Weekly Wire: Ancient Bones & the Wheel of Bonsai Wisdom

Ancient bones. I like the way the fresh foliage seems to hang from the tree’s ancient bones (though I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a stand so in need of refinishing). This strikingly unique bonsai is one of many excellent trees at Taiwan Bonsai World.

Free Advertising! What if you could advertise your bonsai event for free on a Bonsai Blog with over 30,00 visitors a month? Turns out, you can! Right here on Bonsai Bark. Just put your event (with links please) in the comments below and I’ll take from there.

 

Have you seen this issue? Neither have I. My subscription seems to have run out. My excuses for not re-subscribing are that I’m busy and I tend to get more and more of my info from the web. I’m not sure that either of these excuses are very good, so maybe it’s time to re-subscribe. The photo is from the BCI website.

 

Winter Cold & Tree Roots on Crataegus Bonsai. Once again Michael Hagedorn has placed his shoulder on the wheel of bonsai wisdom and pushed a bit.

 

Golden Statements magazine. Just got our Jan/Feb issue and noticed that
there are several good looking bonsai events coming up soon:

Bay Area Bonsai Associates 31st Bonsai Exhibit with Ryan Neil. Jan 28 & 29

Golden State Bonsai Federation Mammoth Fundraiser Auction, Sales & Demos with Kathy Shaner and team.
Feb 25 & 26 at the GSBF’s Bonsai Garden in Oakland.

The Southern California GSBF will be holding a similar event the same weekend at the
Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino.

 

A preview of our 2013 calendar? Actually it’s a very old calendar that you can see along with a bunch of other fascinating old images and photos of bonsai (and related stuff) on the World Bonsai Friendship Federation site. It’s a bit like visiting an art museum.

 

Tropical Bonsai Riches. This powerful bonsai logo is from Jose Rivera’s Bonsai en el Tropico. You don’t need to understand Spanish to enjoy the vast store of riches contained in this website, but it helps.

 

The 3rd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is coming! Don’t be left out. The dates are June 9th and 10th (all the info you need is here). BTW: you might notice that Stone Lantern Publishing is a sponsor. That’s a good thing and we are proud to have the opportunity. Beyond that, Stone Lantern will be there as a vendor this year. We are going to bring a wealth of old out-of-print bonsai books (most courtesy of John Palmer, founder of Bonsai Today magazine), some in-print books, our most excellent bonsai wire, some tools and who knows what else (we’ve got some ideas)?

 

Little delicacies. These tasty little delicacies are from Horie Bikoh kiln in Japan. I found them on Morten Albek’s Shohin Bonsai Europe (Morten is the author of Shohin Bonsai). In case you’re feeling generous, I’m still accepting late birthday gifts and then there’s always Valentine’s Day.

Monster Tools for Monster Trees. You like to work on big trees? Have you seen our New Monster Tools? Each one is 28″ (72 cm) of tough cutting power.

 

Great Bonsai. Crazy links. I like how the stand and the tree on the right just flow into each other in this photo. It’s from Mario Komsta’s website (Mario Bonsai: Wabi Sabi). We’ve been featuring Mario on this blog for a long time, which is another way of saying we like his bonsai. What we don’t like is how what looks like internal links on Mario’s site take you to very unexpected places. If you go to gallery, for example, you end up on generic looking page, bonsaiwabisabi.com that seems to have nothing to do with Mario or his bonsai. Another example is the link ‘blog’ which takes you to an Australian travel blog. Have evil robots taken over Mario’s site?

 

This one speaks for itself. It’s a jpeg, so the links aren’t live. Here’s a link that is live.

 

Talk about getting a jump. The good news is that you don’t have to wait until 2013 for something to happen in St. Louis.

 

The Midwest Bonsai Society’s 8th Annual Spring Bonsai Show will be held May 19-20 at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

American Bonsai Society. Have you seen this? It’s from the ABS website.

“That’s one thing about intellectuals — they’ve proved that you can be absolutely brilliant and have no idea what’s going on.”
– Annie Hall

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Eighty Two and Still Going Strong

I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a bunjin style bonsai in such a deep pot. You almost always see them in shallow round or near-round pots. No problem though, this one works to perfection; a spectacular tree with a simply lustrous pot. I think the heavy foliage (unusual for a bunjin) helps balance the heavy pot.

Thanks again to Mr. Tea
The photos in this post are all courtesy of Peter Tea, our current favorite bonsai apprentice (nothing personal to the rest of our apprenti in Japan, it’s just that Peter keeps sending great stuff).

