Genius Hour Blog

 Hello Everyone. I did not take a break last week but I will be this week. I have a unit plan due that is taking up basically all of my time. This week I have been pruning up my trees and keeping them well watered and fertilized.  Also, I think it important to note that a couple of days ago Nigel Saunders' youtube channel was hacked and taken down. I'm praying that he will get his channel back and that there hasn't been too much damage done. I know that his youtube channel is his only income, so I know it must be a rough time for him now.  That's all for this week, Until next time, Luke   

 Hello Everybody! This week I looked into the origins of bonsai, which is the ancient art of Penjing which is also called Penzai. This originated in china with evidence of the idea beginning in the first century.   Penjing can be broken up into three groups, which I have mentioned before.      Shumu Penjing: Tree Penjing that focuses on one or more trees and sometimes has other plants. The main focus is on the tree(s).      Shanshui Penjing: Landscape Penjing focuses on creating a landscape using rocks, water, etc.       Shuihan Penjing: A water and land Penjing style that effectively combines the first two, including miniature trees and optionally miniature figures and structures to portray a landscape in detail. Timeline      In the first and second centuries, very fundamental versions are formed at this time to be miniature forms of religious and spiritual sites. Having the miniature version helped them t...

Hello everyone, This week I looked into some of the more fundamental things with regard to Bonsai and Penjing. Basically looked into some of the definitions and a brief overview of the history.  To start let's define what bonsai is. It's a Japanese word that means tree in a tray or something to that effect. it just refers to basically a very refined plant that is in a pot or tray.   Next, there is Penjing, which is a Chinese art that incorporates more natural aspects and includes a lot more than just the tree and pot. Below is an example of one. they are very dynamic and rely less on the beauty of the tree itself and looks more at building a miniature world.  Next, I did some research about the ancient history of the art in China and how it was moved over to Japan where it really took off. Japan's iteration of the art is what we are all familiar with. It then moved from Japan to other Asian countries where they basically personalized it from there. Next week I want t...