Sculpting Deadwood

Francios Jeker‘s finger and dremel power carving tool. From Bonsai Today 105 (still available). It didn’t used to be this way Have you noticed how almost everybody carves deadwood these day? It wasn’t always the case. I just thumbed through Kyuzo Murata‘s classic Four Seasons of Bonsai (first edition 1991 and long out of print) and could find only 3 or 4 bonsai that had some carving (out of over 100 trees). The same goes if you look back through other older bonsai publications. New horizons Even though it’s overused, carving opens up whole new horizons for us bonsai hackers, … Continue reading Sculpting Deadwood

Fantastic Trees, Fabulous Pots

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi.

Wild and Wonderful Bonsai

Wild! There’s so much going on with this delightfully crazy tree, that you could spend a long time looking at it and still see something new. It’s a Chinese juniper by Yang Hsui. Taiwanese Bonsai The three bonsai shown here are all from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. Cheng is one Taiwan’s most famous, and most innovative, bonsai artists and teachers. This one is more wonderful than wild. But take a look at the size of the pot relative to the tree and particularly the trunk. Could the tree … Continue reading Wild and Wonderful Bonsai

What’s with Taiwan? Lo Min Hsuan (& Friends)

A little change of pace. The tree on the right (Elaeagnus Pungens) has the mark of Min. At least the Lo Min Hsuan many of us have come to know. The lilac Crape myrtle in full bloom provides a touch of wildness, freedom and color. From the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition. Look out for Taiwan A friend of mine who is a computer engineer and often works in Taiwan with Taiwanese engineers, says that they are poised to rule the world (okay, a little exaggeration), that many of them, especially the younger ones, are brilliant, fearless and wildly creative … Continue reading What’s with Taiwan? Lo Min Hsuan (& Friends)

Where in the World?

No caption with this one, but it looks a lot like three Shimpaku junipers growing on a precariously balanced stone, with small ground cover plants and moss Back to Bill Valavanis’ Japan journey. Today we’ll show you some of his photos from 2018 38th Nippon Bonsai Taikan Exhibition. Just bear in mind that these photos are mere drops in the bucket (Bill is a busy fellow), so it might not be a bad idea for you to click over to his blog and treat yourself to a whole lot more. And you also might enjoy a more whimsical view of Bill’s journey with some lighthearted shots titled Where … Continue reading Where in the World?

Voila!

Much Better! Here’s the tree that is featured in our last post, in focus this time. It was sent by Ferry Freriks, who BTW submitted the first tree to our Unique Bonsai Contest. Ferry has done his research and here’s what he came up with: Hello Mr. Schoech, I tried to post a comment on the post of the Taiwanese tree, but after submitting it, the site told me it was “Too spammy”. So instead I’m sending it by e-mail. Here’s the full size picture of this tree: http://sidiao.myweb.hinet.net/2004htm/p13.htm ;-) According to the website (http://sidiao.myweb.hinet.net, the personal website of one … Continue reading Voila!