No, Tanuki Is Not Cheating 5/2/16

tanuki

An exceptional tanuki (phoenix graft) juniper by Pierre Leloup. This tree is from a post we did four years ago. It was titled What Happens When an Artist Tries His Hand at Bonsai? The artist is of course, Pierre.

Tanuki Bonsai – Is It Cheating? is the title of a post we did last week. I don’t think I’m particularly proud of the post. It led with a non-tanuki, attention grabbing Bougainvillea in full bloom and the title is deceptive; I don’t think tanuki is cheating. It’s just another bonsai technique, though it is frowned upon by some in the bonsai community.

I like the tree above. When I visited Pierre Leloup and he took me on a tour of his bonsai, one of the first words out of his mouth was ‘tanuki’ (he has a lot of them). So no deception is intended or involved in any way. Just some well-done tanuki bonsai.

Yesterday’s post also features a tanuki, as well as other several other works of art by Pierre Leloup.

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This Japanese maple is clearly not a tanuki. But it does belong to Pierre. I don't know if he made the stand, but it looks like something he might do.

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Speaking of stands, here's one that I'm sure Pierre made. As I mentioned in our last post, he is a master wood worker (I am usually very reluctant to use the word master, as it is often thrown around way too lightly - but in case, I'll go out on limb).

Suiseki-pierre6

An impressive stone, but it's the daiza that really caught me. More evidence of Pierre's woodworking skills.
gardenBonsai, woodworking and suiseki aren't the whole story. Here's a couple shots of a garden that Pierre designed and built for a client.

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gate

Fences, gates, stone path and garden all by Pierre.

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