The Praying Mantis

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A while back I stumbled upon The Praying Mantis by Giacomo Pappalardo’s on facebook. Fortunately, he has a website, so you don’t have to befriend him to see what he’s up to.

Wildly eccentric
I think this yamadori (collected tree) is a pretty good example of the unique and wild end of the bonsai spectrum. A big part of the wonder of yamadori is they don’t necessarily conform to our more conventional notions of what a bonsai should look like. Yet no one would argue that the good ones aren’t really bonsai, no matter how eccentric. Somehow, when that blend of nature, a trained human eye and a skilled hand come together, art is often the result.

Naming trees
I usually don’t care too much for naming trees (or cars), though I realize it’s a matter of taste and doesn’t amount to much one way or the other. Still, taste aside, I must admit that ‘Praying Mantis’ is a pretty apt name for this tree.

Photos
The following three photos are all from Giacomo’s website.

mantis

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Revisiting a Powerful Mugo Pine & Contemplating Two Mysteries

The first mystery. Last time we featured this tree ( a few posts back) I found it on Carlos van der Vaart’s facebook photos (it’s also on his website’s gallery). This time it turned up on Mauro Stemberger’s website as a lead tree on ‘refinishing tips‘. So whose tree is it?

Another mystery
If you compare this latest iteration (above) with the earlier one (below), it’d easy to see how tree has been improved; the large hanging jin was pushed away from the trunk and twisted a little. The mystery here is; how was such a dramatic change accomplished with almost no effect on the rest of the tree. For example, you would expect that a large move of a such key piece, might push the apex up and to the left.

Also, how did the little hooked jin on the end get shorter while retaining its basic shape?

Another question arises out of the first
Attribution. For some reason, attribution seems to have very low value on the web. Are we entering a new era where the object of art is all that matters and artist’s identity is irrelevant? Or?

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There’s Something About Larches

Larches in training by Francois Jeker.

Good stock helps
Larches are easy to grow (especially if you live in the north), easy to train and they are naturally attractive trees. If you start with decent stock and you have some grasp of design and technique, you can end up with the kind of results you see above.

Near limitless possibilities
This is not to say each tree couldn’t have been styled differently as they certainly could have. Give the same potential bonsai to five different bonsai artists and you’ll end up with five different trees.

Bonsai Aesthetics
If you’d like to dig into the aesthetics of bonsai, check out Francois’ excellent book, Bonsai Aesthetics. You can also visit his website.

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Alive & Well in Rio

We haven’t done anything with our calendar of events for a while, so what better way to start catching up, than with a good excuse to visit Rio.

Projeto Bonsai
The other day, in our ongoing quest to discover new bonsai information sources, events, galleries, etc, I stumbled upon Projeto Bonsai. I wasn’t familiar with them, but from the looks of things, they are doing what they can to keep bonsai alive and well in Rio de Janeiro.

Returning a favor
Two things caught my eye: the graphic above, with its promising, freshly carved little tree, and a review of Robert Callaham’s Satsuki Azalea book (published by Stone Lantern) with a link to Stone Lantern. So we decided to return the favor.

Here’s a photo of Carlos Tramujas’ book and a link to a excellent site on Carlos and his nursery. The photo below is the aforementioned Satsuki Azaleas by Robert Callaham.


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The Evolution of a Honeysuckle

Morten Albek’s now famous shohin Boxleaf honeysuckle as it appeared in the 2010 Danish Bonsai Exhibition where it was part of Morten’s winning shohin display (see below).

Morten is the author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern publishing) and creator of the Shohin-Bonsai Europe website.

Here’s how it looked when it appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 105 six years ago. Same pot, but if you compare this with it’s later incarnation above (disregarding that this photo’s is much sharper) you’ll see a tree is maturing in a very positive direction.


Moten’s winning display. In case your eyes are tired, that’s the Honeysuckle up top.


