hey Mike,
Another interesting thread. I agree, we don't need to produce the trees that we aspire towards to still hold them as a goal or ideal form.
On a tangent, given that people have different tastes and views of the world etc, i'd be interested to hear your and other's ideas on the reasons and or motivations behind why they are attracted to one 'style/method/approach' over another. Someone mentioned that a japanese artists Graphic design background might influence the bonsai he created id be keen to hear why people think they might be attracted to cookie cutter, naturalistic or some other form of bonsai.
Our personal aesthetics and likes etc are all a product of previous experience, surrounding culture and exposure. It would be interesting to unpick some of this as i am sure it is not universal, nor should it be.
J
