Scots & Scotch

Great tree, great pot. This powerful old Scot’s pine by Enrico Savini was an overall winner in a contest that was held at the Art of Bonsai Project way back in 2005. The pot is by Isabelia. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is another in our bonsai species series. I used to think they were Scotch pine (some people say Scotch pine is incorrect and others say it’s an acceptable variation) and had the notion that you could enjoy a sip of Scotch while working on you Scotch pine (oh well…). No matter what you call them, Scots pine make excellent … Continue reading Scots & Scotch

Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

Fine Bonsai. The vividly photographed Japanese maple with its outrageous nebari, luminous leaves and tunnel that allows you to see into its midsection, is from the uniquely powerful and soulful new gallery book, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature (cover photo below). This tree resides at the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. No artist’s name is mentioned. Commercialism? No! (well maybe just a little) I hope that you’ve noticed that we keep a safe distance from too much shameless commercialism here on Bonsai Bark (our newsletter is another story). However, it’s that time of year, when lots of goods and money … Continue reading Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

An Embarrassing Possibility, Wiring All the Way Out to the Tips, Bill’s Japan Bonsai Tours & The Moss Myth

Akamatsu (aka Japanese red pine). I’m usually loath to lead off with an unattributed tree, but just couldn’t resist this one. It turned up here. No word on who the artist is (this often seems to be the nature of the facebook beast), though I think I’ve seen it before (I wonder if we’ve already featured it on this blog; always a somewhat embarrassing possibility). Want to improve the quality of your bonsai? Try wiring all the way out to the tips of the smallest branches. You’ll be astounded by the results. Now in stock. Our largest shipment ever … Continue reading An Embarrassing Possibility, Wiring All the Way Out to the Tips, Bill’s Japan Bonsai Tours & The Moss Myth

Weekly Wire: Bonsai Surperstar, FREE Fertilizer, Making Uro, Spring!

Goyo-matsu (Japanese white pine) from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. FREE FERTILIZER! We are giving away our favorite fertilizer over on Stone Lantern. Just for the fun of it (and to encourage you to place an order and to feed your bonsai!) Happy white Easter from Walter Pall. This morning Walter posted a whole bunch of photos a lot like this. There’s even some scary photos that shows fully and partially leafed out maples covered with snow. Here’s the good news from Walter: “While I am posting these photographs it has stopped snowing and even the sun is … Continue reading Weekly Wire: Bonsai Surperstar, FREE Fertilizer, Making Uro, Spring!

Weekly Wire: Marco’s Before & After, Our Favorite Book & A Fabulous Fake

Before and after. It helps to start with great stock. Still, it takes a skilled hand to successfully tackle such powerful tree. The artist is Marco Invernizzi.and as you may have noticed, the after is just right. It’s a Japanese black pine. It’s from the ‘before and after’ section of Marco’s website. Whatever it is, it’s wonderful. We just featured this ‘bonsai’ in our last post. Turns out it’s a fabulous fake. Or, maybe fake isn’t the right word. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it’s a wonderful clay representation of a bonsai. The artist is Paul … Continue reading Weekly Wire: Marco’s Before & After, Our Favorite Book & A Fabulous Fake

Weekly Wire 8 & Scratch Honorable Mention Winners

Bunjin pine from Bonsai Today magazine. We’ve been talking about Bunjin style bonsai quite a bit lately, so why not stay on topic? This one’s trunk is a little heavier than most bunjin, but no problem. The same goes for the crown; it too is a little heavier than crowns on most bunjins, but goes well with the heavy trunk. One of this tree’s distinguishing features, the vertical downward direction of the right branch, is characteristic of many bunjin style trees. Marco Invernizzi, Bill Valavanis and Isao Omachi Your generosity comes to fruition: I received this note and photo … Continue reading Weekly Wire 8 & Scratch Honorable Mention Winners

Weekly Wire 7: The Old School Way

Displaying bonsai the old school way. It’s always great to see a world-class bonsai displayed in a well-put-together Tokonoma. It’s from Kunio Kobayashi’s website. Just in case you haven’t heart of Mr. Koybayahsi, he’s considered by many to one of the world’s most prominent bonsai masters. Speaking of Bonsai Masters: We almost never use the term here on Bonsai Bark or at Stone Lantern. In fact, I think we’ve used it only for Masahiko Kimura and Kunio Kobayashi. This is not to say there aren’t others in their league, it just that it’s such a tricky term that’s so often … Continue reading Weekly Wire 7: The Old School Way

Omachi Relief Fund: Don’t Let Up Yet

Isao Omachi before the tsunami swept everything away. Don’t let up yet Just a little reminder about the plight of Isao Omachi and his family. It’s not too late to do something to help. As you know, relief efforts commonly suffer from short half-lives. Something horrible happens, we get worked up about people suffering and, in a matter of days, we’ve forgotten and moved on the next thing. Omachi Relief Fund The following was written by Bill Valavanis: Award winning bonsai artist Isao Omachi is one of the rising starts of the Japanese bonsai world. He lives with his wife, … Continue reading Omachi Relief Fund: Don’t Let Up Yet

Swept Away

Doing what you can We encourage you to think about helping the Omachi family. You can simply send your contribution to the address above, or, if you have questions you can contact marco@marcoinvernizzi.com. Doing what we can Stone Lantern is pledging 10% of all sales of Japanese items to the Japanese Red Cross and several of our contributors and customers have already pledged their help by donating contest winnings (see comments here).

Bonsai Events Calendar (Updated 10/17/2010)

Salvatore Liporace at Rosade Bonsai Studio. See Nov 4-7 below. Send us yours If you have a bonsai event you’d like to see in our next calendar, send it to wayne@stonelantern.com, or put it in the comments below (don’t forget the links). Oct 16 – ?: Stone Lantern 30% to 40% off books, tools and wire Oct – Nov: Kathy Shaner Advanced Workshops, Redwood Empire Bonsai Society