Tag Archive for ‘Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment’ at Bonsai Bark Bonsai Blog

Tag Archive for 'Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment'

Don’t Be Too Shy to Win a $25 Gift Certificate

Published

on 09/02/2010

. 0 Comments

kiki-bonsai This is the planting that I want you to critique. It’s from from Kiki Bonsai.

Go ahead, make my day
Just write a little critique of the planting above. It doesn’t have to be perfect; it doesn’t even have to make sense. We’re short on entries, so anything is better than nothing. And who knows? You just might win, and even if you don’t, you might learn something in the process.

The details are here

Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment
The only English language penjing book is now on sale for $14.95 (originally $39.50).

$25 Critique Contest

Published

wayne

on 08/24/2010

in Styling

. 2 Comments

This photo is from Kiki Bonsai.

Win a $25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern
Send me (wayne@stonelantern.com) your written critique of the planting in this photo. Try to keep it to 100 words or less. I will pick the winning critique based upon two criteria:

1. Content. How insightful your observations are.

2. Clarity. How clearly and simply you express your observations.

DO NOT PUT YOUR CRITIQUE IN THE COMMENTS BELOW. Email it to me at wayne@stonelantern.com. Put ‘Critique’ in the subject line.

You will become famous
I will post the winning critique and perhaps one or two others that I like. I may also offer my own critique.

Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment

Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends

Published

wayne

on 04/04/2010

in Cuttings

. 2 Comments

maryficus

Would you say that this prize winning Ficus neriifolia by Ed Trout looks relaxed and sensuous (nothing like anthropomorphizing a bonsai)? Maybe, maybe not; but you’d have to say that it is powerfully stable with it’s wide flowing nebari and stout trunk. To my eyes it combines the traditional bonsai with a very natural uncontrived look. Almost reminiscent of an old live oak on California hillside. All the photos in this post are from Bonsai Mary.

Mary’s website
Mary Miller is one of genuine Florida bonsai mavens. Her years of experience as a bonsai teacher, author and grower come together very nicely in her website. One of the things that sets Mary’s site apart is the personal touch that she lends to her discussions of bonsai, of life and even to her experience (bad and good) with putting together her own website.

Maryboug

Mary’s Pixie bougainvillea.

Continue reading ‘Tropical Bonsai with Mary Miller & Friends’

Contest: Mystery Penjing

Published

wayne

on 03/29/2010

in Uncategorized

. 6 Comments

arbo1_trident_maple

I found this near perfect penjing stuck in a file on somewhere on my computer. Unfortunately, I neglected to label it, and, like so many other things stuck in files in hidden corners, I don’t remember where it came from. I do know that it’s a Trident maple and I could make a guess on its location and who planted it, but maybe it’s more interesting to give you a chance.

Win a $25.00 gift certificate
The first person to properly identify the artist and the current location of this powerful penjing planting will receive a $25.00 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. Your answer must be posted in the comments below. Answers emailed to me will not be considered.

Native Americans at BIB’s Annual Bonsai Exhibit

Published

wayne

on 02/05/2010

in Cuttings

. 8 Comments

BTNight

I lifted this sinuous Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) off of a great gallery at Bonsai Tonight from the 2010 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit. Though I can’t tell for sure, it looks like at least five full twists in the trunk. Not something you see every day.

Westernjun

Here’s another heavy-trunked bunjin. It’s a Sierra juniper, also known as Western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis). It and it’s close cousin, the California juniper (J. californica) are becoming favorites of bonsai enthusiasts here and abroad.

Natives
It’s good to see is the use of native trees and their increasing acceptance as subject for high quality bonsai. I can remember a day when almost all specimen bonsai were Japanese varieties (for that matter, almost all were by Japanese bonsai artists – not counting Penjing, that is). Because the Japanese varieties set the standard, recognition of other varieties as potential subjects for world class bonsai has taken some time.

The risk of depletion
All of the trees shown here were collected from the wild (or so it appears). In Japan almost all of specimens worthy of collecting have long been dug up. Could that happen here?

Continue reading ‘Native Americans at BIB’s Annual Bonsai Exhibit’

In Whose Eye? Eccentric Bonsai #2: Figurines

Published

wayne

on 09/26/2009

in Styling

. 0 Comments

moose

Using figurines in tray plantings doesn’t necessarily qualify as eccentric; it’s common in Chinese (and other) penjing plantings. Perhaps it’s the type (you don’t see many moose in China) and especially the relative size of the figurine that makes this trident maple planting unusual. This photo is from an article by Randy Clark entitled ‘Bonsai & Figurines’ that originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 95. Randy Clark is the owner of the Bonsai Learning Center.

The Japanese seldom use them…
…. but the Chinese (and some others) often do. When it comes to figurines, basically its: penjing ‘yes’, Japanese bonsai ‘no,’ (the exception is very small figures used in some Japanese saikei) and Randy Clark’s ‘why not explore the issue?’ Most people I know are somewhere past ‘why not’ and leaning towards ‘just say no.’

Indiscriminate use
If you are like most serious Western bonsai enthusiasts, you usually avoid figurines. This is probably due to the fact that Japanese bonsai has enjoyed an earlier and stronger influence in the West than Chinese penjing. And the rampant and indiscriminate use of poorly made figurines in cheap (but overpriced) commercial bonsai hasn’t helped. Besides, when it comes to quality bonsai, ‘why gild the lily?’ might be a question worth asking.

Continue reading ‘In Whose Eye? Eccentric Bonsai #2: Figurines’

Pacific Rim; a Glimpse of What You Can’t See

Published

wayne

on 04/21/2009

in Cuttings

. 0 Comments

korean-yew-pac-rim

The two bonsai in this post, including this remarkable Korean Yew (Taxus cuspidata), are from Weyerhaeuser’s Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. The photos were sent to us by David De Groot, the collection’s curator. If you check two posts back, you’ll see that the collection is now closed to the public. Hopefully, it will reopen fairly soon.

pac-rim-zhao-elm

This famous Chinese elm (Ulmus parivflora) planting is by Qingquan Zhao, reknowned penjing artist, teacher and author of Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment.

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