Styling

Carving Deadwood – How About Yew?

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wickedly powerful, dynamic old English yew, my mind does a little double take. It may not look exactly like anything you’ll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. It’s by Kevin Willson, bonsai artist and deadwood carver extraordinaire. Photo by Simon Carr. We’ve been flirting with deadwood a lot lately, so let’s keep going. This time we’ll dip back into our archives and resurrect a post that originally appeared in 2011. A labor of love Yew wood is very hard. Harder than almost … Continue reading Carving Deadwood – How About Yew?

The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

There’s deadwood and then there’s deadwood. This photo is from Francois Jeker’s website. Judging from the bark and the leaves, I’d guess this is a Yew. Probably European (Taxus baccata). Dick Matthews wrote this in the comments on a post from a few days ago (from my personal facebook feed). “Sometime I think that in a bizarre sort of way, bonsai is evolving into the sensationalism of dead wood. The more bizarre looking the dead wood, the more it represents the age of a bonsai, but I don’t think that the dead wood should be the central theme and eye-catcher … Continue reading The Sensationalism of Deadwood?

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Rich in Bonsai Wisdom & Advanced How-to Articles

Eric Schrader’s caption for this photo reads: “At Ryan Neil’s place the Ponderosa were all about the twists and deadwood.” Ryan Neil is the artist behind the wonders of Bonsai Mirai and Eric Schrader is a five star bonsai blogger. I just discovered a phenomenal bonsai blog. It’s called phutu and it belongs to Eric Schrader (Eric lives in San Francisco and is involved in the Bonsai Society of San Francisco as a volunteer and teacher). I don’t understand how I missed phutu for so long, especially considering Eric has been posting regularly since 2003. I encourage you to pay … Continue reading Rich in Bonsai Wisdom & Advanced How-to Articles

More Bougainvillea Bonsai but More Elegant & Less Showy this Time

There’s something about a beautiful bonsai in flower. If you let your eyes linger for a few moments, you’ll notice how the seemingly perfectly placed flowers enhance the power of the tree rather than overwhelm it. It’s a bougainvillea by Robert Steven. All this photos in this post are from Robert’s facebook gallery. Yesterday we featured three Bougainvillea Bonsai. The first two were covered with brilliant flowers (actually bracts) and the third was less showy, more like the two you see here. From a purely bonsai perspective, these two are splendid and elegant, with or without flowers, though the flowers … Continue reading More Bougainvillea Bonsai but More Elegant & Less Showy this Time

Boug Bonsai, That Gorgeously Gaudy Wonder Plant

Bougainvilleas can be a little ostentatious, even gaudy at times, and this one just might qualify. Still, ostentatious, gaudy, whatever, this lush combination of flowers, aged character and power is magnificent. The photo is from the Club de Bonsaistas (facebook). Bougs! That gorgeously gaudy semi-tropical wonder plant that seems to grace half the walls of the southern regions of our world. Turns out they make great bonsai too.   The power of the trunk rivals the brilliance of the flowers on this one. And then there’s that pot (anybody know anything about it?). I found this on Salvatore Liporace’s facebook … Continue reading Boug Bonsai, That Gorgeously Gaudy Wonder Plant

20 Thoughts on Bunjin Bonsai – Without a Doubt the Best Discussion We’ve Ever Had

Would you call this a Bunjin style bonsai? Whatever you call it, you don’t see too many bonsai that look like this. Even most bunjin are not quite like this; most are conifers and most don’t have such a meandering array of multiple trunks, especially multiple crossing trunks. And then there’s the leaf size (is this a Sumac?). Without a doubt… Back to our the archives. But not to just any old post; this one from 2012 provoked what was and still is, without a doubt, the best discussion we’ve ever had (in six and a half years and over … Continue reading 20 Thoughts on Bunjin Bonsai – Without a Doubt the Best Discussion We’ve Ever Had

Bonsai Floating in Space

Floating in space. Is it just me or is there something strange about the lack of physical support in this photo? The photo also seems to lack depth which might contribute to the strange effect. Still, there’s something enchanting about the tree and the way it’s presented. Black backgrounds. We recently ran a post about choosing a background color with black backgrounds being a favorite of many of our readers. The photos in that post belong to Walter Pall who live in Europe (Germany). In this case the photos are from Viet Nam. I picked up the photos shown here … Continue reading Bonsai Floating in Space

Impressive & Improbable Root-on-Rock Bonsai

With bonsai, it’s almost always the tree that dominates, even though the pot, (stone, slab or whatever) is considered a critical part of the whole. In this case however, it’s the rock that elevates the planting to extraordinary. Or, you might say it’s the rock and the way it’s adorned by the wonderful old tree (along with the moss and ferns), that makes this planting extraordinary. The tree is a Japanese quince. The tree, rock and moss belong to David Benavente. This photo and the two just below are from facebook. You can also visit David’s website.   In this … Continue reading Impressive & Improbable Root-on-Rock Bonsai

Bonsai Train, Deadwood in Deadwood, How-to Tips

Vive bonsai! Ever wonder why European bonsai events are so well attended? Thanks to Rosade Bonsai for this great photo. It’s an archival day. It has been way too wet lately, and now the clouds have blown away and the sun is beckoning. Only a fool would spend the day in the office if he didn’t have too. This post is from 2012. I love the train and rest is pretty good too.   Deadwood in Deadwood. If you’re ever near Deadwood South Dakota, visit Andy Smith at Golden Arrow Bonsai. Andy is known for his yamadori bonsai (bonsai collected … Continue reading Bonsai Train, Deadwood in Deadwood, How-to Tips