Right now and until tomorrow (Monday, July 5th) around 9am Eastern Daylight Time, all tools are 35% to 45% off. This sale will be replaced by a book sale (also 35% to 45% off). Speaking of books, the photo above is from Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai.
Happy 4th but don’t forget to water!
Today is July 4th. For some of you, it’s just another Sunday, but it’s Independence Day here in the States. For those of you celebrating, enjoy the sun, the grill, the beer, family and friends (or whatever you choose), but don’t forget to water!
Warehouse closed this week
Our warehouse will be closed for vacation this week (July 5th – 9th). We will accept orders all week, but they will not be charged or shipped (on a first-come-first-serve basis) until next week (July 12th – 16th).
Another great unidentified tree from the Noelanders Trophy VII No NameBonsai Gallery (see yesterday’s post) that is featured on bonsai4me. I love the way this tree’s wild essence has been left intact, just the way Mother Nature intended. This comes through loud and clear in the deadwood that speaks of great age and looks so perfectly natural; as though the artist never touched it.
Mysteries solved
Thanks to our friend Ferry Freriks (you might remember Ferry as the winner of our $100 Unique Bonsai Contest), many of the mysteries in yesterday’s No Name Bonsai Gallery have met the light of day. In Ferrry’s own words:
“Thanks for posting a fine selection of some of the best trees in Europe! Anyhow, I’d like to add some more info: the first tree (an Itoigawa juniper) is from the skilled hands of Carlos van der Vaart: probably the best Dutch bonsai artist around. You can find more info about this tree and his other (near Kokufu-quality!) trees here: http://www.carlosvandervaart.com/studio.asp. As you can see the tree started out as pretty mundane semi-raw material. But with the help of some skillful carving and styling and a fine quality pot by Peter Krebs (http://www.peter-krebs.de/) it ended up as an excellent chuhin size tree.
Continue reading ‘Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved’
Have you ever seen a trunk quite like this? A Kimura yew that we posted a while back has some gaps, but this one has more space than trunk. It’d be good to see the tree close up to better understand exactly what the artist (who he or she is, is a mystery to us) did and how the pieces come together somewhere around mid-tree. We found this and the rest of the photos in this post on Bonsai4me. It’s originally from Noelanders Trophy VII. All the photos are by Hans Vleugels of Belgium.
Missing artists
We’ve seen lots of online photos that show trees without the artist’s names. Some, like the ones in this post, can be found on reputable sites, that for some reason fail to mention the artists. Others might have their reasons to neglect mentioning the artists. The worse are pirates who steal what they want without compunction. Others could be people who would like you to believe the bonsai are theirs (deception by omission). Some might just do it without understanding that it is unethical, that somehow anything goes on the web. Whatever, the reason, it’s bad form not to mention the artist. Or, if you don’t know who the artist is, you could at least say that you don’t know and mention where the photos is from.
Continue reading ‘A Powerful No Name Bonsai Gallery’
This colorful succulent growing in a rock is by Peter Landerloos. It’s from Bonsai Cafe.
Bonsai Cafe
I lifted the photos in this post from Bonsai Cafe. It features some pretty good bonsai from Western bonsai artists. Definitely worth a visit if you get a chance.
It’s not very often you see a bonsai this size with such a massive trunk. It’s by Colin Lewis. Colin lives and runs his bonsai business (Colin Lewis Bonsai Art and Ho Yoku School of Bonsai) right here in New England.
I think this sweet little Shohin might be a Needle juniper. It’s by Jos Vandeborne.
This snakey cascade by Roman Martyka could easily qualify for one of our Eccentric bonsai posts.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
This little gem was lifted from BUNJINJOURNAL.COM. It’s from the 2010 California Shohin Society Seminar in Santa Nella. They one every other year and the quality of trees just keeps getting better. I’m alreay thinking about arranging my schedule so I can go next time.
Pirates
At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been pirated. Please visit us at bonsaibark.com. Thank you.
For more superb shohin bonsai visit BUNJINJOURNAL.COM.
Suthin Sukosolvisit. The old pro at work. From the album, World Bonsai Convention 2009 by Candy J. Shirey.
One of the very best
Suthin Sukosolvisit is one of the very best shohin artists working in the West. He and Dara (Suthin’s kind and gentle wife) own Royal Bonsai in the Boston area, though your chances of finding him there are probably no better than 50-50, as he travels and teaches extensively. In fact, if you are looking for a someone to lead a workshop, give a demo, or do individual tutorials, you won’t go wrong with Suthin.
Bonsai Cafe
All of the photos below are from Bonsai Cafe’s gallery and are just a very small fraction of their trees by a range of accomplished artists. It’s worth a visit.
I think this one’s a ficus. They’ve put the artist’s name on each photo, which can be a little distracting. But given how fast and loose ownership is in the wild world of the web, I can’t say I blame them.
Continue reading ‘Suthin Sukosolvisit: Shohin Artist Extraordinaire’
Contest entry number eight by Jonathan Pessin. There’s something going on with this little juniper, though I’m not sure where’s it’s headed. Cascade? In any case, it’s potential will have a hard time developing in such a small pot. Most of the best shohin are grown in larger pots (or even in the ground) and then reduced. As it is, unrefined potential is probably the best description. I do like the heavy little trunk and think that over time and with some work the deadwood might add character. Maybe it could go all the way down to the base of the trunk and even be hollowed out some at the bottom. Is it just the photo, or is the wire already digging in?
Once again, let’s get this over with
Two more entries and we can award one of you a $100 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. What are you waiting for? Details here.
The gnarled, cracked deadwood tells this old olive’s story. It’s by Carlos Brandão of Portugal. Height: 7″ (18 cm). Yixing pot. Courtesy of The Art of Bonsai Project.
Just back from vacation…
There’s almost nothing better than landing in that familiar place we call home after that little break we call vacation. Until you go back to work that is and the magnitude of just how far behind you’ve fallen sinks in (you should see my inbox!).
…and just in time
However, there’s good news. Michelle at BUNJINJOURNAL.COM has alerted me to a most excellent (really!) shohin gallery at The Art of Bonsai Project. Not only is it most excellent (already said that, but still..) but it saves me the trouble of putting together my own post just when I need it most. So thanks Michelle and thanks also to the Art of Bonsai crew for lending a helping hand.
The massive old trunk with it’s bumps and crack that tell an ancient story, captures our eye; but what about the fine branching on such a small tree? This type of refinement that is often overshadowed by thick trunks and dramatic deadwood, also tells a story; a story of time put in trimming and wiring and waiting for new shoots to grow. The artist is Mario Komsta and the tree is a Carpinus turczaninovi. Height 7″ (18 cm). Antique Chinese pot.
Want more?
Go here for the whole gallery
Shohin book
This is part of a display from Morten Albek’s Shohin site (Morten is the author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai, Published by Stone Lantern). The cotoneaster’s striking fall color and the elegant stand caught my attention.
Continue reading ‘An Elegant Stand & Touch of Fall Color’
These illustrations by Kyosuke Gun show three stages in the development of simple shohin cascading bunjin style pine. Though we don’t know for sure, we might assume that these illustrations are of an actual tree, as many, if not most of Mr. Gun’s illustrations are based upon actual bonsai. The illustration originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 39.
Small adjustments with big results
One of the purposes in this post is to show how a couple simple changes can turn an untrained stock plant in to presentable bonsai.
Continue reading ‘A Cascading Bunjin Pine in Three Simple Steps’
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