2010 California Shohin Society Seminar

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 … Continue reading 2010 California Shohin Society Seminar

In Search of the Perfect Nebari #8

Do you like this nebari, or is it a bit much? If you just look at the bottom photo, does the nebari seem to strong for the trunk? That’s the way it strikes me, but when I look at the whole tree, it works just fine. The image is a whole page from Bonsai Today issue 63. 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 … Continue reading In Search of the Perfect Nebari #8

A Lost Treasure #4: Peaceful Lagoon

Peaceful Lagoon, our third in a series of plantings from Toshio Kawamoto’s Saikei classic. The trees are five to twenty-year-old Japanese black pines. The pot (Tokoname) is similar to the ones in the previous two landscapes, though quite a bit larger. An invitation The purpose of this section is to show how to create a saikei that depicts a peaceful lagoon just off the ocean. The photo taken together with the drawings (below), create the impression that the author is inviting you to duplicate his work. Attention to detail If you look at all the elements: the rocks, the trees, … Continue reading A Lost Treasure #4: Peaceful Lagoon

$100 Bonsai Art Contest: Enter & Win!

Disembodied shoulder, arm, hand and bonsai by Frank Kelly of the Canberra Bonsai Society. Our Bonsai Art Contest is off to good start! Enter and win! Send us your bonsai drawing or painting or photo of a bonsai sculpture (or…?) and you just might win. Prizes First prize is a $60 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. Second prize $30 gift certificate. Third prize $10 gift certificate. Rules The contest will be closed when we have at least ten entrants (if entries are still coming in when we receive 10, we may keep it open a little longer). The drawing (or … Continue reading $100 Bonsai Art Contest: Enter & Win!

Bonsai Down Under: Aussie Natives

Acacia longifolia. So sweet. The leaves are a little big, but that’s the nature of the plant. Otherwise, this bonsai has it all: gnarly aged trunk with a little see-though action and excellent fluid movement. Nice jin. Perfect pot. Great tree! Australian Native Plants as Bonsai I found this tree, the one below, and numerous others on the Australian National Botanic Garden site in a section entitled Australian Native Plants as Bonsai. Some are quite unusual, at least to those of us living up over. I couldn’t find the artists’ names anywhere on the site. Maybe someone out there knows. … Continue reading Bonsai Down Under: Aussie Natives

Backyard Bonsai #6: Un Patio Hermoso

Up against the wall! I borrowed this from Rosade Bonsai Studio website. And, no, you don’t need new glasses; it’s a little fuzzy because I increased the size to fit it into our format (see below for the original unfuzzy, uncropped version). I don’t know who lives here I don’t know who lives here, or even what country it’s in. Maybe it’s Spain. I ran into Chase and Solita Rosade there in 2007 at a large show at Mistral Bonsai. Rosade Bonsai Studio We featured another post from Rosade Bonsai Studio a few days ago. As we mentioned then, it’s … Continue reading Backyard Bonsai #6: Un Patio Hermoso

Bonsai Today 35: Going, Going, Almost Gone…

We are down to our last handful of Bonsai Today issue 35. Don’t wait if you want one. A little taste… … of what’s inside: Pine doctor, Pinching pines, Balancing vigor, Correcting root rot, Step by step end of summer care, Suiseki, Super restyling: Kimura styles a classic old Shimpaku, Bonsai gallery, Tokonoma: New Year display …and some other issues while we’re at it Bonsai Today issues 40 and 46 will soon be gone too. Several others in the 50s, 60s and even 70s are disappearing as well. Don’t wait if you want to fill our your collection. Now is … Continue reading Bonsai Today 35: Going, Going, Almost Gone…

Suthin Sukosolvisit: Shohin Artist Extraordinaire

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 … Continue reading Suthin Sukosolvisit: Shohin Artist Extraordinaire

Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

The styling progression on this cascade Shimpaku juniper by Shinji Suzuki is remarkable (you can see the whole step by step progression in our Juniper book). So is the end result. Remarkable and very unusual. Shinji Suzuki styled it when he was 24 years old. I wonder if he would do it differently now. It’s not just the wild mixed interlocking swirls of live and dead wood… … nor is it just the very long piece of deadwood that runs through the center like a dagger, all the way from near the top to the very bottom… nor the delicate … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper

Famous Trees & Famous People

How many times have seen a bonsai that’s big enough to sit its shade? The young lady languishing on the pot is Solita Rosade. The older gentleman next to her looks a lot like Chase Rosade. And no, I don’t think it’s a plastic tree at Disney World. More like a real live ficus in Thailand. People and places Have you ever wanted to travel the world and visit all the famous bonsai places and hang out with all the famous (and not so famous) bonsai people? If their website is any indication (as well as the word on the … Continue reading Famous Trees & Famous People