Old News on the Pacific Rim

 

This stately Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) is from Weyerhaeuser’s  Pacific Rim Bonsai collection. The photo is from a gallery of Pacific Rim bonsai from Kahlua Bonsai on facebook. I was going to use this photo to start a post on Formal upright bonsai when, in the course of a little research, I stumbled upon an important piece of old news about the Pacific Rim Collection.

Better late….
Way back in April 2009 we featured a post titled Pacific Rim; a Glimpse of What You Can’t See. The Pacific Rim refers to Weyerhaeuser’s rather famous bonsai collection in Washington (near Seattle). The ‘Glimpse of What You Can’t See’ referred to the fact that the collection was closed to the public at the time. Turns out, that the collection is once again open. Somehow this piece of good news slipped by our rather faulty radar, so I suspect we’re a little tardy on reporting this.

The details
The Pacific Rim bonsai Collection is open weekly Tuesdays through Sundays (closed Mondays) year-round. Our operating hours are 10:00 Am – 4:00 PM. Federal Way Washington, between Seattle and Tacoma.

Photo gallery
A small sampling of some of the collection follows. You might notice that some text is cut off. If you are interested, you can visit the Pacific Rim’s remarkably well-hidden photo gallery to see what you’re missing.

Perfection.

Encore. This powerful old Sierra/Shimpaku juniper showed up on Bark almost two years ago in a post titled ‘The Bonsai Artistry of Michael Hagedorn Plus Freeze Dried Roots.’

59 trees!

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Two Very Good Reasons

Shopping at Stone Lantern

is a good way to keep Bonsai Bark coming
&
a very good way to save money!

Koyo Heavy Duty Bonsai Shears (list 29.00)
are now deeply discounted at 17.95

Over 100 Bonsai Tools deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

 

Shohin Bonsai (list 24.95) is now deeply discounted at 9.95

Over 50 Bonsai Books deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

 

Okatsune World-Class Garden & Bonsai Pruning Shears
come in 2 sizes:
7″ size (list 66.50) now deeply discounted at 47.80
8″ size (list 79.90) now deeply discounted at 59.00

Quality Gardening Tools deeply discounted at Stone Lantern


Japanese Gardens in a Weekend (list 14.95)
is now deeply discounted at 9.72

Over 100 Japanese Gardening & Other Books deeply discounted at Stone Lantern

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A Bunjin Story

I borrowed this unusual Bunjin style Sierra juniper from Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. The article is titled Developing an Unpromising Sierra Juniper Bunjin – student work from Seasonal.

There’s something about threes
It often works to divide things into thirds to better understand them and for discussion sake. In this tree’s case, you might be struck by the fact that it has three distinct sections:

1. The base. The lowest part starts with a radical slant then takes an abrupt twist. This sudden change of direction is both fluid and abrupt and tells much of the tree’s story. It’s a story that lends drama and mystery that just might peak our interest.

When you’re lucky, you find material to work with that has something this unusual (unusual and often dramatic features are most commonly found in collected trees where nature has had a chance to wreck its havoc). Conversely, features like this that are so eccentric often tend to set up tension that is difficult to reconcile with the rest of the tree. I think the ability to work with these difficult features is one thing that distinguishes bonsai artists from the rest of us hackers.

2. Mid section. The long vertical mid section almost ruined this tree. Originally it was ‘straight as an arrow’ (Michael’s words) but the students were able to put just enough movement in it to save the tree from a life of mediocrity. That’s a good thing; it’s a tree worth saving.

3. The top. Though a bit ‘loose and rangy’ (Michael’s words again), the top section has two excellent features. First, another abrupt turn that lends character and interest (another story perhaps) and then a stretch of classical bunjin elegance, with fluid movement and the typical falling branch. This section works so well in expressing bunjin, that if you cut the trunk off just a little above the abrupt turn at the base, you’d still have a very sweet tree. A little more conventional perhaps, but still….

All together now
The big question is: do these three parts come together in a way that makes sense? When you look at each section by itself, you have to wonder. But when you step back and view the whole tree, Viola!

A very pertinent observation by Michael
“Tricky to get the lighting right in a photo that will express the back and forth movement of the simple trunk. I’ve never been satisfied with images of bunjin, which require the viewer’s presence for a sense of scale, subtleties of movement, and evocativeness.”

Agreed
It’s difficult to capture the third dimension in a two dimensional medium. Many bonsai you see in photos would simply blow you away if you saw them in all their ‘real space’ glory. You could even say that what is lost in most photos, is every bit as much as what is captured.

 

At an earlier point. Just after the bend in the mid section is made. This view shows a lot more mid-trunk movement than the view above. In fact, it shows the tree in a whole different light. Another possible front?

Post-Dated – The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk by Michael Hagedorn is a great bonsai read. Unique, funny, informative, and very well written. It’s on sale at Stone Lantern.