Meifu-ten, a show for hobbyists and collectors
It seems like most Japanese bonsai shows are for collectors and professionals, so it’s refreshing to see photos from a show that features collectors and hobbyists’ trees. Here’s some of what Peter has to say about the show: January 14-16 was the 82nd Annual Meifu-ten Bonsai show in Nagoya Japan.  Meifu-ten is the second oldest show in Japan behind Kokufu-ten and this year exhibited over 170 trees.  All the trees belong to hobbyists and collectors.  The average attendance of for the three day show is about 7 thousand (Not too shabby!)…. here’s the rest.

7,000 per day!
In case you were wondering, bonsai is alive and well in Japan.

A very distinctive Kokonoe Japanese white pine. I’ve seen other trees with dominant first branches that seem to break bonsai conventions. but this one really goes out on a limb (so to speak). And then there’s that extraordinarily powerful lower trunk.

Too sweet! It’s a Japanese red pine (in a traditional style bunjin pot).


It’s not that most of the trees in the show are bunjin, it’s just that we’ve got a soft spot for them. This one’s a Shimpaku juniper. All the deadwood action around the base (and perhaps another feature or two), makes for a very unusual bunjin.




 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

A Cozy Companion

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a potted companion sitting on the soil surface of a larger bonsai. I found the photo on facebook (unattributed, which seems to be a norm). I think the companion is a Mondo grass. Is the tree a Serissa?

Just a quickie this time
I’m still trying to catch up between vacations, so we’ll have to settle for a one tree post. Next time we’ll give you a little more to sink your teeth into.

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Backyard Bonsai Dream

Backyard Bonsai #12
This is the 12th post in our long and venerable (all the way back to 2009) Backyard Bonsai tradition (here’s the 11th). In their own way, each backyard is uniquely compelling; a reflection of human tastes and lifestyles, and also a reflection of culture. In this case the culture is Italian, which makes it a little romantic for us Americans; we just don’t see backyards and surrounding buildings that look quite like the ones in these photos. Now if the Euro would only come down a bit…

Italian Bonsai Dream
All but one of the photos in this post were lifted from an online video by Mauro Stemberger. The video is titled Italian Bonsai Dream, which is the name of Mauro’s website. The last shot comes from a page on Mauro’s aforementioned website titled My Garden, which I discovered after I went to the trouble to capture the photos from the video (oh well…).

 

 

 

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Weekly Wire: The End of Lime Sulfur?

This Trident maple root-over-rock belongs to Jonas Dupuich. It’s from a Bonsai Tonight article about the 11th Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit. The Bay Island Bonsai 13th Annual Bonsai Exhibit is coming very soon (Jan 13-14 14-15). Judging by photos from previous exhibits, it looks like it’s one of the better bonsai shows in North America. It’s at the Oakland Lakeside Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave. For more information:  (510) 919-5042 or visit their website.

The following turned out to be much ado about almost nothing (12/24/12). Bad news about lime sulfur. It’s hard to imagine bonsai without lime sulfur. But it looks like that’s exactly what we’ll have to do. At least those of us who live in States. Rather than trying to explain what’s happened, I’ll leave it to the expert, Colin Lewis, our favorite lime sulfur source (and author of Bonsai Survival Manual, among other things): “To get straight to the point: Lime sulfur is now totally banned in 46 states.  Of the remaining four states, two only permit the use of lime sulfur under special license and the other two are currently processing a total ban….” (scroll down for the whole story).

 

I’ve always had a soft spot for Columbus, Ohio. I won’t bore you with my reasons, but I will suggest that you visit the Columbus Bonsai Society’s excellent website, and if you ever find yourself anywhere in the vicinity, why not get in touch?  However, I must admit that I was just slightly miffed to see that they didn’t feature any Stone Lantern books in their quite extensive book review section. I still recommend that you check their book reviews out, but I might also most humbly recommend that they expand their reviews to include some of these: Masters’ Series Pine Book, Masters’ Series Juniper Book, The Magician, Kimura 2, Shohin Bonsai, Bonsai from the Wild, Satsuki Azaleas & Bonsai Today Pocket Gallery.

Congrats! The Phoenix Bonsai Society is celebrating their 50th birthday. That’s impressive. What’s even more impressive is their website. It’s one of the most informative bonsai sites anywhere, and I’m not just saying that because they gave me a $100 kickback (just kidding, it really is a uniquely rich source for valuable bonsai information). Check it out for yourself.

