Halloween? The show was in October (last year). At first glance you might just see the tree and the cobwebs and miss the hands clutching (persenting?) the sculpted wooden pot. This photo and the one just below are from Robert Steven’s 2014 International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennale.
Apropos of nothing…
When I moved east from the left coast I was surprised to see what a big deal Halloween is out here. Almost like the Christmas, Hanukkah & other shortest-days-of-the-year-Holidays, only different with garden witches, ghosts and the rest. A full month or more before the actual day. Strange…
Halloween again (though I suspect there’s much more going on here than that). There’s something about those ‘severed’ arms that’s just a little ominous. Is this where the recent ‘Black Scissors’ rage started?
I think this contorted little gem makes for a suitable Halloween bonsai. The photo (by Michael Hagedorn) was taken in Peter Wilson's backyard on Vancouver Island. Here's what Michael has to say about this gnarly little monster "Very nice bunjin shore pine, Pinus contorta contorta, in Peter’s yard… I thought this specimen was very successful in living up to its scientific name. Contorted to heck by something in the wilds of Canada."
You might notice how small the pot is relative to the tree. I imagine this is because it was growing in very little soil when Peter collected it (I'm guessing that it was collected by Peter) and so it's perfectly happy to continue growing with very little soil.
I often find the monster nebari that appear on some bonsai (especially Japanese bonsai) to be quite strange (and quite impressive). This photo of this almost grotesque Stewartia nebari was taken by Jonas Dupuich (Bonsai Tonight) during his 2011 trip to Japan. The tree belongs to a Mr. Ishii. I'm not sure why we don't see more Stewartia bonsai in the West. Though most are native to Asia, there are two varieties that are from our North American southeast.
If you think you’ve seen all four of these photos before, it could be because you’ve been a loyal Bark reader since at least 2012.
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our 20% to 30% off Site Wide Sale
and even though I am not a big proponent of
the commercialization of the upcoming Holidays, still...