Just a quickie this time
I’m still trying to catch up between vacations, so we’ll have to settle for a one tree post. Next time we’ll give you a little more to sink your teeth into.

Tomohiro Masumi, Morten Albek & Shohin bonsai
Rather than bore you with my take on things, I’ll just post a few photos I think you might appreciate. If you want more (photos and information), you can visit Morten’s facebook post on Tomohiro Masumi’s visit to Denmark, or you can go directly to Morten’s website. If you’d like to dig deeper, you can also visit Tomohiro’s website. And then there’s always Morten’s famous Shohin book.

Though I couldn’t find this on Morten’s site, I’m guessing it’s his, given that it has his look and there’s other circumstantial evidence. I’m also guessing that it’s a barberry.

A close up of the sweet little companion that appears above. We did a whole post on companions a few days ago.

The whole display. When it comes to showtime, shohin bonsai is all about display. If you’d like to dig into the topic in depth, check out Morten’s book.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2079586075264&set=a.2079582755181.2128961.1413408458&type=1&theater

Morten Albek’s Photos – Tomohiro Masumi Shohin-bonsai demo in Denmark

Companions, accents, shitakusa, kusamono… whatever you call them
One thing I like about companion plants is that good ones can have dual functions: you can team them with bonsai to create dynamic displays, or, if they are good enough, they can be displayed alone.

This mystery plant from our mystery book easily stands alone.

One companion plant keeps three bonsai and a suiseki company in this circular shohin display. By Caroline Scott. From Morten Albek‘s Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai.

Do you think this companion enhances the tree? From Bonsai Today issue 90 (all back issues of Bonsai Today magazine are currently 54% off).

Some bonsai artists use illustrations to get their ideas across. This one is from Willi Benz’ Bonsai, Kusamono & Suiseki (the benchmark book on the subject).

Here’s another one that has no trouble standing on its own. From our mystery book.

Mario Komsta
All the photos in this post are from Mario Komsta’s photos on facebook. Some of them are unique and most are quite compelling. Here’s a few to whet your appetite. There are plenty more where these came from.

Encore!
We’ve featured Mario a couple time on Bonsai Bark and also in Bonsai Today magazine (issues 102 and 105, and a little bit in issue 104). I think Mario qualifies as a gifted, cutting edge bonsai artist.

I’ve seldom seen deadwood this good. It has all the marks of natural aging over a long period of time. I wonder how much Mario helped it along.  He calls this photo ‘just shari.’

Accent on the pine ;-) Photo and title by Mario Komsta.

Sweet bunjin juniper. No name on this one.

Mario calls this one ‘shohin shin.’

Sheer beauty, pot and plant. The one is titled: ‘flowers just opened.’

For more, visit Mario facebook photos. You can also visit his website.

I lifted this from Bonsai Smiths’ gallery. I like the planting and I especially like the pot. I wonder who made it (I assume one of the Smiths did the planting).

Kusamono or Shitakusa? Willi knows best
In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, we say it is a Shitakusa.”

This one is from one of our mystery Japanese books that found its way into our library. As you can see from the caption, it’s a…….

What about Willi’s book?
Willi Benz’ book (see above) is the best on the topic (in English, at least), and it’s still in print.

Ajuga, fern, sedum. Artist and potter unknown.

Bonsai Tonight and the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show
I found these sweet little accents on Bonsai Tonight. They are from the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show. Unfortunately, no artist’s or potter’s names are listed. Can anyone out there offer any help?

I like this earthy, uniquely shaped hand made pot. Anybody know who made it and who did the planting?

The small Zelkova in the forest plantings on each side create the feeling distant panoramas. The center tree in the curved pot is a Nanking cherry (Prunus tomentosa). The artist is Saburo Kato‘s brother, Hideo. There are also two barely visible companion plants (five elements in all).

Masters’ Gallery
This is the second post in our masters’ gallery series. It and the first post in this series are from an article by Saburo Kato that appears in Bonsai Today issue 43.

This winter display is by Shinji Ogasawara. From left to right, the trees are: Trident maple on a slab, Ezo spruce (Picea glehnii) planting on a rock, a Mountain cherry (Prunus donarium) with a dwarf Maiden grass on a slab, a Japanese white pine on a stand, and Japanese beech (Fagus crenata) on a slab. Beech trees tend to hold onto their dead leaves in the winter.

From left to right: unidentified grass, Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii), flowering ‘Nippon Bells’ (Shortia uniflora) companion plant, suiseki (viewing stone), another unidentified companion, and a very stately Needle juniper (Juniperus ridgida). By Masao Komatsu.

Group displays
Each group display in this post is by a single artist. Each display shows mastery in two art forms: bonsai and bonsai display. The photos come from an article by Saburo Kato in Bonsai Today issue 43.

The forest on a slab is a spruce (probably Ezo). That’s a pine on the construction on the right. This display is by ‘The Magician’ Masahiko Kimura.

Hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora) forest on a slab and a Shimpaku juniper on the rock. This image captures only half of a display by Grand Master Saburo Kato.

What does Kusamono mean?
In his book Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki, Willi Benz says “Kusa = grass and Mono = object.” He goes on to say “If a Kusamono-Bonsai is the main object of a display, we use the term Kusamono. But if a Kusamono-Bonsai is used as an accent or complementary plant, we say it is a Shitakusa.”

Expanding the definition over time
Mr. Benz goes on to say that over time, small flowering plants have also been used as kusamono. Now many people say that any herbaceous plant in a bonsai container is a kusamono. I think this is the way most of us use the term.

A tokonoma (display alcove) in the home of Daizo Iwasaki, that features a summer display of a bonsai, a flowering companion plant (shitakusa), a scroll and another object that looks like a large vase. The photo is by Morten Albek and appears in his book, Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai, Unlocking the Secrets of Small Trees.

Are kusamono bonsai?
Whether we call it simply a kusamono or a kusamono-bonsai (like Wille Benz), is a matter of choice, though the latter does imply that you include kusamono as bonsai. Beyond that, I’m sure the answer depends upon who you talk to.

In this kusamono, a stone doubles as the pot. The stand is pearwood. The photo (cropped here) appears in Willi Benz’s, Bonsai, Kusamono, Suiseki. From the collection of Willi Benz.

One of Wendy Heller’s pots with a hen-and-chick type succulent that I dug up in my yard.

Some very sweet little pots
A couple years ago I worked with Wendy Heller on a publishing project. In the process, I had the good fortune of getting to know Wendy a bit (phone and email) and decided to purchase a few of her very sweet little pots. I’ve been gradually filling them with little plants (mostly companion type plantings, though I do have one small bonsai in the works), and the more I see them and feel them in my hands, the more I’ve come to appreciate Wendy’s artistry. If you get a chance, check out her site. Meanwhile, here’s a few more photos.

Here’s one from Wendy’s catalog. She doesn’t say what’s in it.

A porcelin pot from Wendy’s catalog.

Another of Wendy’s pots with some stuff I dug up and a visiting spider.