 

Tyler Sherrod, bonsai apprentice. I don’t know if I’ve already recommend you visit Tyler’s blog, but just in case I haven’t…

Wire versus Wire. We’ve been fielding lots of questions lately about the difference between our Bonsai Aesthetics Wire and our Japanese wire. Basically, the Japanese wire is a little stiffer and therefor a little stronger. Which means the Bonsai Aesthetics wire is a little softer and therefor a little easier to apply. Because the Aesthetics wire is so affordable and the difference in holding power isn’t that great, I believe that the Bonsai Aesthetics wire is a better deal. This takes nothing away from the Japanese wire, which, given our large discounts, is also a very good deal.

 

An eccentric and compelling bonsai. There’s so much going here, that I won’t bother to say anything. Except that it’s a Premna and it’s from Taiwan Bonsai World.

 

More Mario. We just featured a bonsai of Mario Komsta the other day and now here’s another of Mario’s trees you might like. If memory serves (occasionally it does), it’s from a sequence on an ever shortening jin. I lost the link but imagine you can find it if you want.

The John Naka Award. The American Bonsai Society in fellowship and remembrance of our American Grand Master is pleased to announce that the 2012 John Y. Naka award program is now open and accepting entries from across the North American continent. For more, visit the ABS website.

John Naka Sketchbook. While we’re discussing John Naka, you can purchase the John Naka’s Sketchbook at Stone Lantern (offered in partnership with the National Bonsai Foundation).

 

We don’t usually do stones here, but there’s a long bonsai/suiseki tradition, so why not? It belongs to Junius Guiang.

Bad new about lime sulpur by Colin Lewis
To get straight to the point: Lime sulfur is now totally banned in 46 states.  Of the remaining four states, two only permit the use of lime sulfur under special license and the other two are currently processing a total ban.   According the State of Maine the primary consideration is the potential effect of residual lime sulfur on ground water, not because of the risk to users.  (Oregon State University, the major researcher into such things, describes it as having “low mammalian toxicity”.)

Until recently, the penalties for ignoring the bans in the prohibiting states were imposed on the user.  However, now the penalties – and not insignificant penalties – are imposed on suppliers who ship lime sulfur (calcium polysulfide) to prohibiting states.  Some nurseries will still have residual stocks, but that will not last long.  Some importers will continue to acquire lime sulfur from Japan, but as soon as the first one falls foul of the law the others will cease.

The upshot is that lime sulfur will soon no longer be legally available to bonsai growers.

Before you jump to conclusions: No, this is not a cynical attempt to sell you my own brand of lime sulfur before the year end.  The truth is that I only have a third of a bottle left for my own use and I can’t get any more!

Although I’m not normally prone to self-mutilation, I am, as I write, viciously biting my lip in order to avoid a rant which could easily become far too heated for this newsletter!   But then, I imagine most of you feel much the same….

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Bonsai Critique Times 2 Plus 3(D)

Simulation number two by Robert Steven. Simulation number one is below.  (Our reasons for putting the second one first is NOT to confuse you; it’s just that we like it more).

Simulation number one by Robert Steven.

A first
This is the first time Robert Steven has presented us with a two part critique. It’s also the first time we’ve offered a 3D image. Rather than confuse the issue any further than we already have (see above), we’ll just go straight to what Robert has to say.

Robert’s two part Jun Ilaga citique in his own words

These two pictures of a Muraya bonsai planting belong to Jun Ilaga from the Phillipines. The first photo shows his initial design. Then, because he wanted a more unique design, he decided to restyle it. The result is shown in the second photo.

First photo (submitted by Jun Ilaga).

Second photo (also submitted by Jun Ilaga).

Robert’s remarks continued…

The artist wanted to create a unique design. I think the first design idea is better than the new design, especially because of the hilly contour.

For me, the unique part is the clump that he put on the right side, with its branch stretching out to the right. I want to use this branch as our talking point; a point of interest that depicts a natural logic. The hilly contour is also a very interesting creative component.

In my opinion, the way he put the main clump on the right (low part) has biased the focal point of the overall composition. In forest or grouping style bonsai, the focal point is suppose to be positioned a little off-center, then the viewing should flow from that heavier focus to the lighter areas of the planting.

In the initial composition, the focal point is not very clear either; there is kind of competition between the two groups. They look separated as though they don’t belong to the same planting. As a result, there is a lack of unity.

As you can see in my first simulation (second photo at the top of post), I moved the main clump onto the hill and combined it with one of the tall single trees to create an integrated focal point. Another purpose is to emphasize the talking point, the branch that stretches out over the hill side. I think this idea really emphasizes the planting’s uniqueness.

In order to create a better sense of perspective, I use a slightly bigger slab that provides more space on the right and the front. Then we can contour the slope on the right side to the back, allowing it to be overlapped by the larger hill. This creates a gap than provides perspective.

