This tree isn’t exactly eccentric. Just powerful, handsome and unique. It’s by Budi Sulistyo and graces the cover of his excellent tropical bonsai gallery book (you can see the whole cover below). Such a contrast I think this next tree (below), also by Budi, falls into the eccentric category. This ficus microcarpa by Budi Sulisyo from an album entitled ‘Stone Pot’.
The styling progression on this cascade Shimpaku juniper by Shinji Suzuki is remarkable (you can see the whole step by step progression in our Juniper book). So is the end result. Remarkable and very unusual. Shinji Suzuki styled it when he was 24 years old. I wonder if he would do it differently now. It’s not just the wild mixed interlocking swirls of live and dead wood… … nor is it just the very long piece of deadwood that runs through the center like a dagger, all the way from near the top to the very bottom… nor the delicate … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Shinji Suzuki’s Cascade Juniper
Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see below), nor is it considered one of his classics, still, I can’t say enough about this tree, so I won’t say much except I apologize that it is a little cramped on the left side and that it’s a Yew and it’s from The Bonsai Art of Kimura (out of print though occasionally the ‘let’s reprint’ thought flits around). There are eccentric bonsai and then… … there are eccentric bonsai. That is, some trees we feature are just eccentric. Others are masterpieces that are also eccentric (unusual in some … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again
After. Finished for the moment. The challenge was for Masahiko Kimura to style a bunjin (literati) bonsai with only one branch (see below for where he started). It’s eccentricity lies in its striking simplicity, if that makes any sense. It a Japanese red pine (Pinus densiflora). From our Masters’ Series The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. From an article that originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 69.
You like unconventional? Crazy? How about daring and masterful? Notice how the color and design of the pot plays with the wild shari (deadwood) and the small touch of moss on the left mirrors the foliage. Just another bonsai from left field by crafty old Nick Lenz, master left fielder, author, and preeminent (whatever that means) master of cedars, larches and other collected North American gems. This photo is from North American Bonsai (American Bonsai Society – compiled and edited by Martin Schmalenberg), now on sale at Stone Lantern. When is a cedar not really a cedar? The tree featured … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #8: Crafty Nick’s Crazy Cedar
Poison Ivy bonsai by Nick Lenz, who, in addition to be one of our most talented bonsai artists, is also a master of the unusual. This photo appears in Nick’s book, Bonsai from the Wild (Stone Lantern Publishing). Nicknamed OSAMA Nick Lenz calls his charming looking, but otherwise nasty little bonsai, OSAMA (no explanation needed). Halloween bonsai Though you may not take poison ivy bonsai seriously (or take it at all, for that matter), Nick does. Here’s a few of his words (lifted from his book): While poison ivy may be considered a Halloween bonsai, the species has great charm … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #7: Nick’s Poison Ivy
This Kuromatsu (Japanese black pine) won the environment minister’s prize at the 20th Green Festa Kokubunji bonsai fair in Takamatsu’s Kokubunji town, Japan. It is 46 centimeters (18.1″) high and about 80 years old. It is owned by Michiyo Yano from Onohara in the city of Kanonji, Kagawa Prefecture and appears on the Bonsai World website. Eccentric? So what’s eccentric about a small masterpiece that won a major Japanese prize? Two things catch the eye. A large wound First is the large wound on the lower left side of the trunk. Often large wounds are unsightly and spoil the beauty … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #6: A Unique Masterpiece
This radically eccentric California juniper was donated to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum by Harry Hirao (Mr. California Juniper). It is only a small part of a wonderful collection of world class bonsai that you’ll find at the Museum. A visit every bonsai enthusiast (especially those of us in north America) would do well to consider. Did Harry play a practical joke? The taper is all wrong and the trunk forms a crazy upside down U shape. Did Harry play a practical joke on the National Museum? Or, I am pulling your leg?
We found this exceptionally long cascading ficus (at least that’s what we think it is) on the Bonsai South website. Take a look if you get a chance. They have an excellent gallery with a range of powerful tropicals (see below) and a some other worthy trees. It’s not that easy It’s not easy to keep the lower lower reaches healthy on such a long cascading branch. Especially on a tree that basically wants to grow upward. You’ll notice the untrained small branches at the very bottom. Letting those small sacrifice branches grow unimpeded helps draw energy down to the … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #4: A Very Long Cascade
I won’t say where juniper (looks like a shimpaku) bonsai came from, but will say why we choose it as an eccentric bonsai (see below) after an apology for it being slightly out of focus (it was enlarged a tad too much so it would fit our format). The contest: win a $25 gift certificate to Stone Lantern The first person to tell us whose tree this is and where we can verify that, will win a $25 gift certificate to Stone Lantern. Please put your answer in the comments below. Eccentric? I realize that eccentric is in the bleary … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai #3 & Contest #8