Bold Bonsai & Added Attraction

I don’t mean to rush the fall season, but couldn’t resist this brilliant photo. The tree, a prize-winning Shishigashira Japanese maple is from a Peter Tea post on the 32nd Annual Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto. This photos shown here are lifted from a December 2012 Bark post titled An Embarrassment of Riches. In addition to the photos the post featured an added attraction; a list of some favorite bonsai blogs (below our ad at the bottom of the post). Here’s what Matt Reel has to say about this tree: “This Japanese Red Pine has such a broad apex it … Continue reading Bold Bonsai & Added Attraction

Remembering When Isao’s House & Bonsai Were Washed Out to Sea

Sculpted swan with swooping lines. A work of abstract art. It’s an Itoigawa juniper that belongs to Isao Omachi. A little over five years ago, Isao Omachi’s house and bonsai were washed out to sea. Here’s what he wrote on the anniversary of that terrible day: “Today is 11th March. 5 years has passed since terrible earthquake in Japan. I never forget the day I lost everything. But I could resume my 2nd life thanks to my friend’s support. I can’t express my gratitude in the words. Now I go ahead step by step. Once again, Thank you everybody. I’m … Continue reading Remembering When Isao’s House & Bonsai Were Washed Out to Sea

Freedom, Artistry & Boundless Enthusiasm

Sometimes the toughest choice I make all day is deciding which tree to show first. All seven bonsai shown here exhibit the sense of freedom and artistry that caught my attention and helped make that other tough decision; what or who to blog about. Finally, this wildly uninhibited juniper (the one I saw first) won out. It and the rest of the trees shown here belong to Isao Omachi. Whether you like Isao Omachi’s bonsai or not (though it’s hard for me to understand why anyone wouldn’t), you have to admire his boundless enthusiasm and playfulness, which even if you … Continue reading Freedom, Artistry & Boundless Enthusiasm

There Are Bonsai, and then…

There are bonsai and then there are bonsai. This fluid masterpiece belongs to Isao Omachi. There are other adjectives that come to mind, like elegant, graceful and exquisite, but the problem with writing about bonsai almost everyday is these superlatives get used until they lose their meaning. Oh well. Mr Omachi doesn’t say anything about this tree and I won’t venture any guesses. It’s from his facebook photos. All the trees shown here are from Isao Omachi’s facebook photos. If you’ve been following the international bonsai scene, you know that he’s the one who had his entire bonsai collection (and … Continue reading There Are Bonsai, and then…

A Quick Study in Deadwood

It’s all about the deadwood (and the crown). Deadwood is sometimes overplayed, especially on Shimpaku. But even though the deadwood is dominant on this tree, the powerful and well constructed crown offers a good sense of balance. All three photos in this post are from Marco Invernizzi’s website. I’m still on vacation, so we’ll make no pretense of in-depth analysis of deadwood this morning (not that we ever do much in-depth analysis of anything). Just three photos of Shimpaku from Marco Invernizzi’s website with a few quick comments and a little word from our sponsor. Marco Invernizzi studied extensively with … Continue reading A Quick Study in Deadwood

An Embarrassment of Riches

I believe that this is our first tree from Matt Reel’s blog (though we featured a photo of Matt, with a tree that we lifted from Crataegus Bonsai almost two years ago). Matt is an American bonsai apprentice in Japan. We’ll have to more to say about him and his blog another time, but meanwhile, here’s what he has to say about this tree: “This Red Pine has such a broad apex it makes me giggle to myself at times, however, one might feel a little tipsy with all that leaning movement if there was a little dainty apex instead. … Continue reading An Embarrassment of Riches

Weekly Wire: Bodacious Bark, Bonsai Bliss, Viva Brasil & Slovakia Too

Bodacious bark. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen bark quite like this. Its uniquely patterned texture and color adds an abundance of character and age to this wonderful old live oak. Furthermore (and at the risk of excess word proliferation), have you noticed the pot? How much character it has (and how small it is for the tree)? No mention of who made it with the photo, but whoever did deserves some love. The tree and the pot are from the ‘My Trees’ section of Mauro Stemberger’s website. Rocky Mountain bliss. The dates are June 17-20 21-24. Here’s the … Continue reading Weekly Wire: Bodacious Bark, Bonsai Bliss, Viva Brasil & Slovakia Too

Weekly Wire: Back On His Feet, Nature’s Deadwood & Keeping Things Up to Date

Remember Isao Omachi? Isao’s house and bonsai nursery were swept away in the tsunami. That’s the tough news. The good news is that hundreds, maybe thousands of people in our international bonsai community donated to help Isao and his family get back on thier feet. As a result of this effort (and Isao’s and his family’s determination) Isao is back doing what he loves. This is our good fortune; Isao is one of the featured bonsai artists at the Mid Atlantic Bonsai Societies 2012 Spring Festival. This sweet colorful bonsai is from Isao facebook page. It looks like a Japanese … Continue reading Weekly Wire: Back On His Feet, Nature’s Deadwood & Keeping Things Up to Date

Weekly Wire: Nifty Nebari, Bonsai Cloud & What Happened to Fresno?

Pemphis acidula by Gedemerta Bonsaibali. For a while now, facebook has been inundated with bonsai by Gedemerta. Turns out, that’s a good thing if you like exciting tropical bonsai. If you’re not friends on facebook, you can see more of Gede Merta’s trees on Beial blog (on facebook it’s Gedemerta; on Beial it’s Gede Merta). Bonsai from Scratch prizes Are there any winners out there who haven’t collected their prizes yet? If so, please contact me at wayne@stonelantern.com. Do you have an upcoming bonsai event that you want to promote? Let us know and we’ll publish it for you. wayne@stonelantern.com. … Continue reading Weekly Wire: Nifty Nebari, Bonsai Cloud & What Happened to Fresno?

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