstration
in front of an audience?
ms: Being on stage forces you to think on your feet quickly, and display your
understanding of the inherent design in the material at hand. You have to
know how to resolve problems quickly. You have to be able to unlock the
evocative nature in the potential bonsai, and be able to produce a credible
product. This is not the way any artist wants to design trees, but conven-
tions still use this format and offer demonstrations which are rather limited
in what the audience learns. The artist gets a chance to show off skills and
entertain. Perhaps there is still a place for this.

bci: Editing, compiling and publishing a book is a great deal of work. Why
did you publish North American Bonsai, what did you hope to accomplish
and do you think your were successful?
ms: North American Bonsai came from the 2006 ABS convention in Sara-
toga Springs, N.Y. The theme of the convention was to just use native North
American trees, nothing from Asia or Europe. There were those that felt it
would be next to impossible to recruit enough good bonsai for an exhibit.
Would there be enough diversity? Eventually, people did respond and I was

18 | BCI | January/February/March 2014