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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 misused, that it’s easier to just avoid it and stick with Bonsai Artist.

 

Joy of Bonsai. Kawa Bonsai (member of Bonsai Societies of Florida) is hosting the 10th Annual Joy of Bonsai in January. Our favorite shohin artist Suthin Sukosolvisit (Royal Bonsai) will be there. This is not to say that Suthin does shohin exclusively. His skill with larger bonsai, like his skill with Shohin bonsai, place him among the elite bonsai artists.

 

The best Holiday gift just might be a Okatsune hand tool.
I think Okatsune tools are the best garden tools in world (barring individually hand crafted tools). We’ve got them at Stone Lantern, and they are all discounted. Take a look for yourself. You’ll like what you see.

This world class Okatsune hand pruner is discounted from 79.00 to only 59.00 at Stone Lantern.

 

 

 

Bonsai from Scratch results. We are waiting for the results for one more of our illustrious judges. Don’t worry, as soon as we have them all, we’ll post them here and we’ll send out a newsletter.

 

More fuel for the fire. A couple posts ago we broached the subject of highly sculpted more abstract bonsai and naturalistic bonsai (it’s an old topic on Bonsai Bark). Here’s an excellent example of the former. It’s a Juniper procumbens by Marco Invernizzi, who is, among other things a student of Masahiko Kimura.

Shohin 2012. The famous California Shohin Seminar is scheduled for February 4-6. As usual, it will take place in Santa Nella.

 

 

One big bad Poderosa pine. That’s Ryan Neil of International Bonsai Mirai tackling an almost incomprehensibly massive Ponderosa that was collected by Randy Knight. The photo is from a slideshow on International Bonsai Mirai. BTW: Ryan is, like Marco (above), a student of Masahiko Kimura.

 

Bonsai in Chile. Exposición y Concurso Achibo 2011 takes place Saturday Nov 26th en el centro cultural de la reina, más información…

 

 

Bonsai Art magazine. Got our copy of Bonsai Art recently. It’s still one of our favorite bonsai mags. The quality of the trees, photography and overall production is the best. I can’t say much about the text (my German is primitive, to say the least), but my guess is that it’s not bad either.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sound and sight. A sweet mix of music, dance, bonsai and suiseki from the 2nd Japanese Culture Festival and 6th International Bonsai and Suiseki Exhibition that took place this year in Vilnius (Lithuania).

 

Top dressing. Bonsai Tonight has study of top dressings from the East Bay Bonsai Society’s 50th Anniversary Show.

 

The Amador Bonsai Society is located in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains (in the Heart of the Mother Lode). Their website won the Gold State Bonsai Federation Website of the Year Award for 2011.

 

 

End of the line for Bonsaiautumn. In our last post we featured a remarkable hornbeam by Andy Doerfliger. Andy is a key player in Europe’s Bonsaiautumn show. This year featured the 7th, and unfortunately, last show in the series.

 

Jerry Meislik, author of Ficus: The Exotic Bonsai, presents a wealth of information on Tropical/Indoor bonsai culture and care on his website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iowa Bonsai Association‘s meetings are held at the Des Moines Botanical Center.

 

 

Green Mountain Bonsai Society‘s next meeting is November 20th.

 

 

 

 

 

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A One Tree Post

This powerful and compact little gem belongs to Andy Doerfliger. It’s a Carpinus coreana (Korean hornbeam). BTW: Andy is a prime mover in Bonsaiautumn, one of Europe’s premier bonsai events. Unfortunately, this year’s show, Bonsaiautumn 7 was the last one (for more on this, see our Weekly Wire 7, coming in the next day or two).

Only one tree?
I think this is our first ever one-tree post. There are not one, but two good reasons for this. 1. It’s a great tree and is worthy of a post all to itself, and 2. The world is whispering in my ear…. something about getting out of this chair and back to basics; like stacking firewood or replacing a broken furnace door. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon enough. Meanwhile, you can always buy a 2012 bonsai calendar.

 

 

 

 

 

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Abstract Bonsai & Peace in Our Time

A European bonsai with a Japanese touch. This massive juniper with its wildly sculpted deadwood is reminiscent of bonsai you’d see in Japan in the 80s and 90s. Right down to the quality Japanese pot (unless it’s a Chinese knockoff). The artist is Carlos van der Vaart.

Taking the bonsai scene by storm
There was a time not very long ago when bonsai with a heavy reliance on sculpted deadwood took the bonsai scene by storm. Rather than attempting to ‘make your bonsai look like a tree’ (John Naka’s famous dictum) these more abstract trees were the result of a ‘bonsai as cutting edge art’ attitude: more innovative and less beholden to convention. This approach was pioneered by Masahiko Kimura and was made possible by his introduction of power tools into the world of bonsai.

