Tanuki/Phenix graft

In his latest podcast, Bjorn Bjornholm is kind enough to address the question above that I asked him. He raised an interesting new aspect to the question, which is that of the commercial value of a phenix graft. He suggests that he is opposed to phenix grafts because in his opinion the ultimate goal of a phenix graft is to deceive someone down the line into purchasing a composition that in his judgement is of less value that if it were not a phenix graft. I understand his position. Mine is based entirely on aesthetic terms not commercial ones.

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Rafi,
I see your point of view here but the unwritten law has always been emphasized to me that any display of tanuki must be accompanied with a identification label that says it is so.
Not identifying a piece as a tanuki is the fraud and not all practitioners are as honorable as we would like. Just like in the rest of the world, you canā€™t force bad people to do what is right if they are only thinking of their own gain. ( what can you do? ). Most club or show judges will out you anyway and generally keep it honest. I still personally like to compare my work to others to see how my skills are progressing.
Leonard

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Kurt,
You were so right about the lower limb. In fact a past show judge gave me a critical review this past week at a club meeting and made some suggestions to improve its quality ( including changing the direction of the lower branch ).
This is how it looks now and I am floored at how the compo

sition improved.
Leonard

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I think this all comes down to opinion. Especially when it comes to ā€˜famousā€™ artists, or craftsmen. From my experience, in tattooing, once a person has years of experience, or earned the respect of his peers the need to back up their opinion diminishes. Because they have put the time in and have that respect it seems the line between opinion and rules, for lack of a better term, gets blurred. I think when it comes to visual art, which although thereā€™s the back bone of rigid science to it, I would argue bonsai could be described as, opinion, especially of established artists or craftsmen, carries so much weight. I think topics such as this could be argued from both sides for ever. But at the end of the day, it doesnā€™t matter what someone thinks if youā€™re hiitting all the visual cues that make up good fundamentals. I think posing this question makes for great discussion or debate. Definitely stimulating reading through the posts here. But even with reasons why on both sides of the fence it will always come down to our humble opinions. In my humble opinion, that is. Great topic, @rafi! On a side note, Iā€™m in your beautiful city at least once a year for the tattoo show, usually sometime in September. If thereā€™s an extra beer, Iā€™d love to stop by and ā€˜talk bonsaiā€™! :point_left:t3:Had to throw that last bit in for @ryan

Hey @MrJesseStrong, I agree with you 100%. Letā€™s talk bonsai with a beer in my garden next time you come to Montreal. Let me know.

Just to freshen up the topic a bit.

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Interesting topicā€¦
I seem to remember Ryan mentioning that there are more than a few Tanuki in the Kokofuā€¦they have been painstakingly crafted, so it is very hard to distinguish from a tree which grew that way.
I agree with the ā€œvisual thingā€, in that a well-crafted Tanuki can be just as pleasing to the eye as a a tree which grew that way.
Tanuki are also a great way to re-use / repurpose the beautiful old deadwood of a former live tree. If nothing else, it could be a way for trying out things with a grafted young tree which did not cost much.
IMOā€¦
Flex

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Kurt/Rafi,
I took this tanuki to a Bjorn workshop and he reluctantly liked it and then helped me improve it. After that he

then made me promise never to show it to him again, lol.
He said time to thicken up limbs was needed also

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I see Bjorn compelled you to change the angle a little as I had suggested a year ago :slight_smile:

Rafi,
Right again. I had started it but he completely changed the wire and gave it more direction and attitude.
I am just going to let it thrive for a few years before the next working
As always, thanks for the much appreciated suggestions.
Have you had a chance to look at my literati project?
Leonard

Hi Leonard, can you point me to it?

Look under the Apex section in the 2018 tree critiques or the discussion about the juniper literati.

Rafi,
The tree has been repotted in the spring and will be entered in the local club show in August. Hope you approve of the changes and presentation.
Regards,
Leonard

Exposing my wife to Mirai is much akin to looking behind the curtain. She said that bonsai is a fraud. :laughing: She still loves it, but sheā€™s very surprised at just how much manipulation is involved. Learning about grafting was the straw that broke the camelā€™s back.

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My wife is on the fence alot as well ( mostly about how much things cost ).
My interest first started after R&R in Japan after my " visit" to Vietnam in 1970. And then again in 71, 72, and 73. Seems like wherever I visited there was a shrine or temple to see and they all were filled with bonsai. The memory always stuck with me and after I retired it seemed a good fit.

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Thank you for your service to our country. :heart_eyes:

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Your welcome Bob, and alot of others that deserve your appreciation more than me.

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Hey @LeonardB, since you asked, let me tell you. I think It looks great. Thank you for considering my opinion relevant. I do appreciate a lot the confidence. However, If you like it, thatā€™s whatā€™s most important and no-one elseā€™s opinion should matter.

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Rafi,
Appreciate your feedback. We both know that we do this hobby because it is just that interesting and promotes personal growth as well.
For last years show, I entered some trees with deadwood as the backdrop for the compositions. The public interest in everything I entered was so exciting that I thought I might be going home with some ribbons. Not only did that NOT happen, but the guest judge informed me that he really enjoyed my entries. When I asked him about my lack of recognition, and was it because my work wasnā€™t good enough to be judged he emphasized that the work was marvelous but that he was only there to judge traditional (Japanese ) bonsai. Boy was I floored, and felt I had wasted a great deal of time( and money). I discovered then that the approval of other club members meant more to me and later actually sold some of my wood pieces as a result of the show.
The judge isnā€™t cashing those checks, I am, lol.

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crazy story Lenny. I am glad your vision was vindicated!