Shari on bonsai

A Quick Study in Deadwood

It’s all about the deadwood (and the crown). Deadwood is sometimes overplayed, especially on Shimpaku. But even though the deadwood is dominant on this tree, the powerful and well constructed crown offers a good sense of balance. All three photos in this post are from Marco Invernizzi’s website. I’m still on vacation, so we’ll make no pretense of in-depth analysis of deadwood this morning (not that we ever do much in-depth analysis of anything). Just three photos of Shimpaku from Marco Invernizzi’s website with a few quick comments and a little word from our sponsor. Marco Invernizzi studied extensively with … Continue reading A Quick Study in Deadwood

A Magnificent Bonsai with a Strange & Wonderful Shari

Hanging out. Or just hanging in? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a shari quite like this one; it seems to be floating in the opening of the sabamiki (trunk’s hollow). Still, I think this would be a wonderful tree even without the shari; the sabamiki, the nebari and the superbly textured bark all create a powerful sense of age and character. I found both photos shown here at Michael Bonsai. They are originally from Bonsai Tonight. Does the shari draw your attention to, or distract from, an otherwise magnificent trunk? What would happen if you removed the shari … Continue reading A Magnificent Bonsai with a Strange & Wonderful Shari

Robert Steven Critiques an Atlas Cedar and Provides an Interesting Lesson in Creating Shari

Robert Steven’s digitally enhanced version of a Blue Atlas Cedar. The original photo (below) was submitted by Mike Andrews. The original. Robert’s critique Basically, this is a very nice Cedar with nice movement and sufficient well-arranged branching and the shari helps create a feeling of age. But, there are few issue here : This bonsai is styled in a very common “S” shape with a basic 1,2,3 branch arrangement. Although there is nothing wrong with it, it lacks excitement. In other words, it could be styled in more interesting and natural fashion. The shari is not properly done. As described … Continue reading Robert Steven Critiques an Atlas Cedar and Provides an Interesting Lesson in Creating Shari