Page 45 - Demo

Top left; Douglas Fir, Pseudo tsuga menzezii
Top right; Daniel pruning a larch.
Middle right; Mugho pine, Pinus montana mughus
Bottom right; Alpine Hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana
There is something of steel in me, I think, and every student after, which sharpens him and spurs him on with delight, and there is something in him which takes the willing and launches them into the air like a catapult past the restrictions of their self-imposed limitations to fly like the eagles he believes us to be. That line of instruction continues, to my joy. Daniel and I joke often as we watch the young men currently under his tutelage working on great Japanese Black Pines in the garden, how such works are a lesson as well as test of resolve. After all, if they can do that, they can do anything. That these years of teaching cost me nothing but the sweat of my brow and a commitment of my time still hold me in awe of his great generosity. There are no words to describe the measure of the gift he gives so freely to those who come seeking to be a fellow sojourner in the art.
A principled man:
There was a time early on when Daniel was called unprincipled by some. People looked at his avant- garde work and could only see what they perceived as a complete lack of regard for the traditional way things were done. The carving of trees would not come into common acceptance for many years, except on the oldest of yamadori where it already existed. So in response to this, thinking it might be a good idea to have some principles people could use to understand his work, Daniel outlined his treatises on Focal Point Bonsai Design, and still abides by those same principles today.(The full Robinson Addendum can be read at www.elandangardens.com.)
October/November/December 2014 | BCI | 43