Bonsai by Colby Waller

Bonsai’s are quite an interesting subject and have been an on and off fascination of mine for a little while , it’s a shame but you never seem to hear much about them on the internet. Last night I stumbled across this video by Colby Waller about the Nation Bonsai Museum in Washington D.C. arboretum. The arboretum is a living museum where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes, and the curator at the National Bonsai Museum is named Jack Sustic.

Jack basically got into bonsai when he was in the Army stationed in Korea, fascinated by their shape and size Jack gained a deeper meaning and learnt the values of the bonsai. His job and work is to keep the bonsai’s donated by various artists from Japan and the world over in tip top condition, trying to maintain their original shape in which the artists achieved. It’s amazing to think these are living and breathing pieces of art, I was blown away by the Japanese White Pine that’s been in training since 1625 and has even survived the bombing on Hiroshima.

As tacky as it sounds I think you really can become a better person for looking after a tree like this, and aesthetically it can really train your eye as a designer or a creative. It’s quite a craft to master, watch on below.

www.usna.usda.gov

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