A Study in Deadwood

A great tree for a study in deadwood. It’s a Juniper procumben from Luis Vallejo’s website. I cropped the photo a bit, but you can see the full size original just below. Very busy right now with little time to put together a new post. Yesterday it was the remarkably talented Luis Vallejo’s bonsai, so today we’ll stay on the same track. This post originally appeared in June, 2015. I just spent the last digital hour or so wandering around Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Studio (Estudio de Bonsai) and his Bonsai Museum (Museo del Bonsai). Given just how prolific Luis is, … Continue reading A Study in Deadwood

Bonsai Book & Wire Sales End Tonight

Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Francois Jeker. From the first volume of Bonsai Aesthetics. Now 25% off at Stone Lantern. Three great sales end tonight at 11:59pm EDT 25% Bonsai books and other books 25% off 500 gram Bonsai Aesthetics Wire 20% off annealed Copper Bonsai Wire plus FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00 or more 25% off 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire 20% off U.S. manufactured Copper Bonsai Wire these sales end tonight at 11:59pm EDT   And just in case you are wondering; yes, we do offer a whole range of Japanese garden books and some … Continue reading Bonsai Book & Wire Sales End Tonight

Larch Bonsai – Good Stock Never Hurts

Larches in training by Francois Jeker. Traveling again, so we’ll delve back into our archives. This one draws on material from three different posts. Larches are easy to grow (especially if you live in the north), easy to train and are naturally attractive trees. If you start with decent stock and you have some grasp of design and technique, you can end up with the kind of results you see above. This is not to say each tree couldn’t have been styled differently as they certainly could have. Give the same potential bonsai to five different bonsai artists and you’ll … Continue reading Larch Bonsai – Good Stock Never Hurts

More Bonsai-San & Deadwood Wizardry

Nice close up. Based on the reddish bark and what you see of the leaves, I think this might be a Yew (how’s that for hedging? and no pun intended –  Yews are often used for hedges). Back to the present. Our last two posts have featured trees from European  Bonsai-San shows. The first from the just completed 2015 show and the second from 2013. Now it’s back to 2015 with some shots by Philippe Massard that I stumbled upon yesterday (we featured Phillippe’s Noelanders Trophy XV photos last year and a couple months ago).   This is the second time … Continue reading More Bonsai-San & Deadwood Wizardry

The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

There’s deadwood and then there’s deadwood. This photo is from Francois Jeker’s website. Judging from the bark and the leaves, I’d guess this is a Yew. Probably European (Taxus baccata). Dick Matthews wrote this in the comments on a post from a few days ago (from my personal facebook feed). “Sometime I think that in a bizarre sort of way, bonsai is evolving into the sensationalism of dead wood. The more bizarre looking the dead wood, the more it represents the age of a bonsai, but I don’t think that the dead wood should be the central theme and eye-catcher … Continue reading The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

An Outrageous Explosion

This perfect curlycue has to be among the all time greats when it comes to distinctive deadwood. The tree belongs to the very talented Minoru Akiyama. The photo appears just the way I found it, with the apex and most of the pot missing. The art of carving bonsai deadwood was popularized by Masahiko Kimura and his custom power tools back in the 80s and 90s. Now a couple decades later amazing deadwood (and not so amazing deadwood) is everywhere with more and more outrageously wild examples popping up. Though this explosion of jin and shari is not everyone’s cup … Continue reading An Outrageous Explosion

Revisting a Gallerie de Francois Jeker

We’re back to our old tricks (this post originally appeared way back in 2010). Now my excuse is that Corey’s on vacation, so I’m swamped (as is Ric in the warehouse) and the best way out of the swamp is to take the easy path. There’s a good reason for picking this particular post from our achieves; Francois Jeker’s Bonsai Aesthetics 2 is now available. This means that you can complete your set, or if you don’t have either Bonsai Aesthetics volumes, you can buy the set at a discount. Carving with a French flare (from our archieves) We have … Continue reading Revisting a Gallerie de Francois Jeker

Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

An example of Francois Jeker’s styling and deadwood carving. Francois is a headliner at the Eda Uchi Kai Bonsai-Ten 2013 (see below). He is also the author of Bonsai Aesthetics one and two. FREE ADVERTISING! Would you like to see your bonsai event featured here? If so, just send me a notice with a link to the event. That’s it. But remember, no link, no show. My email is wayne@stonelantern.com. You might also want to mention the event in the comments below. Big Summer Book Sale ends soon. 20% to 25% off all books. Don’t wait! Two classics, one old … Continue reading Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

A Solution to a Nonexistent Problem

If you pitch your tent in the Naturalistic Bonsai camp, then it’s probably too late to suggest you avert your eyes. So… as long as you are looking at this remarkable tree, I’ll just comment on how the static perfectly groomed crown seems to contrast with the swirling movement in the perfectly groomed deadwood. Something like that. The artist is Minoru Akiyama, who is one of the headliners at this year’s Mid Atlantic (scroll down a little for more info). It’s that time of year. You can tell because every other post these days features a few big bonsai events … Continue reading A Solution to a Nonexistent Problem