Re: MARC NOELANDERS - Coming to Sydney
Posted: August 28th, 2012, 3:20 pm
For a start I wish to compliment the Illawarra Bonsai Society for organising this fabulous event, which went off like clockwork and was a big success. Marc Noelanders was booked 3 years ago, and I heard that he might be booked again in the foreseeable future. His work was complemented by ourTony Bebb, so all in all the Illawarra guys did indeed produce a unique bonsai convention. Special thanks to Brenda en Chris for their kind welcome, and to Brenda specospecially for her help!!
I missed Tony's demo, because we only arrived on Sat. night, but at least I saw some of your workshop activities.
I have tried to remember the many pieces of advice that Marc gave us, but only came up with these:
-- Beginnhers should learn the basics on good nursery material, with plenty of branching and a good root system, not on yamadori, where nture has already done most of the styling and where the branching and the roots are often insufficient; a yamadori often needs years of cultivation until it is ready for bonsai.... IF you manage to keep it alive.
-- It takes a long time to learn the basics properly. Too many beginners think too soon that they know it all. I say, "Come and sit by me and watch me work, and you will see how much there is to learn". The same goes for carving. People think that when they have watched halr of carving, that they've seen it all and know it all.
-- When you have a curved trunk, tilt it. That way it will look more natural than if it is upright.
-- Don't just distribute the branches left-right-center, make sure you have a front branch. Marc then told us that his sensei tried to explain the importance of a front branch, but that he (Marc) didn't know sufficient Japanese to properly unhderstand. So his sensei illustrated his meaning by saying "Imagine a beautiful woman at the beach...." (Someone please finish that anecdote!!! I laughed so much that I forgot the point.)
Marc is not only a superb bonsai stylist, he is also a great entertainer with a fantastic sense of humour. Apart from many anecdotes, he told us about the cockatoos and crocodiles he has kept (no kidding!) and the fifteen big tortoises he has now. He said that when he came home after a demanding, often stressful session or series of bonsai work, where he met lots of people and had to do many different things, the tortoises were very restful company. At the conclusion of his Sat. night demo, he suddenly said: "So, bring on thye koalas!". His great regret was that he had met koalas but wasn't allowed to give them a goo cuddle, only a little caress with one finger.
One very nice thing was that, as he said goobye, he made a point of saying how much he had enjoyed the convention, that it had all been pure pleasure, and NO STRESS.
Below a few more pics.
Lisa
.
I missed Tony's demo, because we only arrived on Sat. night, but at least I saw some of your workshop activities.
I have tried to remember the many pieces of advice that Marc gave us, but only came up with these:
-- Beginnhers should learn the basics on good nursery material, with plenty of branching and a good root system, not on yamadori, where nture has already done most of the styling and where the branching and the roots are often insufficient; a yamadori often needs years of cultivation until it is ready for bonsai.... IF you manage to keep it alive.
-- It takes a long time to learn the basics properly. Too many beginners think too soon that they know it all. I say, "Come and sit by me and watch me work, and you will see how much there is to learn". The same goes for carving. People think that when they have watched halr of carving, that they've seen it all and know it all.
-- When you have a curved trunk, tilt it. That way it will look more natural than if it is upright.
-- Don't just distribute the branches left-right-center, make sure you have a front branch. Marc then told us that his sensei tried to explain the importance of a front branch, but that he (Marc) didn't know sufficient Japanese to properly unhderstand. So his sensei illustrated his meaning by saying "Imagine a beautiful woman at the beach...." (Someone please finish that anecdote!!! I laughed so much that I forgot the point.)
Marc is not only a superb bonsai stylist, he is also a great entertainer with a fantastic sense of humour. Apart from many anecdotes, he told us about the cockatoos and crocodiles he has kept (no kidding!) and the fifteen big tortoises he has now. He said that when he came home after a demanding, often stressful session or series of bonsai work, where he met lots of people and had to do many different things, the tortoises were very restful company. At the conclusion of his Sat. night demo, he suddenly said: "So, bring on thye koalas!". His great regret was that he had met koalas but wasn't allowed to give them a goo cuddle, only a little caress with one finger.
One very nice thing was that, as he said goobye, he made a point of saying how much he had enjoyed the convention, that it had all been pure pleasure, and NO STRESS.
Below a few more pics.
Lisa
.
Skippy and I had many conversations with him, as well as sharing a number of drinks, and received plenty of great advice and information to improve our Bonsai and knowledge, as did everbody that witnessed his sensational work. I think we all wish the weekend could last a week. It was also a great pleasure to be able to do a workshop with Marc and get some first hand advice on an old 1975 Pine that I have had for many years, but not fully commited to any style. I spent 7 hours working on the tree under his expert guidance, and am very happy with the early results. Once I process all the photos I will get them up to share.
