Page 50 - BSAM 2015 Q3
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Ramification: excerpts from Pruning and Shaping lecture, The Bonsai Beginner’s Course:
First image; On broadleaf evergreen and deciduous trees with alternating leaf patterns along the length of each shoot, allow each shoot to grow five to seven leaves and cut back to two leaves on each.
Second image; On Opposite Leaf Pattern broadleaf evergreen and deciduous trees where leaves grow opposite one another, such as Japanese maple, prune back to one pair of leaves in early spring as new shoots appear. Many broadleaf trees can be defoliated in late spring or early summer to induce a second flush of growth and to expedite the ramification process. Do this only on healthy trees.
OSCAR: Since we’re both pretty active on social media, we knew each other’s work for a few years. We met a couple of times, in Japan and at the Generation Bonsai event held in Germany.
BCI: What inspired you to write, produce and launch such an ambitious project?
OSCAR: The bonsai community has a certain way of doing things, and it is only slowly adjusting to the huge set of opportunities that the internet has to offer. Ever since I started Bonsai Empire I believed in the opportunities of education through an online community. I started the website, but over the years many people from the community helped to create what has become a platform for Bonsai education. Recently I published an e-book (a beginner’s guide to Bonsai) and with the success of this venture, I started thinking of a way to use film to create an online course. Working together with Bjorn on this big project revealed a great synergy; his skills and experience at teaching Bonsai are great and Bonsai Empire’s reach is quite big. We needed this scale to make it possible to invest in a quality course.
BJORN: For the past several years, I have been producing the Youtube series “The Bonsai Art of Japan,” which covers many aspects of bonsai culture on a more intermediate/advanced level. When Oscar approached me with the idea of an online beginners’ course, I thought it would be a great opportunity to
fill in an informational gap and provide some much needed answers to those just getting their feet wet in the art. The goal of the Beginners’ Bonsai Course is not only to provide that information in a concise video format, but it is also to enable folks in more remote areas to become fully connected to the growing global bonsai community.
BCI: You live on different continents separated by time, distance and culture. How did you share the workload to develop The Bonsai Beginner’s Course?
BJORN: I did most of the filming in Japan at the Kouka- en nursery, while Oscar shot his clips in the Japanese Garden in the Hague. We met once or twice during the entire project, and spoke to each other almost weekly through Skype.
BCI: Based on sales and reviews, the course is a big success. Do you plan to add more courses in the future?
OSCAR: To be honest with you, when we started work on the Beginner’s course we had no idea what to expect. Just before we finished the filming and editing we launched an early bird campaign (providing preregistration for the course at a discounted rate) and that was when we found out the course was something people were actually looking for. We had over a thousand signups in just a couple of days! This first course aims at motivating people to actually get started and we take them step-by-step through the process of creating their very first Bonsai. Several of our students asked for a more advanced (intermediate) course and so we are thinking about creating one; though this will take a few months to complete.
BCI: Will other instructors join your ranks?
OSCAR: The Beginner’s course was launched only a few weeks ago, so it is too early to tell where this will take us. But we’re open to suggestions!
BCI: Although English is the second largest language spoken, are there plans to offer courses in other languages?
BJORN: We have received several requests to offer the course in other languages, especially Spanish, but we haven’t decided just yet. With Bonsai Empire being available in eight languages it would make sense to offer the course in those languages eventually.
BCI: Materials required for the course include plants, tools, wire and a potting medium. What advice do you have for students to help them find reputable suppliers?
OSCAR: In the course we try to motivate students to get started with creating their own Bonsai out of young nursery stock. We explain them what to look for in young plants and also provide a list of shops near them. In most countries they can even order starter kits online, making it easy to get started.
BJORN: Throughout the entire course, we try to keep things simple and we try to take away most of the
48 | BCI | July/August/September 2015