Running Around in Circles?

The deadwood on this unusual juniper looks a lot like a spontaneous Zen brush stoke. The photo was posted by John Milton. Here’s his caption: “The final result, not quite sure I pulled ‘Stanley’* off but, did my best. Still very raw as the branches are un-styled grafts without ramification, even though it looks full in the before picture. With some mochikomi** over next couple years, should fill out nicely.” Scroll down for the before photo. John Milton has been an apprentice at Aichi-en under Junichiro Tanaka-San since June 2013. He posted the photo above on his facebook feed three … Continue reading Running Around in Circles?

Eccentric Bonsai: Too Strange, or Just Strange Enough?

Strange as this magnificent old tree is, it all works together to with a perfect blend of eccentricity and balance. But the nebari? That takes some getting use to. (This photo and the others in this post are from Peter Tea Bonsai.) A good place to start resurrecting Way back in 2009 and early 2010 we ran a series of posts that we called Eccentric Bonsai (here’s the last one). Maybe it’s time to resurrect the series. If so, this absolutely unique Trident maple seems like a good place to start. Borrowing from Peter… As you may have noticed, we’ve … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Too Strange, or Just Strange Enough?

Tea Time in Japan

An old Black pine at Aichi-en bonsai nursery, after Peter Tea worked on it for three days. Bonsai apprentice Peter Tea is an American bonsai artist who recently became an apprentice at Aichi-en in Japan. Aichi-en, which is known for primarily for Black pine bonsai, is owned and operated by Mr. Junichiro Tanaka. One thing that makes Peter’s apprenticeship particularly interesting, is his on-going chronicle (blog) of his experience at Aichi-en. Peter is not the first to write about his apprenticeship (see Michael Hagedorn’s excellent book: Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk), but so far, what he … Continue reading Tea Time in Japan