Aaron Khalid’s Squamata juniper finished first in our Bonsai from Scratch contest.
The prize
Congratulations to Aaron Khalid, our Bonsai from Scratch contest first place winner. Aaron’s prize for finishing first is a $400 gift certificate from Stone Lantern (we’ll devote our next post to the rest of the prize winners).
Judges comments
Here are a few comments on Aaron’s tree by our judges: “Suberb; well-balanced and clean design.” “Great tree, though I like the back better than the front.” “Excellent Bunjin style bonsai, a dramatic improvement.” “Nice touch. The wiring on the branches is excellent.”
My comment
So many of the trees were worthy, but what helped push Aaron’s over the top was the dramatic difference between what he started with and what he ended with. This and the fact that what he finished with is such a quality bonsai. Simple, clean, well-balanced, easy on the eyes. I think any of us would be proud to have it in our collections. Another point, that is easy to overlook, but can make a big difference, is the quality of the photos that Aaron submitted. Just the right touch for a first rate job all around.
Stay posted for the rest of the prizes
I’ve decided to let the spotlight shine on Aaron and his tree for the moment. We’ll post the second place tree and the rest of the winners in the next day or so.
The other side. It’s not difficult to see why one of the judges liked this view.
Before. An unruly mess with a promising trunk peeking through.
Congratulation to the winners and thanks to Wayne for his efford on this contest.
Wayne, I’d like to donate my books, “Vision of My Soul” and “Mission of Transformation”, one each for each catagory winner..you decide which one to which… plus my “Aesthetic” wire for 200 gr each (you may ask the winners for the size they prefer).
Maybe we can conduct another contest for Shohin bonsai..what do you think ?
Thanks Robert,
We’ll announce the other winners on Monday. And thanks for donating your books, they are great gifts.
Maybe a shohin contest is a good idea for 2012.
Cheers,
-w
Wayne – will you be doing a similar contest for those of us in the southern hemisphere? Obviously we couldn’t enter this contest as we’re only just coming into our summer.
regards
Ann
cONGRATS! HARD works, efforts and inspirations paid off to the rightful winner.
Hi Ann,
That’s something that never crossed my mind. Not a bad idea, considering we have so many friends down there. Especially in Australia.
Beautiful tree but there’s something I’m wondering about. The rules said the tree would not have been worked on prior to this year. Yet this tree has been repotted. If it had been repotted during the initial styling, then why the different planting angle?
Hi Manny,
Good question. My assumption is, that’s the way the tree fit into the pot with a minimum of root disturbance. Beyond that, you’d have to ask Aaron.
Congrats Aaron!!! It’s a very good tree. I like the planting angle and the placement of the branches. I hope we get to see it in the future when it fills in.
The concept of the trunk being the most important part of the bonsai visually seems to have been lost.
Here we have a lot of work being done to style the branches, but a tremendous dichotomy between the upper and the lower trunk. Clearly, the lower trunk shows the original curve of the tree , which means the upper part of the trunk was nothing more than a thicker branch coming off the main trunk. This would have looked disjointed, except that the junction of the two was judiciously hidden by a branch in the photo.
And talk about why taper occurs? Where’s the visible reason for all that taper in the lower trunk, where hardly any branches ever lived or died? This may be why one of the judges preferred the back. And the difference in the look between the curves of the upper and lower? Seems to be two entirely different trees.
I do find the tree somewhat pleasing to the eye and it is a dramatic result from the original material but I do find the back to be more believable as perhaps the tree was at one time struck by lightening.
Thanks Dave,
Excellent observations.
I think this points to a problem with nursery stock vs collected trees. It’s very difficult to find nursery stock that tells much of a story. Field grown is better with time and the elements doing their thing, but most of the very best bonsai are from trees collected in nature.
Still, there are things we can do with nursery stock in an attempt to imitate what happens in nature, and your points are well taken.
As an aside, if you can’t find good material to collect in nature, you can take nursery stock and do some wiring/pruning, maybe create some jin/shari and then put it in the ground for a few years and let it grow and naturally age in the elements.
The longer I looked at the “back”, the more I liked it. The photograph just doesn’t allow me to see the angle at which the tree is leaning forwards or backwards. And I agree that this tree spent some time in this container and most probably was a re-design. Just look at the foliage lying on the surface of the growing medium. Nice design though.
Yes Pieter,
The back has more character. And you are right, in the photo it is difficult to tell exactly how the apex leans.
I hope you are wrong about it being a redesign, as that would violate the spirit of the competition. Aaron did submit a before photo of what appears to be an un-worked tree, and I have no reason not to take him at his word.