Bonsai Microsculptures

47A perfect yamadori bunjin with deadwood and a snake like living vein. Sweet pot too. This and the other photos shown here are from Ken To's website.

This post is borrowed from our archives (Sept 2013). It wasn’t the first time we’ve featured Ken To’s beautifully detailed little wire bonsai sculptures and won’t be the last. We have caught  a little grief about posting these cause they aren’t real bonsai. But that’s just silly.

Rather than going to the trouble of actually thinking and writing, here’s some text that I lifted from Katie Hosmer at My Modern Met. “To’s microsculptures must require incredible patience and a very steady hand. The curls and twists mimic the shape of a living bonsai, each one standing an average of about 2 to 4 inches tall and placed in various bonsai pots created by Jim Barrett. Ken To uses exhibition grade wire, sometimes choosing to blend several tones into one final shape. The elaborately hand-crafted designs are a wonderful interpretation of the classic bonsai art form, and can be purchased on the artist’s website” 


A semi cascade with a perfect little Jim Barrett pot. All the pots Ken uses are by Jim.

 

Informal upright multi-toned weeping willow.

 

Ken dug this old Shimpaku high in the mountains of Japan. I'd say the silver wire is deadwood and the gold is living.

 

It's very small and it's made of wire, yet it's clear that it's a deciduous tree in fall color.

 

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Colorful Shots to Brighten up Your Mid-Winter

azalea6This photo was taken to emphasis the flowers, rather than the tree. If you were to take a photo of this tree when it's not in flower, you'd take it a from a point a little lower to better show the powerful trunk and nebari. Sometimes photos just seem to appear on my desktop without any reference. This is the case here, so my apologies for failure to attribute this multi-hued Satsuki azalea to its rightful owner (best guess; Japanese owner).

Today, it’s just a few colorful shots to brighten up your mid-winter experience.

 

narcissus

Got a strange old pot lying around that just won't work with any of your trees? Here's Michael Hagedorn's solution. We'll call it Narcissus in a bonsai-ish pot.

 

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This colorful tree-pot match is from our 2014 bonsai calendar. There aren't a lot of trees that can handle such a brilliant pot. Judging by the berries and the bark, I'd say it's a Japanese winterberry (Ilex serrata).

 

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We don't usually show pieces of bonsai, but when we do, we call it art. This photo is a part of the cover of our 2013 bonsai calendar.

 

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There's a reason for these chopped up calendar photos; in most cases, our scanner is too small to fit the whole tree and my photoshop skills are lacking when it comes to piecing scans together in a non-butchered way. This one is from our 2016 bonsai calendar (now 50% off at Stone Lantern).

 

CAG16

This colorful shot is from our 2016 Japanese garden calendar (now 50% off).

 

GreenT oak

This photo has less to do with color and more to do with an amazing tool; our new Green T Bonsai Turntable. BTW: you might recognize the tree. We showed it just the other day.
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High on the Bonsai & Penjing Pantheons

penjing copy

This remarkable planting belongs somewhere near the top of the Penjing pantheon. I'd love to have close-ups of this brilliant landscape by Kuanghua Hsiao, so we could see the details, but we'll take what we can get. I found the photo here.

Just two remarkable photos today. It’s not that often you see two bonsai by the same person, each so completely different from the other and each among the best you’ll see anywhere.

Kuanghua Hsiao

Speaking of pantheons, this one has to be somewhere near the top of great deciduous bonsai. It was posted on facebook by the same Kuanghua Hsiao (above), but no indication of the type tree or other details.

 

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Nipping & Snapping at Noelanders – Part 2

kai2

This one has that wild, almost untouched look, that takes you straight to a rocky ledge off in the mountains somewhere. I don't know what it is but I like it and its pot. This photo and the others shown here (and in yesterday's post) were taken by Graham Potter at last weekend's Noelanders Trophy.

Yesterday I wrote “There’s a long discussion on facebook about Noelanders Trophy and some ‘haters’ (an overused word that some people use just because someone else expresses a dislike or a contrary opinion), but I’ve decided that this is a part one post, so we’ll save my commentary for part two.” Now I’m not so sure I want to open this can of worms, but a promise is a promise, so here goes…

…In most art forms, when an art piece is displayed, the artist’s name, (when known) is prominent, with the owner’s name secondary (on loan from so and so, for example).

