AusBonsai

This Desert Ash is one of the first trees I collected back in the 90's. I've often toyed with the idea with reversing the front so this year I turned it around and repositioned it in the pot.

The original front:
New front:
From this angle the first branch is exaggerated and the whole outline is more asymmetrical. I'll see if I still prefer this after 12 months but feel free to let me know what you think.

And while we're talking about Ash, this is one I put together for last year's annual exhibition for the S.A. Bonsai Society, where there was a section for non-traditional displays. I was trying to recreate the farm areas where my wife grew up, where you can find old wild deciduous trees growing amongst the farmhouse ruins. I built the wall from gravel and coloured it to match the sandstone from the area. I admit this is not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed trying to evoke an Australian landscape (although without an Australian tree!).
Matt.

It's very interesting. We're so afraid of "kitsch" that our trees have almost no relation to the place and time we live in. For some folk, that's the charm, but it gets a bit under my skin, although I don't have an answer. Rusting FJ Holdens, figurines sitting under a tree oblivious, devoted to their mobile phones? Mutts? Lawnmowers? Brick walls being torn apart by a fig? It's something we've hardly addressed - reality, I mean. How we relate to our continent.

(Ducking and running. There are never enough ducks.)

(And I like the new front on the first tree a lot. Makes all the difference. Dances well.)

Gavin

I’ve always wanted to get a tree advanced enough that I can hang a miniature tyre swing off...

Well done on both accounts
I have always admired that first little Ash in your avatar.
Love the fence however I would shorten it and make it less straight on the top more run down, as it is looks too perfect.
Cheers
Kirky

Nice work with both Matt,
No 1 looks even more gnarly....
No2 is a little beauty ,full of charm without crossing the line. Cheers John.

G'day Matt,

I think the new front is miles ahead - great move.

Even better is your display for the SA show is brilliant.

I absolutely respect traditional masterworks from Japan. Love them. They are one pinnacle.

As in nature - there are many pinnacles. I have come to love some amazing Chinese Penjing masterworks too.

Now I find myself drawn to creating landscapes - perhaps one day I'll re-create them. There's a subtle difference. In my mind - the former is a creation in my head; the latter is a recreation of a known landscape.

Regardless - I think it's great when anyone tries to create/recreate Australian/local landscapes or use native trees that reflect their local environment. After all - isn't there some basis in the rich history of Bonsai here? Reflecting local trees and landscapes.

I guess I am drawn to works that are a little left field.

Well done.

Yep very well done here.
Love both trees, no.1s first branch catches my eye more with the new view.
Is that 2 branches?

Good on you for the effort taken on the 2nd tree.
I love it.

Thanks for all the kind replies - looks like the new front is popular.

The tree with the brick wall has raised some interesting points.

It's very interesting. We're so afraid of "kitsch" that our trees have almost no relation to the place and time we live in. For some folk, that's the charm, but it gets a bit under my skin, although I don't have an answer. Rusting FJ Holdens, figurines sitting under a tree oblivious, devoted to their mobile phones? Mutts? Lawnmowers? Brick walls being torn apart by a fig? It's something we've hardly addressed - reality, I mean. How we relate to our continent.

This got me thinking. So much of Australian (post European) art concerns the uneasy tension we have with the landscape. Books like 'Picnic at Hanging Rock', We of the Never Never', films like 'Walkabout', painters from Arthur Streeton to Sidney Nolan and Brett Whiteley. Could Bonsai tap into this? Have you ever been to the outback and quietly felt the hum of the landscape, how ancient the land is, and wonder where do we fit in? "How we relate to our continent" is something worth tackling. As has been mentioned in other discussions and touched on here by MJL, an Australian approach to bonsai that reflects our landscape and our relationship with it could set us apart and play to our strengths.

I also love the idea of a rusty FJ Holden.

Matt.

Matt S wrote:This Desert Ash is one of the first trees I collected back in the 90's. I've often toyed with the idea with reversing the front so this year I turned it around and repositioned it in the pot.

The original front:

ASH Winter 2017.jpg

New front:

ash reverse front.jpg

From this angle the first branch is exaggerated and the whole outline is more asymmetrical. I'll see if I still prefer this after 12 months but feel free to let me know what you think.

And while we're talking about Ash, this is one I put together for last year's annual exhibition for the S.A. Bonsai Society, where there was a section for non-traditional displays. I was trying to recreate the farm areas where my wife grew up, where you can find old wild deciduous trees growing amongst the farmhouse ruins. I built the wall from gravel and coloured it to match the sandstone from the area. I admit this is not everyone's cup of tea but I enjoyed trying to evoke an Australian landscape (although without an Australian tree!).

ash wall.jpg

Matt.

I like the stone wall. Maybe make it even more subtle by removing some stones and making a couple of holes in it? It might look good to the back of the tree instead of the front? I once had the idea of making an old long neglected avenue of trees once but haven't got around to it yet.

Matt, the new front looks good. Easy change for a noticeable improvement. Win-win. Provides a much more stable and grippy nebari, so provides a stronger foundation for the tree.

I would consider removing the old back branch, which now sticks straight forwards. In the picture at least, is blocks the eye from flowing up the trunk, given that it comes out at about only half way up the trunk. Also, having too much body forward can detract from the perception of depth, where more weight at the rear seems to trick our eyes into imagining a greater scale.


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Maybe make it even more subtle by removing some stones and making a couple of holes in it? It might look good to the back of the tree instead of the front? I

Actually the wall goes all the way around the tree with a shorter wall at the back. It was originally going to be matched with a different tree that moved in the opposite direction, so that there was a shorter wall in the front and a taller one at the back. I should build another one for this tree with the right orientation. Add it to the list of projects!

I like the idea of a neglected avenue of trees. Something about the idea of once formal trees returning to the wild.

Nate - thanks for your input. I’m thinking of reducing that branch as well as a few other minor tweaks but removal might be the way to go.

Matt.