Rejected, then celebrated
At first Kimura’s Japanese contemporaries rejected his work. Too much too fast. But Kimura’s creative power won out; his bonsai were just too powerful and daring to ignore. Soon his name was known to bonsai enthusiasts around the world. People started experimenting with power tools and suddenly bonsai with wildly sculpted deadwood was showing up everywhere (continued after photo).

At the risk of overstatement: I’m absolutely floored at the over-the-top insanity of this wild and wonderful, slightly tortured, but stunning bonsai. Where on earth did Carlos van der Vaart find deadwood like this?

The backlash
Inevitably, some people grew tired the Kimura clones. Grumblings were heard that expressed a distaste for such unnatural looking bonsai (in the eyes of some) and a longing for a more naturalistic aesthetic surfaced. Some people even found it necessary to take sides; naturalistic versus abstract or sculptural, as though they somehow couldn’t coexist.

Peace in our time
Now the controversy seems to have died down. The more natural look is back in vogue, but it’s a natural look that has absorbed the sculptural touch. Carved deadwood abounds, but, in most cases, the desired result is deadwood that looks naturally aged, rather than the highly abstract deadwood that was once so popular. Still, that wildly abstract look pops up now and then. Take Carlos van der Vaart’s trees in this post, for example.

An overly simplified view
Of course, the views expressed in this post are overly simplified. It’s the nature of the beast. If you tried to write a more detailed and well researched history online, no one would take the time to read it. In fact, you can’t really expect anyone to read something the length of this post (if you got this far, you may be the only one).

This Shimpaku juniper is one of Masahiko Kimura’s signature bonsai. The foliage looks natural enough, but when it comes to the deadwood, it’s more about a wild flight of creative fancy than about replicating nature. From the back cover of The Magician (and other places).

 

 

 

 

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New Bonsai Workstands & More

Table Top Turntable Workstand. Super strong, beautifully designed and constructed, it’s a highly functional tool that doubles as a work of art. It’s big too, with an 18″ (46 cm) work surface, and has all those features you’ve always wanted in a turntable (details here). Retail 225.00, Stone Lantern price 199.00

Avoiding that last-minute mall hysteria
We seldom devote a whole post on Bonsai Bark to promoting our products. However, the Holiday shopping season has begun and we’d like to help you make selections that make sense, and in a timely and relaxed way (rather than the usual last minute mall hysteria). To make this possible, we’ll devote two posts per week (from now to mid December) to products that might be interest you. These, in addition to our regular every-other-day posts that are devoted to bonsai.


New Bonsai Aesthetics Cutpaste – Healing paste. This is the cutpaste that world renowned bonsai artist, teacher and author, Robert Steven recommends. Beautifully packaged.


2012 Bonsai calendars are in stock. At a lower price than last year.

Delux free-standing turntable/workstand. The best free-standing bonsai workstand on the market. Unrivaled beauty and strength, with classy green steel folding 3-leg base, precision fold-down crank and heavy duty gear box (adjusting from 25″ to 39″ high) and a cherry stained wooden 18″ top with rubber covered work surface and eye screws to tie your work down. Retail 450.00. Stone Lantern price 399.00.

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Visual Balance – Robert Steven Critique

Robert Steven’s simulation of a Pemphis acidula that was submitted for critique by Hamman Harris. The original is below.

Bow and arrow
Once you get beyond the fact that the bark and shape and even the foliage (at a glance) on this Pemphis look so much like the common Juniper pro-nana (that made-yesterday little bonsai imposter that flooded our Holiday malls last century), you might notice that there’s an unmistakable bow and arrow effect going on here. True, the bow has been softened considerably by Robert in his simulation, but the arrow remains. Perhaps Robert left it the way it is because it’s the feature that makes this otherwise unremarkable tree unique.

Robert’s critique

This is bonsai presents a good opportunity to talk about visual balance
Visual balance in art is not the kind of balance you get by weighing something with a scale. It’s more a visual illusion you sense from a composition (continued below).

The original as submitted by Hamman Harris.

In the case of this bonsai, you get the sense that it’s falling down to the left. In other words, it lacks visual balance.

–       The container with its round bottom, along with the shape of the pedestal, create a very unstable appearance, rather than a solid well anchored feeling.

–       The bow shaped right trunk forcefully drives the weight down and to the left.

–       The unbroken flow of foliage without any gaps, creates a very strong directing line that further transfers the visual weight to the left.

–       The crown is too big and the foliage pad is too dense.

–       As mentioned above, there is a lack of empty space (gaps) between the foliage pads.

Solution

–       Flatten the bottom of the container and use a rectangular pedestal. Both of these changes contribute to a more stable feeling.

–       Refine the foliage by making it more irregular, creating more gaps and opening up the crown. Turning some branches into jin will also help to decrease the illusion of too much weight.

