The World On your Palm

Art is a visual tangible depiction of an artist’s unique perception of the world. Thoughts, feelings, emotions and an individualistic persona come alive through this singular creation which has a conspicuous life and an expression of its own.

Unlike most art forms like painting, sculpting, photography etc wherein an artist’s creation remains eternally static after its final completion, framing & display, Bonsai is a Dynamic Art Form - Living, Growing, Ever-evolving.

The master creation i.e. the Miniature Plant, demands perpetual nurturing, trimming, root pruning and care, to maintain its harmony and balance, season after season, possibly changing hands from one generation down to the next. Hence, Bonsai is a continuous ‘Work-in-Progress’ Art Form integrated with basic horticulture techniques.

These miniature plants i.e. Bonsai come in various different sizes and styles. They can be classified as Finger/Bean Bonsai; Mame/Shohin Bonsai; Medium Bonsai, Large Bonsai etc based on their Sizes. Formal Upright, Informal Upright, Cascading, Semi-Cascading, Literati, etc based on their Design/Style.

A conventional Bonsai has an elegant, tapering trunk, culminating at the apex forming a triangular or umbrella shaped canopy. In case of triangular silhouette, the tree shows an alternate branching pattern with substantial inter branch spacing, with the lowest branches being the longest and most well developed. However, in case of an umbrella silhouette, all branches appear to arise from a single nodal point, spreading out to form a semi-circular apex. The foliage is usually flush, healthy and green. A prominent, exposed & well spread out anchoring footage adds considerably to the overall aesthetic beauty of these miniaturized trees.

Now, simply visualize shrinking a mammoth Fig Tree and depicting the same as ‘A Miniature world on your Palm’ (As can be seen in the above picture). It’s an allegorical prerogative exclusive to a MAME BONSAI.

These Mame’s emphasize on all the attributes of a full fledged, mature tree, commonly found outdoors in nature and represents the same in a diminutive package of less than 15 cm or 6 inches in size.

Small leaved, hardy plants with compact foliage which can withstand regular pruning employing ‘Clip & Grow’ method are ideally suited to be trained as Mame Bonsai. Eg: most Ficus variants, Jade, Wax malphigia, Duranta, Chinese Elm, Glabra malphigia etc.

Since these Mame’s have to thrive within a small confined bonsai pot, it’s pertinent, to mist the foliage at regular intervals & keep the soil compost well watered at all times. Moreover, it would be beneficial for the roots, if the soil used has a prolonged, adequate moisture retaining property. In addition to this, an additional protective moss layer or gravel can be applied over the soil surface during the summers to retain its water content.

An assorted mix of differently styled Mame’s can be displayed together on designer, multi-shelved wooden stands or angular wrought iron stands or well coordinated unevenly spaced cement slabs, adding to the ambience, both indoors and outdoors.

Working with a tiny Mame is slightly more arduous as compared to working with a medium or large sized Bonsai, due to its Lilliputian size, as one need’s to be extra careful while handling and trimming the plants. Moreover, it takes years of patient training to hone an ordinary garden plant into a classic Mame art piece.

Even after this pygmy plant acquires the desired shape and size, it’s an enduring challenge for a bonsai artist to preserve the aesthetic sanctity & balance of every exquisite plant. Nonetheless, the patience and effort is well worth the while, when the bonsai artist gets to hold & exhibit his magnificent creation as ‘the Miniature World on his Palm’


** Copy of my article published in Nichin Bonsai 02/2008