The Art of Bonsai

When we talk about gardening one of the most important countries is this theme is Japan, who has distinguished for the beauty and splendor of its gardens. The unique style for the richness of elements that together with the techniques developed through the centuries and the philosophical concepts, has achieved the greatness of the natural sceneries.

Bonsai is the art y science of cultivating trees in decorative pots. However, the fact of just having a tree in a container does not make it a bonsai. Bonsai is an artistic replica of a mature tree in its natural environment but in lower scale.

Bonsai is the result of different disciplines: botany, technique, art, philosophy. The aim of the person who works a bonsai is the perfection, which cannot be achieved if any of the bonsai disciplines is missing.

Bonsai is a Japanese term that means “tree in a pot" (bon, pot and sai, tree). It is about a tree that is cultivated in a container or pot, it should not loose the characteristics of a mature tree, and it should have a reduced-size form by different cultivation techniques. Besides this knowledge, it is required artistic sensibility, having love and respect for plants y the knowledge of philosophical concepts of the Japanese culture. Plants are not objects, but something alive, they born in the earth and approach to the sky, they have life and spirit.

For making a bonsai it is not necessary a particular tree, in fact it can be made with any kind of plant, but this has to have a wooded trunk. To produce a realistic illusion of a mature tree, all parts of the ideal bonsai (trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits, buds, roots) should be in perfect scale with the size of the tree.

Because of the reduced-size spaces in Japan, the bonsai can be adapted in small proportion spaces in the big cities, giving a part of nature near us, since it has the majesty and beauty of an adult tree in its natural environment. Thus, when we contemplate a bonsai, it should awaken the same sensation of tranquility and greatness produced by trees in forest and jungle in natural sceneries.

Small Garden

There are few places in the house capable of reproducing the sublime effects of Nature. Combined elements of trees, plants and rocks intent the spirit of the place.

Small spaces are difficult to design, specially when it is pretended to give richness to the garden, this is when the imagination is important.

This is one example of a small garden that can be contemplated from the hall, the living room, or the studio. It gives a special environment with the variety of elements and colors.

The combination of green, yellow and purple plants provide a different range of colors that give variety to the sight, making it possible to identity every plant with this contrast of color and size.
As the surface of the garden would be covered with tiny pebbles in the front, a big rock in the center is the principal object of this composition made of natural elements. The special figure of this rock gives character to the place, forming a recipient for the leaking water giving life with its sound.

Five Minutes to Enjoy

This is a modern world, the most of the time we are in a rush, living an accelerated pace of life, we don’t give us much time for ourselves, sometimes is good to take the time to enjoy the meal at lunch hour, to take care of our body by relaxing, doing exercise, or resting when we are sick.

Sometime it is good to stop for a moment and watch the world moving quickly instead of being running all the time. It's nice sit down in a good chair to contemplate the sun going down or watch the minutes passing by.

I try to enjoy some moments of the day, it can be any moment, when I walk to a work date, when I take 5 minutes every one or two hours of work or after the meal, giving me some minutes during a day. I use to look for a quiet place between all the noise and movement to relax a few minutes to prepare myself to continue my work.

Weekends I prefer to rest at home, chose a good chair, take a book and read for a while. The place I like to stay has to be quiet, clean and peaceable, where I can concentrate in my thoughts that help me to organize y plan my life, or sometimes to stay I with no thinking at all.

The need to find the things that make us to keep the balance, that way we do not wear ourselves out maintaining for a long time healthy and calm. One of those things is the space where we live, both our intimate space and our workplace. Both are is part of the environment where we develop the projects of life. It can be a reflex of our life because a disorganized and dirty place can reflex part or our person.

Having a quiet, clean and sober place, helps me to relax and think, without noises of or too much decorative items that could distract me. The minimalist architecture is a style I prefer for that place, sober and clean forms that in combination with illumination and other elements can create great spaces.