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Published

10/07/2006

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MY GREAT PASSION "THE BONSAI", RESPONSIBLE FOR IT “THE ULLASTRE”

By Ángel Mota (Mallorca)

My passion for this art began 25 years ago when reading a book of bonsais by the Catalan Faus Verger. I personally believe that this lover of bonsai encouraged many people to begin in this world.

 I was president of a bonsai club during 6 years in Majorca, but my ideas in bonsai were heading to another way, for that reason I founded and presided the Club Bonsai S´Ullastre.

Attending during years congresses organized in Spain, I decided to look for something more interesting, of course outside Spain.

This decision became a gift to me. I knew truly, what a bonsai was; I really knew what a teacher of bonsai was, and so many different things. At the same time, I met a great amount of teachers who are now good friends. My satisfaction is to know that I have friends anywhere in Europe and in Japan.

One day I decided to go abroad with two ullastres to expose them at the GINKGO BONSÁI AWARD, Belgium in 1997. Everybody knows the effort that this represents.

Most visitors admired the two “ullastres”, for my joy and surprise. I thought that they just have ever seen a few ullastres. Other and more pleasant surprise was at the evening supper, when they announced that ANGEL MOTA was the winner of the first prize Great Tree. In this congress, there were prizes for three categories: to the great, medium, and the small tree in which three trees for each category.

In 2001, I decided to participate in Kyoto (Japan), in the photography contest of TAIKANTEN, it was another surprise, and it got second prize with the same tree of Belgium. In Japan, there are only two categories, first and second prize.

Why do I have this passion by the ullastre? Because in Majorca we have millenarian olive trees with impressive deformations, with amazing saris¹. When I approach an olive tree, I first feel many years of history and at the same time peace, tranquillity and above all: design. This same feeling I transmit working with Ullastres, for that reason I say that my great passion comes to me from the millenarian olive trees, which we can see in all the north coast of the island.

“The Champion”, as I and the people who visits my garden call this tree, tell me a lot of things about it.

After its two prizes, I have found out the secret of his beauty, first we begin with the nebari², most important for a good bonsai. Second, by the movement of the tree, the right part represents life and the left part death, with an impressive sari¹. We arrived at the green part; each time I pass in front of this tree my eyes catch the silhouette of the so classic design. If you pay attention, the alive part rises and at the end it shows the left part like saying "Hello".

When I began to design this tree, in 1992, as you can see in the first photo, it had only two or tree branches. As the years when by cultivating and designing the tree I noticing something different to the other Ullastres and thus it has been.

So there it is for us to learn and enjoy from its beauty for being the first Ullastre that has captivated all those dedicated to bonsais.

Of course that in my garden there are other more important bonsais, but to this one in particular I owe more for all the satisfactions it has given me. I also would like to highlight that today there are the same or even better ullastres than “the Champion” but I insist that this one was the starting point. We could be writing lines and lines on this Ullastre.

* I organized the Congress of Bonsai Majorca Island in 1998 at the Palace Hotel with the attendance of the teachers Hotsumi Terakawa, Pius Notter, Marc Noerlanders and Máximo Banderas.

* Later in year 2003 was celebrated the first International Congress of Bonsai from Olive, next were celebrated 2º, 3º and 4º, with the participation of great world-wide well-known teachers and with great success.

To these events I call Congresses, but it would be possible to be described like a meeting of few loving friends of bonsai. We really are very few people who loved bonsai truly, and when I say that we love bonsai I refer to live it, to respect it and to work it with all its rules.

* I was selected for 4ª World-wide Edition 2001 celebrated in Munich, like demonstrator and teacher representing Spain and Majorca, with ullastre, (by the way, with controversy), but the demonstrations with these trees are very difficult to understand if they do not have green. With coniferous trees when finalizing the demonstration you can appreciate the compact of green and the design, right in opposition to the ullastre of which you must imagine the design. I have the great honour to have brought to the island: Pius Notter, Hotsumi Terakawa, Massimo Banderas, Marc Noerlanders, Kunio Kobayashi, Sakuma Sato, Nobutaka Kaneko, Salvatore Liporace, Marco Invernizzi, Shinji Suzuki in 2006.

I have preview to bring teacher KIMURA next year 2007, but I have thought that with the demonstrations the trees suffer and some die. For that reason I will end up making workshops exclusively because a demonstration is really a Show, and bonsai is a culture and an art to respect.

In 1997 in some store announced: olive trees from Majorca for sale and until today a lot of people are moving this world of the Majorcan Ullastre. And thanks to whom? Thanks to my personal effort and my walking outside Spain, travelling with my ullastres, of which I feel very satisfied. However, what I do not tolerate nor I will never tolerate is that a great number of people in the island, is devastating mounts to recover Plasters. However, when I say recovering, it is any thing (all bond) to send was it. In fact, I already am working in this subject with the Consellería de Agricultura and Pesca of the Balearic Islands.

I animate to all the people here who live bonsai with all their rules. First, it is to respect mounts with protected trees and those that are not protected and that recover those that have a quality and a future for good bonsai. I say this because I in my principles also made barbarisms and in the end you finish by taking trees that really never will be a good Bonsai. For this reason I have commented previously that is recovering any Yamadori for its sale. I also have sold, but not with profit spirit. With time you are selecting and when I recover, before taking it, study the future and design of the tree because if esteem these details of the tree I do not take it of its site. All we were mistaken, but also we can rectify.

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