Empty space is very important in creating a feeling of perspective. You can see this where I use a small tree on the right side of the planting. This small size creates the illusion that the tree is back in the distance.

In my second simulation (photo at the top of post), my comments would be much the same in relation to the focal point and viewing flow. As you can see, more attention has been paid to the planting’s sense of unity with the “asymmetrical balance” concept.

Just for fun, if you have a red-cyan 3D glasses, you can view the below picture in 3D image.

General comments
There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste and personal preferences, but I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.

To understand my concepts better, please read my books Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation which are available at Stone Lantern.

My new bonsai blog address : http://robert-steven.ofbonsai.org

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Mario’s Almost Bonsai

The third to last photo in a long sequence by Mario Komsta. Mario’s comment on this photo is ‘almost bonsai.’ Pretty good for an ‘almost.’ From a facebook album by Mario.

From freshly dug to ‘almost bonsai’
The photos here present a sampling of a step-by-step series on a very creative (and skillful) bonsai transformation by Mario Komsta. We’ve featured Mario’s bonsai several times on Bonsai Bark, and for good reason. To my eye, Mario is one of the West’s elite young bonsai artists. You might even say that Mario is one of the elite bonsai artists, period. You can see all of the photos, plus Mario’s pithy comments on his facebook album.

 

Before. Shaggy tree, shaggy space.

 

Mario turns it on its side to get the angle he wants.

 

The basics have been established and new finer foliage has been grafted on to replace the original shaggier foliage.

 

After few years devoted to recovery and just growing. I guess you could say that the grafts have taken.

One thing is missing, otherwise this photo is the same as the one at the top of post. There’s a pretty obvious hint, so it should be easy to tell what’s missing.

BACK IN STOCK! Finally. All three of our Monster Bonsai Cutters are now back in stock.

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Happy New Year from a Bonsai Artist with a Magic Touch

This dazzling digital New Year’s card is from our friend and colleague, Robert Steven.

Contributor, friend, colleague…
I just did a quick count; Robert Steven’s name appears in 65 of the 500 or so Bonsai Bark posts so far. A large percentage of these are Robert’s now famous bonsai critiques. Robert is also a business partner of sorts. We (Stone Lantern) are distributors of Robert’s excellent Bonsai Aesthetics tools and bonsai wire as well as his ground breaking bonsai books, Vision of My Soul & Mission of Transformation. All this adds up to relationship that benefits Stone Lantern and Bonsai Bark, and hopefully benefits you as well.

…and world class bonsai artist
It’s Robert’s artist’s vision, daring, wealth of bonsai knowledge and magician’s touch with bonsai that really defines who Robert is, at least in our world of bonsai. If you take a look at the tree above, you’ll catch a sense of what I mean. If you explore further, the evidence will continue to mount.

It’s now official, 2012 is upon us. All of us who are part of the Stone Lantern family, would like to wish you a Cheerful, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.


One of our earliest posts (way back in 2009) about Robert Steven featured this Penjing planting from Mission of Transformation.

 

This simulation of a Trident maple is from one of our earliest critiques by Robert (September 2010).

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

A Rare & Wonderful Bunjin Bonsai

This Eastern white pine (Pinus Strobus) was donated to the Chicago Botanic Garden by Jim Doyle (Nature’s Way Nursery). The photo is by Steve Moore (Bonsai in Hoosierland).

Common but very uncommon
There are three things that I find striking about this tree: first, it’s an Eastern white pine, a tree that you almost never see as a bonsai, even though it’s quite common here in the Northeast. Second, it’s skinny but old (the bark gives it away). Another rarity when it comes to Eastern white pines. Third, it’s a good bunjin bonsai, healthy and understated, with just enough graceful movement to please the eye. Even the long shaggy needles are so delicate, soft and vibrant, that their length isn’t really a problem (these long shaggy needles is one reason you almost never see Pinus strobus bonsai). Maybe this tree will serve as an inspiration to others and we’ll see more Eastern white pine bonsai in the future.

This short post wraps up another year of Bonsai Barking. Thank you for sticking with us over the last three years (that’s about 500 posts worth). May your bonsai be healthy and beautiful and may you enjoy a Happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!

 

 

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Weekly Wire: Tasmania! Tule Fog & an Unimpressive Little Baobab

Holy Toledo! (as my dad used to say). Great tree and a most excellent photo. Now if everyone only paid this much attention to detail when they shoot their bonsai. It belongs to Piotr Czerniachowski (here’s a YouTube demo by Piotr) and has been accepted for the 2012 Noelanders Trophy exhibition. I found the photo on facebook.

