Contest: Okay, time for two hints (& a time limit)

Upon reflection regarding our latest contest (Mystery Tree), I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s unrealistic to expect you to read my mind. So, here’s a somewhat foggy hint: It’s not a conifer. As far as the other part goes (who’s tree is it?): I believe the tree belongs to someone who lives near some houseboats. If no one comes up with correct answers to both question , then the first person to answer one of the two questions correctly wins. The contest will end at midnight Friday June 5th, 2009.

Winner: Nature’s Bonsai – Photo by John Palmer

This photo was taken by John Palmer, who is the founder (now retired) of Stone Lantern and Bonsai Today magazine. John and his wife Pat live in New Mexico and spend big hunks of their bountiful time wandering and photographing the glorious Southwest. Our apologies to John for not attributing his photo when we first posted it. To do so might have made the contest moot. So, without further ado; the winner is (drum roll): Glenn Strong, who wrote: I’ll give it a try. I think it is in Canyonlands National Park, near Mesa Arch, looking SE. Not a bad … Continue reading Winner: Nature’s Bonsai – Photo by John Palmer

Contest #2: Nature’s Bonsai – part 2

The Japanese have long known that the best bonsai come from the wild (that’s why that are hardly any left in Japan). Time and the elements combined with Mother Nature’s completely unselfconscious (you could say natural) way of doing things is hard to beat. Keep reading to see how you can win a $25.00 gift certificate and for a little hint.

David De Groot: Bonsai Artist, Author & Teacher

This shot presents a glimpse of a small piece of the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. David De Groot is the resident bonsai artist (curator) of this impressive collection. A while back I put up a couple posts (here and here) on the Weyerhaeser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection. At the time I spoke with David De Groot, the collection’s curator. David told me that the bright spot to the (temporary) closing of the collection, is that he will have more uninterrupted time working on the trees. This has got to be good for the collection as David is an accomplished bonsai … Continue reading David De Groot: Bonsai Artist, Author & Teacher

Bonsai from Nursery Stock – part three

This sweet little juniper… …came from this somewhat scraggly nursery stock. The artist is Simon Carr. The photo was originally submitted to artofbonsai.org and later appeared in Bonsai Today 103 in a Green Workshop article entitled Instant Bonsai.

Two Masterpieces by Saburo Kato

Ezo spruce (Picea glehnii) was Saburo Kato’s favorite tree. This one is from an untranslated Japanese book on Mr. Kato’s bonsai that his son Hatsuji sent us in appreciation for the gift we (Stone Lantern) sent Mr. Kato’s family when he passed away last year. I picked this one for a couple reasons. First, there’s the dead tree. You see dead trees in bonsai forests occasionally, but not that often. In nature however, dead trees abound, so why not put them in you bonsai plantings? The other feature that strikes me is the lush forest floor. I don’t know if … Continue reading Two Masterpieces by Saburo Kato

Drawing Bonsai

Most of this post originally appeared in our email newsletter, back in the pre-Bonsai Bark days. Have you thought about drawing what a pre-bonsai or bonsai might look like after it’s styled or restyled? It’s not all the difficult (even if you think you can’t draw) and surprisingly rewarding. First, take a long look at the material at hand and then imagine what it could look like after you style it. Then sketch from what you have in front of you and from what your imagination has to offer. If your imagination doesn’t have much to offer, you can practice … Continue reading Drawing Bonsai

Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 2

This is the second and final installment of our Michael Hagedorn interview. Do you collect wild trees? Any advice if you do? I do collect. And I would definitely advise studying the techniques of taking wild trees with a very experienced collector who has a high success rate. Studying this seriously is better than learning by mistake and experiment—enough have done that already! The tree pictured above is Sonoran scrub live oak (Quercus turbinella). Michael says of this tree: I collected this oak from a mountain range in eastern Arizona in 1999, at around 5,000 ft. It was growing much … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 2

Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 1

In my last post I wrote a review of Michael Hagedorn’s Post-Dated; The Schooling of an Irreverant Bonsai Monk, a book I consider to be an important and unique contribution to English language bonsai literature. You could say that Post-Dated is in fact literature, as distinguished from the how-to genre that most bonsai books fall into. In addition to being a very accomplished writer, Michael Hagedorn is a first rate bonsai artist. His work appeared in the Kokufu show in Tokyo (Kokufu is the pre-eminent bonsai show in Japan) in 2004, 2005 and 2006, and Mr. Suzuki (Michael’s teacher) honored … Continue reading Michael Hagedorn Interview: Part 1

Post-Dated by Michael Hagedorn

I first read Post-Dated at 30,000 feet; Boston to SFO. By coincidence, the man sitting next to me was reading Thoreau’s Walden, a book usually confined to students and scholars (and everyone else’s bookshelves). He was well past his student years and turned out to be an engineer who simply loved Thoreau. I bring this up because Post-Dated has a chapter titled: Restless Spirits: The Usefulness of Henry and Ernest. Henry is, of course, Henry Thoreau. Ernest is Ernest Hemmingway. Michael included them in his book because they both studied bonsai in Japan as young men. Henry was gifted, but … Continue reading Post-Dated by Michael Hagedorn