The National Award, Finest Bonsai Masterpiece. American Elm. Suthin Sukolosovisit. We might as well start at the top. Not only is it a great broom style bonsai and the award couldn’t have gone to a more accomplished bonsai artist, but it’s the leaf size that must have caused a double take by anyone who knows American elms (see below).
Bill Valavanis has posted all the winning bonsai from the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition, so there’s really no need stay here unless you want to suffer through my remarks (and view photos that were slightly enlarged to fit our format). We’ll show about half of the winners today and the rest tomorrow.
Before we go on, a little more enthusiastic applause for Bill (and his intrepid crew) for putting on a great bonsai show. Really! I’m still excited and I’m old and a little jaded, so you can imagine.
If you weren’t there at least you have the photos and though I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; photos are mere shadows of the real thing. Still, they’re much better than nothing at all.
Ho Yoku Award, Finest Innovative Bonsai Design. Sargent Juniper. Colin Lewis. This was one of the trees among an ocean of powerful bonsai, that immediately jumped out at me. It’s hard to tell just how large this remarkable and undeniably distinctive bonsai is, but if you could see it up close, you might marvel at the challenge it presents when it’s time to move it from one place to another (large bonsai with rocks add a little spice to the aging process).
Medium Size Bonsai Award. Finest Medium Size Bonsai. Sargent Juniper. Troy Schmidt. I wanted to steal this tree but it’s way too big to fit in my pocket. Aside from the lush and luminous Shimpaku foliage, you might marvel at the combination of almost chaotic undulating wildness and perfect balance.
Puerto Rico Bonsai Federation Award. Finest Tropical Bonsai. Willow Leaf Fig. Aaron Buchler. I remember stopping at this one and marveling at just how compact and powerful it is. So compact that you can’t tell where the massive and very impressive nebari ends and the trunk begins.
Custom Oriental Woodcraft Award– Bonsai Display Tables. Finest Shohin Bonsai Display. Mixed Species. Gary Andes. A very worthy winner among a host of exceptional Shohin displays. It would be nice to know what the individual trees are (especially the one with the red berries) but we’ll save that for another time.
Nippon Bonsai Association Award. Finest Japanese Style Display. Japanese Black Pine. Brussel Martin. Here’s another one that jumps out at you. It’s the power that grabs your attention. Then once it has your attention you might appreciate how well refined it is. No mean feat with a Japanese black pine.
I cropped the photo above so you could get an idea of the magnitude of this tree and also the way the bark speaks of great age. Still, the awesome power of a bonsai like this can never be fully captured in a photo. A good reason to visit a top-notch bonsai show from time to time.
Yoshimura Award. Finest Classical Bonsai. Japanese Black Pine. Louise Leister. Everything about this display is great. The way the scroll reflects the linear and free quality of the tree, the unusual little accent, the luscious free flowing stand and the perfectly chosen pot. No wonder it won this prestigious award (Yugi Yoshimura was a great American bonsai pioneer and Bill’s Bonsai teacher).
That’s about half of the winners. Well put the rest up tomorrow. Meanwhile here’s what a full-sized American elm leaf looks like.