Our very own Kokufu All you last minute procrastinators are in luck. You can still sign up for the 2nd US National Bonsai Exhibition and enjoy the best of the of US bonsai and be part of the early stages of our very own Kokufu. Really, you’ll be thanking me for reminding you for a long time. The 2008 Album is still available. When it’s gone (and you’ve collected the next ten albums) you’ll kick yourself for waiting.
“Started electric kiln tonight, and unloading gas kiln in morning and immediately reloading and starting to fire it again. Both kilns being fired at same time Saturday. I guess it will be a good weekend to clean the pond. No bike riding this weekend! Finally rested up from my all night firing ( after all day working) a couple days ago.” From Dale’s wall photos on facebook. Speaking of pots and things We’ll, we don’t sell pots, but we do sell things (books, tools, fertilizers, wire, kenzans, netsuke and more) at whooping big discounts. Really, take a look and you’ll … Continue reading Dale Cochoy’s Bunjin Pot
Greg Madson submitted this photo along with these comments: “This is part of my own study of the geometrics of presentation. It’s a three year old Rosmarinus officinalis, Prostrata cascade 16.5 cm from top to btm (6.5 inches). I love the arc structures of the long branches that this particular variety produces. Creating a presentation that shows off the curves, angles, and depth of a tree is worth the effort.” Fifteen down one to go The contest is closed and all the entries have been posted, save for the very last one (tomorrow!). Judge not (NOT!) Stay posted for information … Continue reading Photo Art Contest: Entry #15
Shin-Boku Nursery from the air. You can’t tell, but almost every one of the plants in this photo are specimen quality Japanese garden trees. Some are ten or fifteen feet tall, others are potential bonsai. All are old and range from excellent to amazing. Doug doesn’t mince his words Here’s what Doug Roth, the publisher and editor of the Journal of Japanese Gardening has to say: “Shin-Boku Nursery is the finest Japanese garden tree nursery in North America.” Ditto! Yesterday I visited Baker Valley Nursery (see below) for the forth or fifth time. Both Shin-Boku and Baker Valley are owned … Continue reading Nothing Compares to Shin-Boku
This one caught my eye a while back. I’m not sure what it is (Phemphis?), but I do know that it’s by Denny Sulisa. Bonsai Mania posted it on facebook.
Why is this man smiling? Is it something he did? Who is he and what did he do? He’s Michael Hagedorn (we just featured him the other day) and he just did some very fierce hacking on a Zelkova. If you count carefully, you’ll see that there are 1,376 leaves on this tree. If you subtract the 31 remaining leaves (top photo) you’ll see that he cut off almost 98% of the leaves. That’s pretty radical. BTW: don’t try this on your pines. Not that you’d want a broom style pine anyway.
We’ve featured bonsai by Budi Sulistyo before, and for good reason; his bonsai are innovative and daring. Budi isn’t afraid to try new ideas and break with convention. I’d say on balance, that this has served him very well. Budi’s tropical gallery book In addition to being an innovative bonsai artist, Budi is a photographer and the author of an excellent gallery book on tropical bonsai (now on special at Stone Lantern).
Aha! Something new and different. I borrowed this exciting shot from Bonsai Art magazine. It’s a Chinese juniper ‘Itoigawa’ by Guido Braun. 12 inches high (30cm). Bonsai Art Magazine Every two months I get my copy of Bonsai Art Magazine in the mail and I’m never disappointed. In fact, I’m always delighted. So delighted that I’ll go out on a limb and say that it’s the most artistic, best designed bonsai magazine anywhere. That’s the good news. The bad news is that it’s only in German. Now to get them to publish an English edition. Here’s another highly creative bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Art by Bonsai Art
One of Nick Lenz’ famous larches as it appears in Wikipedia. A little Nick Yesterday, we featured a couple of Candy Shirley’s bonsai that I believe had their start with Nick Lenz, so this seems like a good time to offer a little more Nick for your enjoyment. The same tree: different angle, different time. Photo is from Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (now on special at Stone Lantern).