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Character, Strength & Boon’s Transplanting Tips


Though it has the raw look of yet to be refined tree, still, there’s a lot to like about this bonsai. Its massive nebari ads great strength, character and balance and the hollow in the trunk (sabamiki) provides a further touch of character and age that sets it apart from more ordinary bonsai. It belongs to Boon Manakitivipart, owner of Bonsai Boon (my mistake, see comments) and distinguished bonsai artist and teacher. Though Boon doesn’t say what it is, I’ll guess that it’s a California live oak of some sort (Quercus suber?).


From a bonsai tip entitled WINTER CARE: REPOTTING, by Boon that appears at his website, Bonsai Boon.

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Robert Steven & the Tao of Bonsai

robert680Movement and stillness. Robert Steven’s skill, energy and enthusiasm have done much to move the art of bonsai forward. Even though there’s nowhere to go.
These photos are from a facebook album that presents some samples of Robert Steven’s bonsai.

A simple tree with its gnarled time-twisted trunk, leans into the darkness.

Sentient trees in a ancient forest, a floating world.

Robert Steven is a frequent contributor to Bonsai Bark. In addition to being an acclaimed bonsai artist and teacher, Robert is bonsai author, with two very notable books under his belt (Vision of My Soul and Mission of Transformation) and a couple more in the works.

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Wire Cutters: A Little Tip from Graham


Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai holds up his stainless wire cutters so you can get a good look. From one of Graham’s excellent bonsai instruction videos.

No more twisting
I always thought bonsai wire cutters were shaped the way the are (with stubby blades) so that the tip of the blade doesn’t damage the bark when you remove wire. I still think this is true. However, Graham Potter says that it’s designed this way so the wire doesn’t twist when you cut it. This is news to me, but as I reflect on it, I think it makes sense. Anyone else?

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Mugo Pines: A Well Kept Secret


This powerful, well groomed yet craggy Mugo pine jumps off the page. It would be exceptional even if it didn’t have that wild and strange piece of deadwood that doubles back on the trunk; a feature that makes this tree uniquely distinctive and even more wonderful than it would be anyway (though I might remove the straight stick at the end that goes behind the trunk).

I might also take issue with the crown; it’s a touch too perfectly groomed and symmetrical for my taste, but still, this is an exceptional bonsai. Worthy of the finest collections anywhere. I found it in Carlos van der Vaart’s photos (facebook).

Why not Mugos?
Why haven’t Mugo pines received their due in bonsai circles? One glance at the trees in this post and you can see that they’ve got everything they need. Small tight needles, funky bark, great deadwood, gnarly shapes… the whole package.

To be blunt…
… Mugos aren’t from Japan. For a long time, the Japanese set the tone for bonsai (for good reason) and their bias is for the trees they know. This is especially true when it comes to pines, and, without a doubt, they’ve got great pines in Japan. Especially their famous Japanese black and white pines (speaking of; our Pine book is coming back soon).

Slowly but surely…
… people are recognizing Mugos for what they are. Especially in Europe, where they grow wild. If you need any evidence, take a look at these two great yamadoris (collected trees).


This craggy European beauty is from Wolfgang Putz’s most excellent website. Its natural come-as-you-are feel reminds me of Dan Robinson’s North American bonsai (Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees).

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King Arthur’s Bonsai?


Juniper. From a series of photos entitled ‘King Arthur’ by Zino Rongo.

A very sweet tree
Though it’s unclear what the connection with the legendary King Arthur is, it is abundantly clear that this is a very sweet bonsai. It presents a strong feeling of balance and unity that isn’t always that easy to achieve, and the flowing lines of the shari are so well done that the wood appears naturally aged by time and the elements (it wasn’t). Even that slightly unsettling piece of deadwood that sticks up and points the opposite direction from the flow of the tree provides interesting contrast. I’d love to see this tree in a bonsai pot.

Some of the best
Just a little more about the shari; the deadwood on this tree is some of the best I’ve seen. The shape, the color, the lines, the contrast between light and dark, the flow, the naturally aged feel… everything about it. I think that even Francois Jeker would be proud of it.


Mr. Rongo and this tree came a long ways from here to the photo at the top of the post. Here’s the whole series of steps.

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