Breaking the Bonsai Mold

For every highly stylized Japanese bonsai, there’s one like this that breaks the mold. It’s a Japanese red pine from Japan’s 80th Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition (2006). The other Japanese pine. Japanese black and white pines comprise some of the most famous bonsai in the world. And thousands that aren’t so famous. Japanese Red pines (Pinus densiflora) are much less common in bonsai circles, but judging by the ones shown here and some others we’ve seen along the way, they have no problem holding their own. All the photos shown here are Japanese red pines from Japan’s famous Kokufu-ten Bonsai Exhibition. … Continue reading Breaking the Bonsai Mold

A Strong Statement in Favor of the Wild Look

A strong statement in favor of the wild unmanicured look. It’s a Cork bark Japanese black pine that lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. This photo and all the other photos shown here, were taken by Kurt Simonson. Here’s its plaque: Last month, while at the Artisans Cup, I and a large group of fellow bonsai lovers took a Cup sponsored tour to the Pacific Bonsai Museum. While there, I had the good fortune to meet Kurt Simonson who came ready and willing to shoot every tree at the museum, which he did (with the exception of the trees in … Continue reading A Strong Statement in Favor of the Wild Look

Bunjin Wizard

Triple trunk bunjin. I’ve long had a soft spot for trees with long straight trunks, topped with dynamic flowing curves. Exactly like this one. Which, along with the other two trees shown here, was styled by Naoki Maeoka. After close up. A good view of how the flowing lines at the top of each trunk are carried over onto the branches. Before. Triple trunk bunjin. You don’t see that many triple trunk bunjin (literati) bonsai. Especially ones as elegant as the one above. It, and the others shown here, belong to Naoki Maeoka. Bunjin wizard. Naoki Maeoka is a resident … Continue reading Bunjin Wizard

Power, Movement & Texture

Power, movement and texture. This astounding Itoigawa shimpaku juniper (Juniperus chinensis Itoigawa) received an Honorable Mention at the 2015 Crespi Bonsai Cup which was held at the Crespi Bonsai Museum. It belongs to Gino Costa. The photos shown here are from the 2015 Crespi Bonsai Cup. I cropped them all to bring the trees closer and to eliminate background noise. You can see the uncropped photos of all 65 entries here. Here’s the First Prize tree and I can’t say I disagree. It’s a Mugo pine that belongs to Paolo Riboli. I like the natural grey of the deadwood, … Continue reading Power, Movement & Texture

A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

Look familiar? It’s Amy Blanton’s Rocky Mountain Juniper (with Mike Blanton in memoriam). The same tree that was the 3rd place finisher at the Artisans Cup. This photo* was taken at the 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo after a quick cross country trip. This post was going to be about the recently completed 2015 North Carolina Bonsai Expo, but somewhere in the process, a story about a particular tree, a bonsai artist’s legacy and his wife’s devotion took over. We’ll get to the Expo another time, meanwhile I would like to invite you to visit a post on Ryan Neil’s … Continue reading A Bonsai Artist’s Legacy

A Skinny Lone Tree, a Large Empty Space…

California Juniper (Juniperus californica) at the Cup. It belongs to Seiji Shiba. Estimated age: 1000-1600 years old, trained for 15 years. All the photos in this post are by Hoe Chuah. I just rediscovered* an exceptional bonsai blog. It’s titled Bonsai Penjing & More and it belongs to Hoe Chuah. Most of the best bonsai blogs have good photos, but blogs like Bonsai Penjing & More that combine quality photos with thoughtful, well written comments are lot less common. The following by Hoe Chuah is from yesterday’s Bark comments. The tree he references is just below. “I like Michael Pollack’s hinoki … Continue reading A Skinny Lone Tree, a Large Empty Space…

A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

This stately distinctive Hinoki is from Michael Pollock’s blog Bonsai Shinshei as are the other two bonsai shown here. Here’s Michael’s caption: “My lone Hinoli cypress after a quick fall cleanup. Falling deeper in love with this pot that Ron Lang and I collaborated on.” Got Artisans Cup photos with species and artist labels? I wanted to show Ron Lang’s (and Sharon Edwards-Russell’s) pots that held seven of the remarkable trees at the Artisans Cup. Problem is, my photos are spotty and mostly unlabeled and the same goes for other Cup photos I’ve been able to dig up. So we’ll … Continue reading A Famous Hinoki in a Famous Pot

Visceral Wonder & Other Comments on Judging Bonsai

This is one that I kept coming back to (see Michael Plishka’s visceral wonder comment below). It’s a Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis) that belongs to Greg Brenden (an earlier smaller iteration in a different pot was shown at the 2010 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition). The show booklet says the pot is by Ron Lang, but Ron told me that his wife Sharon made it and that he created the rough finish (see below). There were several trees in Lang pots at the exhibition. This photo and the close up below, are borrowed from Bonsai Penjing & More. Yesterday’s post … Continue reading Visceral Wonder & Other Comments on Judging Bonsai

Judging Bonsai at the Cup: The Limits of the Point System

Eric Schikowski’s collected Mountain Hemlock was one of my favorites. It was also Peter Warren’s first choice. I borrowed this photo and the one below from Eric Shrader’s PHUTU blog. I was going to give the Cup a rest for awhile until I ran across this thorough, thoughtful and thought provoking article on Eric Shrader’s PHUTU (one of the best blogs I’ve had the good fortune to stumble upon lately). We’ll start with a disclaimer two disclaimers: First, what follows takes nothing away from the winners. All four (third place was a tie) are great bonsai and worthy of accolades. … Continue reading Judging Bonsai at the Cup: The Limits of the Point System

Bonsai Drawings, Expertly Rendered & Beautiful

This drawing is by Michele Andolfo, as are the others in this post. All the drawings shown here are from a program Michele Andolfo led in Quebec this year. You can view more of these expertly rendered and beautiful drawings and the bonsai material that inspired them here. It’s a click worth making; taking the time to tune into Michele’s vision of what each tree might become, can help you envision what your own trees might become. Michele’s Andolfo Bonsai Studio is in Italy. But judging by the news on his website, he travels and teaches far and wide. Here’s … Continue reading Bonsai Drawings, Expertly Rendered & Beautiful