The Great ‘Is Bonsai Art?’ Debate

The May-June (Mai/Juni) cover of Bonsai Art magazine. Europe’s (and maybe the world’s) most beautiful bonsai mag (German language only). Is bonsai art? You’ll often see the term ‘bonsai artist’ in this blog (and elsewhere). You’ll also often see the term ‘the art of bonsai.’ Clearly, there’s no problem with putting the words bonsai and art (or artist) together. And why not? High quality bonsai pretty much fits the definition of art (see below) and most people would agree that good bonsai requires artistry. A better question Perhaps a better question than ‘is bonsai an art,’ would be; ‘when is … Continue reading The Great ‘Is Bonsai Art?’ Debate

Trunks & Trunk Chopping Techniques

I borrowed this mesmerizing ancient black pine trunk from Andy Rutledge’s ‘the bonsai journal.’ Trunk chopping 101 for deciduous trees There’s an excellent article on trunk chopping at Andy Rutledge’s bonsai journal. Andy bills it as trunk chopping for beginners, but I suspect there are experienced bonsai people out there who might also benefit (like me, for example). I’ll just show you an illustration and a little text here, and encourage you to visit Andy’s site to see the whole article (and plenty of other useful stuff). Cutting back to an existing leader Here we have a likely candidate (above). … Continue reading Trunks & Trunk Chopping Techniques

Sculpting Deadwood

Francios Jeker‘s finger and dremel power carving tool. From Bonsai Today 105 (still available). It didn’t used to be this way Have you noticed how almost everybody carves deadwood these day? It wasn’t always the case. I just thumbed through Kyuzo Murata‘s classic Four Seasons of Bonsai (first edition 1991 and long out of print) and could find only 3 or 4 bonsai that had some carving (out of over 100 trees). The same goes if you look back through other older bonsai publications. New horizons Even though it’s overused, carving opens up whole new horizons for us bonsai hackers, … Continue reading Sculpting Deadwood

Pushing Bonsai Boundaries Even Further

Has Nick gone too far and ventured beyond what you’d call bonsai with this early spring larch that promises summer shade for a cheap garden ornament? From Bonsai from the Wild by Nick Lenz. Nick Lenz’ fertile imagination Nick Lenz has been pushing bonsai boundaries for a long time. The planting above is just one example of his fertile imagination. However, a friend of mine says that what Nick is up to is just vain eccentricity and has no real meaning as far as bonsai goes. As for me, well, root-over-tank (below) always makes me smile, and maybe that’s good … Continue reading Pushing Bonsai Boundaries Even Further

Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

Can you imagine the time needed to develop and maintain the numerous foliage clouds? Does this level of refinement exist outside of Japan? Needle juniper (J. rigida) by Shinji Suzuki. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Picking up where we left off Our last post provoked more discussion than any post so far. Roughly drawn, the topic is naturalistic bonsai versus highly stylized and highly refined bonsai. I thought it might be good to continue with examples that exist at the extremes, at least in my view. This Big cone Douglas fir by Dan Robinson jumped out at me because … Continue reading Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

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

Kathy Shaner & Friends in Carolina

Ficus forest by Randy Clark. Bonsai Learning Center, Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s in Charlotte and it’s not really summer yet Bonsai Learning Center is hosting a Summer Time Picnic & Open House, May 20, 21 & 22. Aside of the fact the Randy Clark (BLC’s owner and resident bonsai artist) is a customer and a friend (if you can call someone you’ve never met face to face a friend), what really caught my attention was that Kathy Shaner will be doing two free demos and a workshop. Kathy Shaner Here’s what Bonsai Learning Center says about Kathy Shaner: “Starting her … Continue reading Kathy Shaner & Friends in Carolina

The World’s Smallest Trees Need The World’s Smallest Bonsai Pots

Mini pots, by Jim Barrett. No doubt there are smaller bonsai pots somewhere, but still, these are almost down to the magnifying glass range. Two posts ago… … we featured some very small bonsai. This provoked a discussion about tiny pots where someone (Randy Davis of the Minnesota Bonsai Society) mentioned Jim Barrett pots. Though I am sure there are others who sell tiny pots (Robert Steven, a frequent contributor to Bonsai Bark, mentioned some that are made in China), this might provide a starting point for those of you who are interested. Brandywine The Brandywine Bonsai Society’s website includes … Continue reading The World’s Smallest Trees Need The World’s Smallest Bonsai Pots

Strange & Wonderful Bonsai

Strange and wonderful. The bonsai rules have been demolished. The leaves are too big and the fruit is massive relative to the size of the tree. But rules don’t really matter all that much, and besides, flowering and fruiting trees receive a pass anyway. Bonsai Guest House revisited To quote from our last post “The photos in this post are from Bonsai Guest House in Osaka. I know almost nothing about the place, but you might want to check it out on your next Japan junket.” Just wonderful. Everything about this bonsai is designed to show off it’s brilliant quince … Continue reading Strange & Wonderful Bonsai

World’s Smallest Bonsai?

Micro tree. Is this a Japanese maple? It’s from a facebook posting by Bonsai Guest House. Novelty? Usually, when something is billed as the world’s smallest (see below) or largest, or..?, it moves into that surreal novelty realm. Would you say these tiny bonsai qualify? I’m not so sure. There’s an art to doing this and to keeping the tiny trees healthy. Still….. A place to stay The photos in this post are from Bonsai Guest House in Osaka. I know almost nothing about the place, but you might want to check it out on your next Japan junket. $1,000 … Continue reading World’s Smallest Bonsai?