When it comes to bonsai the convention is to simply list the owner. There are good reasons for this. One is tradition (that’s the way it’s done in Japan). Another is that it’s not always clear who the artist is and many trees have had several artists (this no doubt is part of the reason the tradition developed). And of course, the owner is the one who puts up the money…

I am at peace with this tradition. However, knowing the history of a tree is a real plus. When you see a painting you might want to know who the artist is (is that a Klee, a Miro, a Kandinsky, or…?). This inquisitiveness and ability to see similarities and patterns often causes a second or third look and can deepen appreciation. It’s not that different with bonsai (there’s more that could be said, but you probably stopped reading at least two paragraphs ago anyway).

I borrowed all the photos is this post from Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai.

kaizan12Even though this one looks a lot like a few hundred other quality Shimpaku bonsai we've seen lately (a wild, undulating, deadwood dominated trunk with a single living vein, more crazy deadwood up top and a nicely balanced crown for contrast)... still, it's a beautiful tree.

 

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Two headed beauty in naked winter display.

 

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Is this an oak? We showed a couple yesterday that share a look with this one. Perhaps related to Walter Pall's fairy tale bonsai, though somewhat tamer.

 

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This yamadori (Norway spruce?) with its bonsai S curve, deadwood base and perfect little jin up top is one of my favorites. And the pot works to perfection.

 

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I've said enough. We'll let this one speak for itself.

 

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Nipping Around & Snapping at Noelanders Trophy

kaimain

Though every one of Graham Potter's snaps of trees he liked, also struck my fancy, this one really got me. The gnarly ancient looking little tree with its smattering of red flowers and buds (I'll take it to be a quince), all the action on the surface of the soil which reinforces the feeling of age (and naturalness) and of course, the pot (all those words and it's not even a proper sentence).

Here’s part of what Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai had to say about last weekends Noelanders Trophy:
“We were so busy over the weekend I barely got chance to walk around. However early Sunday morning before anyone was about I got ten minutes to nip around the show benches. I do not know who won what but did take a few snaps of trees I personally liked so, in no particular order, here are those snaps.” For more of Graham’s comments and great photos visit his Kaizen Bonsai Blog.

There’s a long discussion on facebook about Noelanders Trophy and some ‘haters’ (an overused word that some people use just because someone else expresses a dislike or a contrary opinion), but I’ve decided that this is a part one post, so we’ll save my commentary for part two.

BTW: Graham doesn’t list the type trees or the exhibitors’ names so we’ll have to do without (unless someone is willing to fill us in).

kai4

Graham provided photos of so many unique looking trees (our tastes seem to run in the same vein), but this one really jumped out at me. Partly just because of its outrageous top-knots, and partly because of the way the deadwood has been left to rot naturally (at least that's the way it looks) rather than all dressed up and lime-sulphured.

 

kai10

Graham's favorite and it's not a stretch to see why (though most of the pot is missing). Is it a variety of holly (Ilex)? Wrong again; it's a Holm oak.

 

kai6

When I first glimpsed this one, I thought it looks something Graham would do (check out his videos). And sure enough... "Privet supplied by us a couple of years ago."

 

kai1

Looks like one of those Taiwanese (or maybe Japanese) field-grown Shimpakus that are popping up all over the place these days.

 

kai7

I don't know what this wild looked triple-trunked decidous bonsai with its gaping mouth is, but I like it. Not only is the base full of character, but the detailed ramification is pretty impressive too.

Stay posted. We’ll show more of Graham’s Noelanders photos tomorrow.

 

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Redwood Bonsai & a Sense of Mystery

complete

This ancient looking tree is a Coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). It was displayed at the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society’s 27th annual show (2010). This, and all but the last photo in this post, were originally borrowed from Bonsai Tonight.

Superior bonsai photography. My hat is off to Jonas Dupuich and his consistently superior photographs (you can view them all at Bonsai Tonight). If you can’t see a top quality bonsai in person, the next best thing is a top quality photo.

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There's nothing quite like a hollow trunk to add a feeling of age, depth and character to a tree. A sense of mystery too.

 

Trunkart2

Detail from another trunk (Jonas thinks it's a Chinese elm).

 

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Shimpaku.

 

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Cork oak.

 

redwood

This one looks a bit more like a towering full-sized redwood. The tree lives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. The  photo was taken by Greg Brenden (brendenstudio).

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Tropical Bonsai Monster & the Crespi Bonsai Museum

crespi@wbffTropical monster. From the Crespi Museum of Bonsai in Parabiago, Milan. The photo is from World Bonsai Friendship Federation delegation’s visit to Europe in April 2010.

Before you ask if we’ve dug out yet, we haven’t. There’s not one flake to dig out from. The entire storm was way south of us. If anything, we’d like to see a little more snow. For me, it’s about a deep warm blanket for landscape plant protection. For our friends who make their living off winter sports, it’s about paying the bills.

