Ajuga, fern, sedum. Artist and potter unknown. Bonsai Tonight and the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show I found these sweet little accents on Bonsai Tonight. They are from the Bay Area Bonsai Associates’ 28th annual show. Unfortunately, no artist’s or potter’s names are listed. Can anyone out there offer any help? I like this earthy, uniquely shaped hand made pot. Anybody know who made it and who did the planting?
Kokufu Prize, 2010: Informal upright style Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergi). Borrowed from Phoenix Bonsai. Delusional state? To be sure, people from around the world are growing and displaying some wonderful, eye-popping bonsai. Still, from where I sit, and in spite of rumors to the contrary, it’s hats off to the Japanese when it comes to world class bonsai. If you don’t believe me, check out any Kokufu exhibit. If you still don’t believe me, then there’s nothing I can do for you. You’ll simply have to suffer in your delusional state. Or maybe visit your opthamologist (disclaimer: there’s nothing … Continue reading Kokufu Bonsai-Ten: Still the Best
Traveling again and haven’t gotten around to reviewing all the judge’s comments. Soon. Meanwhile, stay posted.
What a strange and compelling tree! The trunk is massive from left to right, but looks like it might be somewhat flat from front to back, though it’s hard to tell from this angle. The branching is undefined (partially caused by the way the foliage and flowers are growing in the crotches) and unbalanced in a way that might make you wonder if someone was drunk or if there was some sort of pruning accident (no insult intended; just felt like saying something provocative). Still, there is something dynamic and compelling about this tree, at least compelling enough to motivate … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: A Very Unusual Satsuki
Don’t wait! Our book sale ends on Monday the 29th. 30% off Netsuke end tomorrow (Thursday the 25th). 30% off Kenzan sale has no ending date yet, but don’t wait too long. What’s with netsukes and kenzans on a bonsai blog and website? Good question (if I say so myself). Though bonsai is our primary passion and business, we’ve long had an interest in Japanese horticultural arts (thus Ikebana books, kenzans and tools and Japanese gardening books and tools). And to some extent, Japanese arts in general (thus the netsukes). So now that I’ve answered my own question, anything else … Continue reading Sales: Books, Netsuke, Kenzans
Too long and too straight. We all know you can add curves to a branch that is too straight, but did you know that you can also use wire to shorten a branch that is too long? Much better. Now it’s much shorter and much more interesting.
The winner. Patrick Giacobbe’s Bonsai Design. Graphite on Bristol board. A closely bunched field (with one exception) First place was no contest; Patrick won going away with 73 points. After that, things got much tighter. Second place (see below) received 34 points, and third was a two way tie with 27 points each. How the judges voted Altogether thirty one people decided to judge. Each judge assigned nine points. This means there were 279 total points assigned. If you do the math you’ll see that those who didn’t finish in the money received 118 points. Put another way, everyone was … Continue reading Bonsai Art Contest: Plenty of Winners
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 … Continue reading Some Noelanders Mysteries Solved
Okay. You’ve had your chance. And we already have more than the twenty five judges that we asked for. So, as of midnight Sunday, March 21st, (Eastern Daylight Savings Time), the judging for our Bonsai Art Contest is closed.
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 … Continue reading A Powerful No Name Bonsai Gallery