Just Say No

First, my apologies for the fuzziness. The photo (original below) is cropped and expanded because I wanted to show these delightful little trees up close. Looks like a juniper above, Pyracantha on the left and Trident maple on the right. All the photos in this post are from Shunga-ten and the Japanese Shohin-bonsai Association. They appear on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Europe blog in a recent post titled, ‘Say NO to RULES‘ that I think is worth a read. BTW: Morten is the author of our Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature (see below). A part of a larger display. Could … Continue reading Just Say No

No Matter Where You Go…

This elegant Sabina juniper (aka Savin juniper) was styled by Walter Pall. Does the deadwood that’s hanging down on the left distract from the natural flow of tree, or does it add something (a touch of untamed wildness?) to the overall effect? The photo is from The Art of Bonsai Project. The pot is by Bryan Albright. “No matter where you go, there you are” (Buckaroo Banzai) could be paraphrased, “no matter where you go on the web, sooner or later you’ll find Walter Pall ” (the Buckaroo of European Bonsai?). Walter is both prolific and very good at what … Continue reading No Matter Where You Go…

…You Don’t See Bonsai Everyday, Yamadori or Othewise…

This wide-body old yamadori is the feature tree on Kevin Willson’s website. It looks like an English yew. That’s just a guess, though an educated(?) one, based on this and some other fading memories. You almost never see domestically grown bonsai that begin to approach the power and beauty of the best yamadori (trees collected in the wild). Carrying this a step further, you don’t see bonsai everyday, yamadori or otherwise, with the power and beauty of the trees shown here. The artist is Kevin Willson (we’ve featured him here on Bark and in Bonsai Today). Kevin’s website consists of … Continue reading …You Don’t See Bonsai Everyday, Yamadori or Othewise…

Before, During and After

After. A very unusual tree with three trunks merging into one thicker trunk (you can just see a small piece of the third trunk). You could say the reviled RT word (reverse taper) but who cares? By Juan Andrade. From facebook. Just couldn’t pass this one up. This Japanese white pine transformation is so unusual and the result so striking and unique, that… well, you can see for yourself. The artist, Juan Andrade is one of a whole host of young apprentices who are studying or have studied in Japan. At least one other bonsai by Juan has appeared on … Continue reading Before, During and After

Which Is Which?

Don’t read this until you have looked at the all the photos first to see if you can tell which are bonsai and which are simulations. After that you can read this caption and the rest of the text. Ravaged by time but still dignified. By Robert Steven and the great outdoors. From facebook. Without reading the captions, can you tell which images are bonsai simulations and which are photos of bonsai? A distinction worth making is between Robert Steven’s actual bonsai and his bonsai simulations that periodically appear on this blog. Simulations that are so realistic that it’s difficult … Continue reading Which Is Which?

Double Take: A Snapshot In Time

One of the famous old ’Chabo-hiba’Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa, Chabo-hiba) at Boston’s Arnold Arboretum. This one was dates back to 1787 and it looks like it’s still in the original pot. It’s been three weeks since we dug into our archives, so after putting up one post already this Sunday morning (our 20% to 25% off tool sale) I think it’s okay to take a small break. Besides, how many of you remember (or even saw) this post from two years ago? Snapshot in time The Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection (the first bonsai collection in North America that is still … Continue reading Double Take: A Snapshot In Time

Komsta Bonsai

Calligraphy anyone? I don’t know if calligraphy was on Mario Komsta’s mind when he styled this remarkable tree. I do know that there was a time when bonsai that looked like calligraphy was popular and that many scholars agree that bonsai was, in part at least, inspired by the calligraphy of the old Chinese masters (this is especially true of bunjin style bonsai). Of course you could say that nature created the long calligraphic stroke that helps make this tree so unique, but we don’t know what Mario removed or otherwise changed to enhance the effect. We’ve been featuring the … Continue reading Komsta Bonsai

Not Shimpaku part 2

Maybe it’s not perfect, but given the limits of the variety (Jun procumbens ‘nana’), it’s pretty good. In fact, it’s one of the very best pro-nana I’ve seen. It belongs to Thomas J. Mozden, as do all but the last tree in this post. It’s from a 2009 contest that was held on The Art of Bonsai Project. I was going to call this post Lone Star and feature the bonsai of Thomas Mozden who lives in Texas, but I got distracted along the way by the whole Juniper procumbens ‘nana’ question (see our ‘Not Shimpaku’ post and comments from … Continue reading Not Shimpaku part 2

Not Shimpaku

Dwarf Japanese Garden Juniper by Michael Sullivan. From the 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album (apologies for the fuzzy scan). One thing that stands out is how a combination of small touches soften the long, mostly straight, untapered trunk. First there’s the irregular pot which helps emphasize the small irregularities in the trunk. Then there’s the shari (deadwood strip) that adds movement and interest all the way up the trunk. Finally there’s the surprising little jin at the top of the trunk that further enhances the sense of movement (and adds a touch of humor). Japanese Garden Juniper bonsai Shimpaku … Continue reading Not Shimpaku

Robert Steven, 2 Trunks & 3 Moose

A simulation by Robert Steven based on two Siberian larch submitted by Kristin Wood. Robert’s handiwork combined with the rough, richly colored bark, sweet little cones, brilliant moss and just right container, makes for a very attractive naturalistic bonsai. If you have two trees, neither of which has too much promise as a single bonsai, sometimes the best solution is to combine them. Of course some vision and skill never hurts, but really, with just a little patience and willingness to experiment, you might be surprised at the results. In this case, the person doing the combining (simulated) has more … Continue reading Robert Steven, 2 Trunks & 3 Moose