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In A Nutshell
By Randy Clark Charlotte, NC
What separates good bonsai from bad bonsai and what are the elements which every bonsai artist tries to replicate in their artistic creation? Understanding the goals of bonsai can help. The objective is not to produce miniature copies of ancient forest giants, but to understand the feeling and emotion these great trees evoke in us and then to focus and distill that feeling into a miniature statement about nature. Trees have certain aspects about them which they only develop as they reach old age. If the bonsai artist is to be successful, he or she must understand what these aspects are and try to emulate them with relatively young plant material in a container. Aspects suggesting great age to the eye of the viewer might include any or all of the following:
4. Deadwood
Forest ancients often have section of the trunk or entire branches which have been broken back in storms or by ice and snow. Bonsai artists often create sections of deadwood on their bonsai to enhance the illusion of old age. Such areas are usually referred to with the Japanese terms jin (dead branch) and shari (dead trunk section).