Michigan
Oriental Art Society
Sunday,
September 8, 2013
St John Hospital-Oakland Education Center, 27351 Dequindre Rd, Madison Heights
(between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Rds)
Social Time at 1:30 pm, Meeting at 2:00
pm
Bonsai – Todd Renshaw
In Japanese, the word bonsai (pronounced bone-sigh) simply
means "tree in a pot." But in practice, bonsai can be both more
complicated and more rewarding than its simple name implies. For many
people, their first exposure to bonsai is the ones for sale in stores like Home
Depot and Target. These mass-produced bonsai are usually poor examples of
the true art form.
The greatest myth about bonsai is that
they are a specific kind of tree that grows in twisted and dwarfed shapes all
on its own, but the distinctive bonsai "look" is the result of many
years of work. Bonsai is an art that requires unique horticultural
techniques, (pruning, pinching of foliage, and wiring to shape branches),
and an eye for "design;" (movement, balance, proportion). Bonsai are
created to look like simplified/stylized versions of naturally growing,
much larger trees in their various forms and environments.
Most of the techniques in use today are
the result of generations of Chinese and Japanese refinement. The modern
art form of bonsai began in China during the third century BC.
Naturally dwarfed and twisted trees were collected from mountain tops and
transplanted to pots for display. Gradually, techniques evolved to create
and maintain the same effect on other types of trees. These first bonsai
were sometimes shaped into abstract forms mimicking animals or Chinese written
characters. During the cultural exchange between China and Japan of
the twelfth century, the art came to the Japanese. It is in Japan that
bonsai was refined to its current art form. Bonsai styled in the Japanese
tradition are beautifully shaped, but must also look like naturally growing
tree forms. Although Americans think of bonsai as a strictly Japanese endeavor,
China, Japan and other parts of the world have all influenced each other and
the current state of this evolving art.
Todd Renshaw will talk about all these
issues and much more during his presentation. Todd is a past-president of Four
Seasons Bonsai Club of Michigan, a Detroit-area organization dedicated to
teaching bonsai.