 

Speaking of the Noelanders Trophy Exhibition, here a tree from their 2011 show. I lifted it from this YouTube video. If it looks familiar to you, it might be because we featured it in a post almost two years ago (that photo is much better than this one)

 

The Houston Bonsai Society already has a complete 2012 calendar up (I won’t say anything about Fresno or some others, except that in three days it will be 2012 already). Anyway, HBS has a great site with a current monthly newsletter (here’s December) and much more. Note: Apologies to the good folks in Fresno. For some reason I seem to be picking on them these days. Maybe it’s because I have a soft spot for the San Joaquin Valley with its searing heat and delightful country culture (see below).

 

While we’re in the San Joaquin Valley, we might as well visit the Modesto Bonsai Club (Modesto is where I experienced the joys and sorrows of childhood, which might help explain why I like to pick on Fresno). Sad to say, the Modesto club’s site appears to be about one year behind. Still, I expect the good folks of that glorious part of the country are still plugging away at their bonsai (while enjoying their famous Tule fog).

 

Tasmania! Not too far from Modesto, we’ve got Southern Tasmania (just kidding). I’ve always wanted to visit Tasmania, partly because it’s so far away (excluding Anartica, I don’t think you can get any farther away from Vermont than Southern Tasmania) and partly just because it’s Tasmania (most people couldn’t find it on a map if their life depended on it). The Southern Tasmania Bonsai Society’s site is up to date (here’s their December newsletter), always a good sign.

BTW: we received a nice note from Noel Kemp, the president of the Southern Tasmania Bonsai Society. You can read it below, at the bottom of this post.

 

Seen one, seen them all. Rhona Meislik standing in front of a young, somewhat unimpressive Baobab tree in South Africa. (Okay, I’m kidding, but it is Rhona and it is a Baobab). From Jerry and Rhona’s recent South African bonsai tour. Among other things, Jerry is the author of Ficus, the Exotic Bonsai (retail 27.95, on special at Stone Lantern for 19.95).

 

2012 Bonsai Calendars. We’ve still got a handful left. They won’t last much longer, so don’t wait if you want to enjoy world-class bonsai every time you check the date.

 

A Hawaiian bonsai story. From the Fuku Bonsai website: “In 1989 Fuku-Bonsai sprayed defective Benlate contaminated with weed killers and suffered catastrophic losses that totaled over $30 million.  With the support and assistance of many individuals and organizations throughout the Big Island of Hawaii, we survived, reinvented the company, and are now rebuilding and expanding.” It boggles the mind to think that there were thirty million dollars worth of bonsai in the entire country, let alone at one nursery.

The twist. I debated whether to show you this tree because I didn’t like the smudgy gunk on the background. But, in the end, the tree won me over and I just couldn’t resist. It, and several other notable bonsai, belong to Francois Gau.

 

Bonsai in northern Indiana. This banner is from a link on the Fort Wayne Bonsai Club website about their spring and fall bonsai shows at the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in downtown Fort Wayne. BTW: The FWBC calendar is up to date.

Back to Tasmania: A note from Noel Kemp, the president of the Southern Tasmania Bonsai Society.

Dear Wayne

Having just read your recent posting I shall take you up on your offer of letting you know about our Exhibition, in April, next year. Still a while away, but if people are planning a trip “Down Under”, advanced notice of events is usually a good thing.

We, the Bonsai Society of Southern Tasmania, are a small, but persistent Society, having been established in 1984.  We have waxed and waned in numbers over the years, and are currently in a strong position (as we were last year), to put on our second show.  Our inaugural Exhibtion, last (austral) Spring was a great success, which is why we have decided on a repeat performance. This one will be in the Autumn (“Fall”), next year, to show the public a different – seasonal- aspect of bonsai.

Although the notice is not yet on our site, your readers might like to look us up, in advance:

http://www.chooseit.org.au/bonsai/index.html

The Exhibition will be in Rosny (a suburb of Hobart):

14-15th April, 2012, at the Rosny Barn (an early 19th Century – old for Australia! – stone building), which has been refurbished inside and which is now a top-rate exhibition area; it is much sought after by artists for their shows.  In fact, having visited many bonsai shows on the mainland (as in, the big isle, up there, to the north of Tassy) I can honestly say that the Barn is one of the best venues for a bonsai show that I have seen.

Thanks in anticipation for passing this on to bonsai enthusiasts, and keep sending your Stone Lantern Newsletter, thanks!

With kind regards,

Noel

Noel R Kemp
President, Southern Tasmania Bonsai Society

 

 

 

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern