Abstract Bonsai Art & Carving Deadwood, Sidiao Style

Abstract bonsai art. I think there’s a temptation to judge trees with elaborately carved deadwood (like this one). But maybe it’s best to just appreciate the the skill involved and not worry about too much deadwood or whether the result looks natural or not. Yesterday we featured Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s colorful side. Today we’ll touch upon his famous Sidao carving method and some results. Hopefully this will peak your interest. If it does, you can visit his website for more. Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s Sidiao method in a nutshell. There’s a lot more where this came from. Just another Shimpaku with … Continue reading Abstract Bonsai Art & Carving Deadwood, Sidiao Style

A Dose of Creative Bonsai Energy

I’m running out of superlatives. How about ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? It’s a Ficus by Hsieh, Shun-Chin. This is one of our two busy seasons (the other is spring). Of the two, this is the most intense; everything comes to a head in just a few short weeks. Long story short, I’m swamped. One solution is to resurrect old posts from our vast archives. This one is from December, 2010. Though the Taiwanese aren’t alone, a large dose of creative bonsai energy seems to be emanating from that unique … Continue reading A Dose of Creative Bonsai Energy

Elevated Company, Circling Back from Venezuela to Taiwan

The sheer size and power are of this magnificent tree places it in elevated company. It’s a 50cm (20″) tall Ficus microcarpa by one of our favorite South American bonsai artists, Nacho Marin of Venezuela. The pot is by John Evans from the USA. Though this post was inspired by Nacho Marin’s powerful Ficus (above) and though Nacho is South American, when we start looking at Ficus bonsai we seem to circle back to Taiwan. In this case, much of the elevated company (mentioned in the caption above) comes from that island nation. It doesn’t hurt that they have the … Continue reading Elevated Company, Circling Back from Venezuela to Taiwan

Wild & Wonderful Bonsai but No Rain in California

Wild! There’s so much going on with this delightfully crazy tree, that you could spend a long time looking at it and still see something new. It’s a Chinese juniper by Yang Hsui. Yesterday I flew from snowy Boston to sunny San Francisco. I mention this because we flew over the Sierra Nevada, California’s magnificent mountain range, which, in the winter always appears as an endless chain of white from north to south, as far as the eye can see. Only this time no white. Just dark green, brown and other earth colors. California and much of the west has … Continue reading Wild & Wonderful Bonsai but No Rain in California

Great Pots Deserve Great Trees

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. Still traveling so we’ll borrow one more from our archives (April 2011). In keeping with the last post, we’ll stick with Taiwanese bonsai. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi. Yixing Bonsai pots are available at Stone Lantern

Running Out Of Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin. One of the problems with reheating old posts (like this one from three years ago: What’s with Taiwan? Min Hsuan Lo and Friends) is some of my writing then seems a little cringe worthy now. To me at least. So you’ll forgive me if I’ve done a little editing (like the previous post, let’s just call it value added). I picked this one to resurrect for a couple reasons. First, are the trees which are … Continue reading Running Out Of Superlatives

It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

Unless you know the whole story (see below), you’d swear that this dynamic bonsai is an ancient yamadori (tree collected from the wild). But actually it’s a field grown Taiwanese juniper whose time on earth (so far) is measures in decades rather than centuries. The bonsai artist is the highly accomplished Mr Cheng, Cheng-Kung of Taiwan (you can see a spinning version on his website). The owner is Mr. Hsu,Lung-Fa. Though we have many friends and fellow bonsai lovers who to take the time and trouble to write comments, perhaps our favorite is Jose Luis Rodriquez. Jose Luis is a … Continue reading It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

Silk Carving & Some of the Best Bonsai in the World

I believe we’ve shown this remarkable tree before, but it’s worth another shot. It’s easy to be impressed by a tree like this; it’s massive girth and equally massive spread alone compel our attention. But there’s more of course; the strong nebari that helps create an overall sense of stability and balance, the texture and movement of the trunk and lower branches, the lush thick canopy with just enough open space to keep it from being too heavy, and so on. Altogether a world-class bonsai. This tree and the rest in this post are by Cheng, Cheng-Kung, a world-class bonsai … Continue reading Silk Carving & Some of the Best Bonsai in the World

Bonsai Bark Weekly Wire #3

This photo of Kobayashi Nursery comes from Soh-Ju-En Satsuki Bonsai. I assume it’s Kunio Kobayashi*** (he’s won awards for Satsuki bonsai), but my research team (that’s me) is a little over-worked right now and is having trouble finding time, so we’ll have to leave it at that. ***Thanks to Marc (see comments below) we now know that this photo is of Kobayashi Sangyo Satsuki Bonsai Nursery and is not Kunio Kobayashi’s. Do your tools look like this? If not, then here’s a hot tip on how you can make it happen: visit Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s most excellent website (he’s one … Continue reading Bonsai Bark Weekly Wire #3

Vacation Gallery & Scratch Prizes

This kind of monster tropical bonsai is not all that uncommon in Taiwan. It’s a Ficus microcarpa by Chen, Wen-Zhong. It won the Superior Prize at the 2010 Taiwan Bonsai Creator Association. Height: 100cm, Style: Raft. Vacation quickie I’m supposed to be on vacation (if only…) so I’ll make it quick. Here’s a gallery of monster bonsai from Taiwan that turned up on facebook. I hope you enjoy it. $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch deadline Don’t wait much longer. You’ve got one week to send us your final submissions (no later than Oct 15th). Here are the details. Two more gift … Continue reading Vacation Gallery & Scratch Prizes