Horst’s Pots & A Rare Event

This is the Horst Heinzlreiter pot that caught my eye and inspired this post. We’ve been featuring Horst Heinzlreiter’s bonsai pots here on Bark for several years now and since he is so productive and it has been a while, here are some of his newer offerings (there may be one or two older ones mixed in, but I suspect that’s okay). The links above are from facebook which is where I found the pots shown here. Here’s a link to Horst’s website. We don’t usually post on consecutive days, but I wanted to make sure you know about our … Continue reading Horst’s Pots & A Rare Event

Joan Miró, Paul Klee & Horst Heinzlreiter

This unique example of ceramic art is by Horst Heinzlreiter as are all the pots in this post. Just when I thought Horst Heinzlreiter’s pots couldn’t get any better, I discovered these wild and wonderful examples of art disguised as bonsai pots (that’s what I wanted to call this post until I discovered Ceramic Art Disguised as Bonsai Pots on some obscure bonsai blog). I spent a year of my youth in Europe, with a sizable hunk of that time wandering around art museums (one of the best things I’ve ever done BTW). Two of the handful of artist who left … Continue reading Joan Miró, Paul Klee & Horst Heinzlreiter

Horst Just Might Be the One

This just turned up on facebook. Horst Heinzlreiter posted it. The tree’s a Hawthorn. It belongs to Hans Van Meer and the pot is by Horst. If I had to name my favorite bonsai potter Horst just might be the one. Especially if the number times his pots have been featured on Bark is any indication. No, I didn’t decide to post this because I wanted to mention our bonsai pots. But now that it’s done…

Off the Deep End with Horst (Is This Pot Legal?)

Would you plant a Crabapple in this pot? Or a Cherry tree? Winterberry? Persimmon? Pyracantha? Anything? Or maybe Horst was picturing Christmas tree ornaments. All the pots shown here are by Horst Heinzlreiter. As is often the case lately, they are lifted from facebook. The ‘Deep End’ in the title is just silliness on my part, as is the bit about being legal. I don’t know Horst, but I suspect he’s not all that crazy. Except maybe in the positive sense which might translate as daring, imaginative, unconventional, even outrageous (again in the positive sense). If you’ve been following Bark … Continue reading Off the Deep End with Horst (Is This Pot Legal?)

Great Close Ups and other Bonsai Wonders

It’s not that often that you’ll find a tree with with the top half of the trunk deadwood. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking. It’s a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). All the photos in this post are from Ryan’s facebook photos. One of the things I like about Ryan Neil’s photos are his close-ups. It doesn’t hurt that his trees are phenomenal and so well photographed in the first place. But then to show such vivid close-ups invites you in further. Like you are there in … Continue reading Great Close Ups and other Bonsai Wonders

Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

You don’t see that many Ginkgos bonsai and when you do, they’re usually not this good. A couple things that stand out are the brilliance of the new leaves and how that brilliance is reinforced by the green moss, the green pot and even the barely perceptible little green buds on the trunk. And then there’s the perfect little trunk that looks a bit like a termite mound. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis’ blog, Welcome to My Bonsai World. Getting a late start today, so we’ll take the easy way out. This one originally appeared in June, 2015 … Continue reading Straight Up & Tightly Bunched

Art Disguised as Bonsai Pots

These nine pots are but a small sampling of Horst Heinzlreiter’s remarkably diverse (in shapes and glazes) collection of bonsai pots. I hope you enjoy these exquisite examples of art disguised as bonsai pots as much as I do. The artist is Horst Heinzlreiter, a long time favorite here on bark. And even though we’ve shown dozens of his brilliant pots, most of these are new to us. I spent a year of my youth in Europe, with much of that time wandering around art museums. Two of the artists who stood out are Joan Miró and Paul Klee. if you’re … Continue reading Art Disguised as Bonsai Pots

Is This Pot Legal?

Would you plant a Crabapple in this pot? Or a Cherry tree? Winterberry? Persimmon? Pyracantha? Anything? Or maybe Horst was picturing Christmas tree ornaments. We’ve been going archival a lot lately. But then it’s that time of year. This one (from December 24th, 2013) was originally titled ‘Off the Deep End with Horst (Is This Pot Legal?).’ Horst is ceramic artist Horst Heinzlreiter. If you’ve been following Bark for a while you know that this is not the first time we’ve featured Horst Heinzlreiter‘s magical pots, and it won’t be the last. Roman ruins? This is the photo that inspired … Continue reading Is This Pot Legal?

250 Million Year Old Bonsai?

This is the same tree we showed yesterday. Same pot too. Just a few months earlier. I borrowed the photo from Bill Valavanis’ blog, Welcome to My Bonsai World. You don’t see that many Ginkgo bonsai. My guess is that this is because they are limited in terms of what you can do with them. For the most part the branches grow more or less straight up and tightly bunched and trunks typically lack movement and grace; staying more or less short and squat as they age. Still, once you accept that Ginkgos are unique and unlike most other bonsai, you might … Continue reading 250 Million Year Old Bonsai?

Great Trees & Vivid Closeups

It’s not that often that you’ll find a tall tree like this with great lower branching. When you do, and in the right hands, the result can be striking and quite unique. It’s a Subalpine Fir (Abies lasiocarpa) that belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). We don’t normally repost from just four months ago, but I’m on my way to the Artisans Cup (with a little stopover in San Francisco), so why not? Don’t worry, I won’t bug you about going if you haven’t made plans. It’s getting late and the case has already been made. Repeatedly, including yesterday’s post. … Continue reading Great Trees & Vivid Closeups