A Most Unusual Bonsai Artist

Azalea and pot by Nick Lenz. Photo borrowed from The Art of Bonsai Project. A unique American bonsai artist Nick Lenz is an unusual person. On the spectrum from conservative to daring and even outrageous, his bonsai land somewhere beyond the latter. What he says about bonsai (and other things) reveals a unique mind; fascinating, humorous and often quite insightful. Beyond that, you be the judge. Collected larch (Larix laricina). Tree by Mother Nature and Nick Lenz. Pot by Nick. Larch with decent taper are extremely unusual. Chances are, Nick applied a few tricks to help this one along. Photo … Continue reading A Most Unusual Bonsai Artist

Time for Spring Cleaning

A set of Koyo stainless bonsai tools in a brown suede tool roll (the suede rolls we offer now are black). Now that we’re sure it’s really spring Today I watched a Robin eating a worm on my back lawn. It was the first Robin of the year (for me at least), so now that I’m sure it’s really spring, it’s time to break out the bonsai tools, pots, soil and all the rest and get ready for that hectic digging and potting season. First things first: cleaning tools For some reason I didn’t finished cleaning all my tools before … Continue reading Time for Spring Cleaning

Dragon Tail & Other Random Shots

Dragon Tail. Wood sculpting by Mother Nature and Father Time. Photo by John Palmer. John is the blissfully retired founder of Stone Lantern and Bonsai Today. Have you visited Stone Lantern lately? On March 13th of this year, we started seriously lowering prices on our website. We’ve pretty much lowered everything at this point: bonsai books (other books too), bonsai tools and other tools, fertilizers, bonsai soils, the works. So, if you haven’t visited for a while, be prepared to be pleasantly surprised. A great shot of a convoluted old pine trunk. My apologies to the owner, but I’ve lost … Continue reading Dragon Tail & Other Random Shots

Bonsai in the Bluegrass

June 16-19, 2011. This looks like a good one. If you are thinking about it, but not sure, check out the impressive list of visiting bonsai instructors. List of instructors with profiles Enrique Castano, Jim Doyle, Robert Kempinski, Min Hsuan Lo, Boon Manakitivipart, Jonathan Maples, Ryan Neil, Chiara Padrini, Doug Philips, Martin Schmalenberg, Andy Smith, John Thompson, Ed Trout, William Valavanis List your event here Just send us the information with a good image or two (72 dpi, 680 pixels wide). <wayne@stonelantern.com> Celtis (Hackberry) in fall color. By Min Hsuan Lo, one of the symposium’s headliners. Min has been featured … Continue reading Bonsai in the Bluegrass

New Products, New Low Prices

Bonsai Soil Sieve Set (3 screens). Not exactly new, but back after two years. Was $39.25, now $29.70. New, nearly new, or back after a long break This post is to let you know about new products at Stone Lantern. It’s also a way to let you know about products that were gone (for whatever reason) and are now back. Also new; low prices As you may know, we’ve been lowering prices on almost all of our products to near wholesale levels. We’ve learned that in this age of digital shopping, you want our quality products, service, information and the … Continue reading New Products, New Low Prices

Pushing the Limits

This wild and gnarly yamadori (collected bonsai) exhibits some classical flaws. Two of the most obvious are the long straight taperless section of mid-trunk and the cluttered roots around the base. However, that’s the way this tree grew and those flaws tell part of the story of its struggles to survive and thrive in an inhospitable environment. Without them, the story might not be so interesting. Classical vs Eccentric There have always been classical bonsai (ones that conform to accepted norms of an earlier time) and there have always been more eccentric bonsai that push classical forms and norms into … Continue reading Pushing the Limits

The Facebook Dilemma & Japanese Tools

Nice tree. From facebook; Liang Lim’s photos. Beyond that, we know nothing. Except that we are swamped (it’s corporate tax time and etc….). The Facebook problem We receive several bonsai photos every day on facebook. Almost none mention the artist, unless the artist happens to be the same person who posts the photo (you’d be surprised how often this is NOT the case and how difficult it can be to determine whether or not it is the case). When we have time, we try to track down the owner/artist, but often, this is easier said than done. Beside, who but … Continue reading The Facebook Dilemma & Japanese Tools

Talkin ‘Bout Tools: Shears

Koyo Masters’ Grade Sword Shears. If you try them, you’ll love them. I do a lot of field growing, so a tool like this that allows for quick work (but can make surprisingly fine cuts) is perfect for the job. Was $144.55 now $109.20 Compare our prices Competition on the web is fierce and the old days of 100% markups are over. So we’ve been steadily lowering our prices at Stone Lantern. Now they are virtually at wholesale levels and we intend to keep them that way. Koyo 8″ Kiri Bonsai Shears. Another of my favorites. It’s almost a bud … Continue reading Talkin ‘Bout Tools: Shears

There’s Something About Larches

Larches in training by Francois Jeker. Good stock helps Larches are easy to grow (especially if you live in the north), easy to train and they are naturally attractive trees. If you start with decent stock and you have some grasp of design and technique, you can end up with the kind of results you see above. Near limitless possibilities This is not to say each tree couldn’t have been styled differently as they certainly could have. Give the same potential bonsai to five different bonsai artists and you’ll end up with five different trees. Bonsai Aesthetics If you’d like … Continue reading There’s Something About Larches

Alive & Well in Rio

We haven’t done anything with our calendar of events for a while, so what better way to start catching up, than with a good excuse to visit Rio. Projeto Bonsai The other day, in our ongoing quest to discover new bonsai information sources, events, galleries, etc, I stumbled upon Projeto Bonsai. I wasn’t familiar with them, but from the looks of things, they are doing what they can to keep bonsai alive and well in Rio de Janeiro. Returning a favor Two things caught my eye: the graphic above, with its promising, freshly carved little tree, and a review of … Continue reading Alive & Well in Rio