The more or less random selection of photos you see here are borrowed from a post we did way back in 2010.

bonsai-journey-min-hsuan-lo-cover1-300x426I just received (this was written in 2010) a kind message from Min, Hsuan Lo. If you don't know who Mr Min is, it's time to learn. To get you started, here's the cover of his book and a link to a review at ofBonsai Magazine.

 

BonsaiVirtualTour_221The entrance to the Japanese Stroll Garden at the U.S. National Arboretum.

 

boonbonsaitonightThis amazing tree is one of many world-class bonsai at the Shinpukuji Temple bonsai museum. It's from Boon Manakitivipart's excellent Japan adventure (way back in 2010). You can enjoy more photos from Boon's trip and much more at Bonsai Tonight.

 

FUCHI2011I just discovered that our friend Morten Albek (Shohin Bonsai: Majesty in Miniature) and two of his bonsai buddies have a website called Fuchi Bonsai. The photo above is from their 2010 Autumn Exhibition.

B1CRESPI-2TSpeaking of the Crespi Bonsai Museum
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Old Bonsai Tell Stories

colinponder

I like this little tree. It tells a story - any tree that grow to over 250 feet (see below) in optimal conditions and yet looks like this, has a story. It's a Poderosa pine. I don't know who collected it, but it belongs to Colin Lewis (unless he sold it).

Yesterday was Ponderosa pines, so we’ll continue on that track today. BTW: I didn’t set out to make this post about rare cork bark Ponderosa, but it has headed in that direction, at least in part. This is because some of the photos and text here are from a Bark post about corky Ponderosa.

The title, Old Bonsai Tell Stories, is a theme that keeps coming to mind whenever I see old Yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild). The themes are almost always deprivation caused my poor soil, harsh weather and other sorts of trauma. Living at the edge of what’s possible and for a long time.

Speaking of stories, 268 feet is a very tall tree. “A Pacific ponderosa pine in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest in Oregon was climbed on October 13, 2011, by Ascending The Giants (a tree-climbing company) and directly measured at 268.29 ft (81.77 m) high. This is now the tallest known pine. The previous tallest known pine was a sugar pine.” For the whole story visit Wikipedia.

ponrn

This one looks suspiciously corky. 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.

 

ponmiraiHere's another that we borrowed directly from Ryan Neil's Mirai, American Bonsai. There are signs of what some people might call corking, but I don't think it qualifies as a cork bark Ponderosa.

 

ponbc3This Backcountry Bonsai photo of a wild uncollected Ponderosa pine shows what real cork bark looks like. There's even a very prominent wing sticking out on the left (opposite the hand). A sure sign of a cork bark.

 

danpinejonasImpressive nebari (surface roots flaring at the base of the trunk) aren't that common on pines, though this one is certainly an exception. It's one of Dan’s Robinson's many ancient Ponderosa pines. This photo was taken at Elandan Gardens by Jonas Dupuich (Bonsai Tonight).

 

B1GNARLY211

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toolsandwire

I like this photo by Morton Albek (Shohin Bonsai, Majesty in Miniature), even though it shows copper wire rather than annodized aluminum.

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A towering Ponderosa with its signature reddish bark

drawponderosa

I found this image here

ponderosafield

Ponderosa and other trees that grow in open fields often spread rather than tower. I've seen ones that look exactly like this at about 8,500 feet in the Rockies, so we'll guess this photo is of a scopulorum, the Rocky mountain subspecies.
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Bonsai & Magnificently Beautiful Towering Trees

pinus_ponderosaWalter Pall and Mother Nature conspired and came up with something really good. It's a Ponderosa pine that was originally collected in the Rockies.

Got a couple Ponderosa pine Yamadori today (Yamadori is the Japanese word for bonsai that were collected from the wild).

Just in case you never been to the mountains of the western U.S., Ponderosa pine are magnificently beautiful towering trees (obviously they don’t all tower, but in optimal conditions that’s what they do) with distinctive reddish bark.

Unfortunately millions of acres of Poderosa have been wiped out by an ongoing Mountain pine beetle infestation. Previously these virulent pests were kept in check by cold winters. Not so anymore.

sara1

This is the third time we've shown this sweet little Pondersa, but it's been two years and I like it, so why not? The tree is a Yamadori that was collected and styled by Andy Smith. The pot is by Sara Rayner.

 

Andy-DVDs2

Two excellent DVDs by Andy Smith.

 

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