Michael Hagedorn (our alphabetically first judge) worked on this Japanese white pine before his teacher, Shinji Suzuki entered it in the famous Kokufu show. You can visit Michael’s Crataegus Bonsai (one of my all time favorite bonsai blogs) for the whole story. Michael is the author of Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai [...]
Robert Steven’s simulation of a Chinese elm root-on-rock bonsai submitted by Ikhsan. The original (before) photo is below. Still impressed No matter how much I try, I don’t see nearly as much as Robert Steven sees when he does his critiques (it’s not even close). So, once again, I am left to sing the praises [...]
No sooner did I send out the notice about the winner of our $100 Mystery Bonsai Contest, than I got an email from Robert Steven saying he was mistaken when he identified the bonsai number 6 artist. In Robert’s own words: “it belong to Wayan Arthana from Bali….” I wonder if it’s one of those [...]
This is the tree that gave people the most trouble. You can blame facebook if you’d like (unattributed and mis-attributed bonsai abound in that crazy free-for-all world). We have Robert Steven to thanks for setting us straight on this one. It’s a Pemphis acidula and the artist is Adjie Christian. And the winner of our [...]
Robert Steven’s digital simulation of a tree that was submitted by Josua. The eye of a master Sometimes Robert Steven’s simulations are strikingly radical and completely unexpected. In this case, what Robert has presented isn’t so radical. You might even say, his improvements are fairly obvious. Still, obvious or not, Robert’s expert eye and touch [...]
Robert Steven’s simulation of a planting submitted by someone named Bob. In Robert’s words: “Above is my simulation that suggests a strong wind blown effect. I improved the ramification structure, reduced the foliage to enhance the movement of the lines, and eliminated the grasses to avoid irrelevant conditions.” Bob’s original is below. Bonsai mastery I [...]
