The Cutting Edge of Bonsai Innovation

The play of light and shadow… This photo is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. Here’s part of the machine translation… “Japanese yew, Autumn Special Exhibition: Contemporary Bonsai Masters: Masahiko Kimura; Playing with Bonsai, the Origin of His Works” You can read more and see other masterpiece bonsai photos here Even though I think he’s fallen a little out of favor in some circles, I’m still a fan of Masahiko Kimura’s bonsai. For years his wildly innovative techniques and his visionary’s eye, combined with a healthy does of daring, produced results at the cutting edge (so to speak) of bonsai innovation. Now, forty some … Continue reading The Cutting Edge of Bonsai Innovation

Trophy Time and the Year of the Yew

Noelanders Trophy award; Best of Show. A Taxus cuspidata (Japanese yew) by Bonsai Museum Alcobendas. Can we assume that the artist is Luis Vallejo? It’s not really kosher to cut off part of pot, but who’s to complain? Bonsai Empire once again wins the award for fastest bonsai news scoop, and we’ll take what we can get. Gratefully. Up late last night* and now I’m trying to get out of town for a brief Montreal mid-winter epicurean extravaganza… so we’ll make this short. We have a Noelanders Trophy Best of Show Bonsai (actually there are two, but we’ll save the … Continue reading Trophy Time and the Year of the Yew

The Sun Still Shines on Our Bonsai

Japanese yew with one thin live vein and lots of great deadwood. From Mauro Stemberger’s Italian Dream website. Still on vacation and trying to recover from a hangover and a bad dream. Rather than going to the time and trouble to compose a new post, we’ll resurrect this one from December, 2013. It was titled, “Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer…” Mauro Stemberger is something of force in European and world bonsai. He usually starts with excellent stock and ends with even better bonsai. This is not not the first time we’ve … Continue reading The Sun Still Shines on Our Bonsai

Before & After – Spectacular & Even More Spectacular

That’s a Japanese yew that this spectacular piece of deadwood is clinging to. It was styled by Naoki Meaoka. The first thought that came to mind when I saw this tree was Yes! The second thought was; ‘is that piece of deadwood for real, or was it just stuck onto an otherwise unspectacular tree? But of course it’s for real. Naoki Meaoka wouldn’t do that. Anyway, it’s that time of year so we’ll keep this short and simple. If you want more photos of this tree, you can find them on facebook. You can also visit Naoki’s website. Before Before. Close up of the deadwood … Continue reading Before & After – Spectacular & Even More Spectacular

Suburban Yamadori

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here. One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban … Continue reading Suburban Yamadori

Master Bonsai Magician

This powerful and famous Yew by is by Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura. It’s from The Magician (below). It also appears in Bonsai Today issue 56. Archives plus today. Most of this post originally appeared in February 2010 and again last year. It was originally titled ‘Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again’. I’ve added some copy and killed some of the original copy in an attempt to reduce the wince factor. I’ve also added another photo for your enjoyment.   Same species but very different tree. Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see above and below), nor … Continue reading Master Bonsai Magician

How About Yew?

This rather spectacular, muscular Japanese yew resides at the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan, along with numerous other top tier bonsai. The pot looks like it could be Tokoname. Though you can’t see the back, it’s possible that the single live vein in the front supports all of the foliage in the tree’s impressively massive crown. Apologies for the bad pun in the title. We’ll blame it on faulty wiring (of the physiological type rather than the bonsai type). While we’re at it here’s another bad Yew pun. One of the great thing about Yews (Taxus) is they … Continue reading How About Yew?

Americans Abroad

This beautifully flowing Sargent juniper(Juniperus chinensis var. Sargentii ‘Itoigawa’ – aka Itoigawa Shimpaku) belongs to Douglas Paul, the owner of The Kennett Collection (we’ve featured The Collection here on Bark). This and the other photos in this post are borrowed from Bill Valavanis’ Bonsai blog. Just in case you are not familiar with Kokufu ten, it’s a bonsai exhibition that takes place in Tokyo once a year and is widely considered the world’s most famous and prestigious bonsai event. 2015 was its 89th year, which I believe makes it the world’s oldest bonsai exhibition as well as the most famous. Simply … Continue reading Americans Abroad

An Unusual Bonsai by An Unusually Gifted Bonsai Artist

Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see below), nor is it considered one of his classics, still… there’s that unusual trunk that give pause for thought. It’s a Japanese Yew that appears in The Bonsai Art of Kimura (long out of print). There is no explanation given for how the trunk was formed. Is it possible that Kimura split the original trunk and doubled it back on itself? It’s Saturday morning, the leaves are turning and it’s a beautiful day. Time to dig into our archives and then get outside and enjoy Vermont at its best. … Continue reading An Unusual Bonsai by An Unusually Gifted Bonsai Artist

The Next Best Thing…

This photo from the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album is a good example of the quality photos you’ll find in all of the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Albums. The tree is an old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) from the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. It’s one of 248 fine bonsai that are featured in the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album. The photos that we’ve been featuring from last weekend’s 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition are not the final ones. The official high quality professional photos will appear in 4th Exhibition Album and nowhere else (stay posted). Enjoying the photos in … Continue reading The Next Best Thing…