Bonsai Detectives – Win a $100 Gift Certificate

(A) I found this spectacular olive online with no attribution or identification of any sort. I know I’ve seen before, but don’t remember where. Maybe you can help me. We’ll call it tree A. The contest. If you want to skip directly to the contest, scroll down to the bottom of the post. European olives are not a traditional bonsai variety. If you were to surmise that this is because they don’t occur in Japan or China, I think you’d be correct. However, as is the case with many Western native trees, all this is changing (actually, it has been … Continue reading Bonsai Detectives – Win a $100 Gift Certificate

Still Searching (Every Which a Way)

At a glance you might think this is just a stump with some foliage tacked on, but then as you look closer you notice the taper at the base and the way the texture of the wood creates movement and a feeling of age. Then there’s that little cave that enhances the story of time and place and natural forces that came together to help create this Dogwood by Franco Berti. From a post titled Reportage Vi Trofeo Bonsai e Suiseki Città di Poppi by Bonsai Romano. Taking off for the other coast today, so I’m sure you’ll excuse me … Continue reading Still Searching (Every Which a Way)

An Outrageous Explosion

This perfect curlycue has to be among the all time greats when it comes to distinctive deadwood. The tree belongs to the very talented Minoru Akiyama. The photo appears just the way I found it, with the apex and most of the pot missing. The art of carving bonsai deadwood was popularized by Masahiko Kimura and his custom power tools back in the 80s and 90s. Now a couple decades later amazing deadwood (and not so amazing deadwood) is everywhere with more and more outrageously wild examples popping up. Though this explosion of jin and shari is not everyone’s cup … Continue reading An Outrageous Explosion

Bonsai Crazy

I love these close-up deadwood shots that let you see every little scar and sliver. The tree is a big Yew that belongs to Mark Fields. Here’s what Mark Fields has to say about this tree: “Uchi-San just finished up styling the big taxus. It took about 16 hours to complete. Ready for the big show now! We know the pot is too big for the tree. We will repot in spring.” Mark Fields is an American bonsai artist and owner of Bonsai By Fields in Greenwood Indiana. Uchi-San is Bonsai Crazy Uchi (we’ll devote a whole post to him … Continue reading Bonsai Crazy

Staying on Theme – New NABF Website

Japanese black pine by Dan Robinson. Dan is known for his dramatically wild collected trees from the American northwest (and Canadian far west). Obviously this Black pine doesn’t fall into that category, though a bit of that wild look is still there. It received a WBFF Certificate of Merit. We’ve been featuring new websites a lot lately so we might as well stay on theme. All the photos in this post are from the new North American Bonsai Federation (NABF) website. NABF is affiliated with the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF).. One of the things the WBFF is known for … Continue reading Staying on Theme – New NABF Website

Horst’s Pots & A Rare Event

This is the Horst Heinzlreiter pot that caught my eye and inspired this post. We’ve been featuring Horst Heinzlreiter’s bonsai pots here on Bark for several years now and since he is so productive and it has been a while, here are some of his newer offerings (there may be one or two older ones mixed in, but I suspect that’s okay). The links above are from facebook which is where I found the pots shown here. Here’s a link to Horst’s website. We don’t usually post on consecutive days, but I wanted to make sure you know about our … Continue reading Horst’s Pots & A Rare Event

Rainbow & Bonsai

This great photo is from David Benavente’s facebook photos. There’s a lot going on here so we’re going to lean on our archives once again. This one originally appeared in April 2013 (lightly edited). I think David Benavente is one of our most accomplished bonsai artists. You can check out David’s bonsai on facebook and on his website. His Before and After (Antes y Despues) series is particularly good (and instructive), but really, I’d recommend spending time and exploring all of his photos. Many tell stories, some with a little humor thrown in. Here’s one of David’s ‘Before and After’ … Continue reading Rainbow & Bonsai

Hands Down – Our New National Bonsai Website

How many trees do you know of that have been in trianing since 1625? It’s a famous Japanese White Pine (Pinus parviflora ‘Miyajima’) that was donated to the U.S. National Bonsai and Penjing Museum by Masaru Yamaki. The National Bonsai and Penjing Museum and the National Bonsai Foundation have a new and much improved website. If you don’t get any further than this, just do yourself a favor and pay a visit. I think you’ll like what you see. I’ve long had a soft spot for our National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. After all, it belongs to us and like … Continue reading Hands Down – Our New National Bonsai Website

An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

Zuiou 1996 Kokufu prize winner, Japanese Black Pine. From Peter Tea Bonsai (Peter is one of the headliners at the upcoming Bonsai Visions of the West). Here’s some of what Peter wrote about this famous tree: “A few months ago I was fortunate enough to work on this large Japanese Black Pine. The work wasn’t major and involved thinning and pulling needles; standard stuff for Black Pines in the Winter. Just getting a chance to work on this tree was an amazing feeling for me because it tied my past bonsai career to my ending apprenticeship…” (for more visit Peter’s … Continue reading An Impressive List of Famous Bonsai Artists

Rim Shots, New and Improved

This striking formal uprignt Hinoki Cypress is the feature tree on the Pacific Rim’s new website (new to me at least). At a glance it brings to mind the Sierra’s towering Giant Sequoias. A great choice for a west coast bonsai site. First, a disclaimer. I’ve never been to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Museum. We’ve featured it several time here on Bark and have extolled its virtues based on bits and pieces we have been able to pick up on its historically woefully inadequate website and elsewhere. Now, at first glance at least, the ‘woefully inadequate’ piece has changed with … Continue reading Rim Shots, New and Improved