Correspondence Course

[mark]

Have you taken the ABS Correspondence Course? If so, what were your thoughts on it?

[catalystman]

Mark,
I haven't taken the course, but have mentored it, and of course as bookstore manager, I ship it out to people. I have gone over the course several times, and here are my opinions.

The course is very basic, well written, and covers the main subjects of bonsai.
The success of the course depends on contact with the mentor. It doesn't have to be face to face but that helps.
It depends on your experience. If you have done a lot of bonsai before, you probably have done everything in the course. However, the course tells you why you did some of the things you did.
If you have been in bonsai for less than a couple of years, then the course will help you.
The course should be supplemented with a local bonsai club's beginner course. At most of these beginner courses you get a brief explanation of what is covered in the course and style a tree with the help of a local club member. I highly recommend joining a local club. This is where the information in the course is implemented.
The DVD that comes with the course is excellent. In this DVD you see a lot of the things in the text portion of the course.

So the bottom line is I would recommend the course if you have been in bonsai less than a couple years. If you have been in longer than a couple of years, I would recommend looking at some of the books that the bookstore offers. The wiring booklet covers the basics of wiring. The book ‘Introduction to Bonsai’ covers the material in the correspondence course in another way and has some great pictures.
The Naka books are the “bible” of the hobby. They are excellent reference manuals done by one of the greatest masters. It is not easy reading but is excellent as a reference (thousands and thousands of copies have been sold worldwide). There are also specialty books on specific topics like maples, junipers, pines.
One final book that I can recommend is the “Basic Bonsai Design”. Unfortunately it is out of print and the author is re writing it. It should be ready for distribution in the first quarter of next year.

I hope this helps. You can always reach me at abs@insightbb.com if you have more questions.

[mark]

Thank you George for the informative response.

I've been waiting for Basic Bonsai Design to become available...next year...I'm looking forward to it.

[catalystman]

While we're waiting for the new rewrite of BBD, I'll give you a little sneak peak (figuratively). Coming soon to this web site, will be the ABS Library. This will be a series of articles on a variety of subjects that has been put together by one of our board members - Randy Davis. Randy has a "multitude" of years experience in both bonsai and horticulture, so I'm sure the article he is putting up will be accurate and informative. One of the articles that will be in the library is on good bonsai design by Robert Steven. It is an excellent article and one worth reading and studying. We hope this and the other articles will be available within the next couple weeks. [For those readin this we are looking for good articles to expand the Library. If you have written one, or have read one that has merit, let us know]

Another section to look at is the native North American tree section. Once again Randy has done a yoemans's job compiling an extensive list of native North American trees. He will have some pictures of bonsai of native trees, and will have links to many of the species. Just looking at the pictures of the bonsai can be a great learning experience. If you have pictures of one of your bonsai on this list, let us know.

Keep watching for both of these and more improvements to this web site - coming soon!