There are two essential ingredients in a marriage: a husband, and a wife. Unless you have both, you have no marriage. In the same way, there are two essential ingredients in the practice of bonsai: horticulture, and art. Without both, you don't have a bonsai.
I enjoy art in many forms, and I'm pretty much a fanatic about horticulture. It was a given, I guess, that I'd go for bonsai as soon as it was brought to my attention. I recently told my wife and daughter, "Bonsai is not just something I do; it's part of what I am." I plan to keep doing it for as long as I can hold the tools!
And I enjoy encouraging others who share this interest. But in much of the USA outside of the big cities, bonsai practitioners can be few and far between. I'm fortunate to have a good club only an hour's drive away, but many others can't say that. That's a primary reason I'm starting this blog: to share with others the things I've learned in (so far) fifteen active years in bonsai. My hope is that someone else can benefit from my experiences, in the same way that I have benefited, over and over, from the published accounts of the experiences of many others.
I'd put my own skill and knowledge level at a solid intermediate right now. I'm largely self-taught, which means that in some areas my knowledge is a bit uneven. But I keep learning, and the journey is enormous fun!
Steve Moore; December 2, 2011