–       Partially cover the bow shaped trunk on the right with some foliage. This will help to decrease the illusion of the too much force down and to the left.

By following these steps, the overall composition is improved and a better visual balance has been created.

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.

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2012 Bonsai Calendars

This stunning berry-laden holly is just one of 26 world class specimen bonsai you’ll enjoy with your new calendar.

They’re here
Enjoy powerful bonsai while you check the date all year long on your beautiful new 2012 calendar . Next year you can cut off the dates and enjoy attractive wall hangings in your office, workshop, man-cave, kitchen, wherever you want.

Reduced prices
In keeping with our lower price mania, these large 13 page beauties are now only 16.00 each (last year they were 18.95 each) or even less when you buy two or more.

Buy quantities and save
Buy two and save 3.00. Buy 5 and save 12.00.

 

Deeply Discounted Bonsai & Japanese Garden Products at Stone Lantern

Weekly Wire Six: A Little Tipsy

More fall color. There’s something about the fiery brilliance of fall color. Both the colors and the shape of this Japanese maple are reminiscent of the large Sugar maples that grow around here in Vermont. The photo is from Reiner Vollmari’s facebook page.

 

The Windy City. Next time you’re in Chicago you can visit the bonsai collection at the Chicago Botanic Garden. From what I can see from their website, it looks like a great display area with some quality trees. They claim to have “one of the best public collections of bonsai in the world” which may be a stretch, though I’ve never been there and the photos are smallish, so it’s hard to say anything definitive. It would help if there were more live links on the site and larger photos. As it is, the website serves more as a teaser than a tour.

 

Alive and well in Florida. One of the most active and rich bonsai schedules anywhere belongs to the Bonsai Societies of Florida. Here’s a little taste to whet your appetite.
Dan Robinson is in the midst of a Florida bonsai tour at this very moment. It’s not too late to catch him.
The tenth annual Joy of Bonsai, featuring Suthin Sukosolvisit and friends is happening Jan 13-15 in Bunnell.
The annual Ben Oki tour is also happening in January. 20 stops in 16 days!

 

A little tipsy. You can’t help but notice how this rather comfortable Redwood is leaning towards the wine. Bonsai Tonight.

 

Polshich. If you can read this, you should definitely check it out. Even you can’t read it, why not?

 

The artists. In our last Weekly Wire we said that Dave Piemme was the winner of our Bonsai Detective Art Contest. And it’s true, Dave is the winner (he’s already collected his $50 worth of gifts from Stone Lantern). What we didn’t say, was who all the artists are. So here’s your list: 1. Nacho Marin, 2. Ruben Roig (drawing above is his), 3. Deborah Koreshoff, 4. Rudi Julianto, 5. Patrick Giacobbe, 6. John Naka, 7. Fabrizio Petruzzello, 8. Susan Greenleaf, 9.Kevin Wilson, 10. Nacho Marin

 

New turntable. Stone Lantern is featuring a new Table-top turntable. It’s rugged, strong, very beautiful, the surface area is larger than other bonsai turntables and it has a range of other features that just might make it the right one for your bonsai (and other) needs.

 

Bonsai in Pakistan. I just stumbled across the Pak Bonsai forum. I’m not sure if we have any followers in Pakistan (we have several in neighboring India), but either way, it caught my attention.

 

Better hurry up if you want to make it to the 11th annual Asia-Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention & Exhibition.

 

 

Satsuki care. Into Satsukis? If so, check out the care calendar for Satsuki azalea bonsai at bonsai4me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Satsuki Azaleas by Robert Callaham.

 

 

A little respite from your typical massive trunk, full-crowned bonsai. I like the clean simple lines of the trunk and branching and the way they serve to display the flowers in an open, loose way (but not too loose). The photo is from Paulo Roberto Marasca’s facebook page. Here are some more of Paulo’s trees.

A Literati lesson. We’ve been talking Literati bonsai recently. Maybe it’s time for someone else to say a few words. How about our friend Robert Steven? His insights are excellent and so are his bonsai. The article is from ofBonsai Magazine.

 

Another Literati lesson. We’ve been talking Literati bonsai here recently. Maybe it’s time for someone else to say a few words. That someone else would be Randy Clark (& a couple friends) of the Bonsai Learning Center.

 

 

 

 

 

A few trees from the Bonsai Society of Winnipeg (that would be in Canada, our gentle neighbor to the north).

 

What a great fence. I know some purists don’t appreciate manipulating plants this way, but I love. it. It’s made of Atlas cedars, a luscious plant that you occasionally see as bonsai. Unfortunately, like so many plants, they won’t grow here in northern Vermont. It’s from Russell’s Nursery’s facebook page (here’s their website). They’re in Auroa Oregon. A great place to be if you like growing pretty much everything but tropicals.

 

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