Old Bonsai Tell Stories

I like this little tree. It tells a story – any tree that grow to over 250 feet (see below) in optimal conditions and yet looks like this, has a story. It’s a Poderosa pine. I don’t know who collected it, but it belongs to Colin Lewis (unless he sold it). Yesterday was Ponderosa pines, so we’ll continue on that track today. BTW: I didn’t set out to make this post about rare cork bark Ponderosa, but it has headed in that direction, at least in part. This is because some of the photos and text here are from a … Continue reading Old Bonsai Tell Stories

Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

This powerful Japanese white pine with its lush canopy that’s shaped like something you’d see on a deciduous tree, makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the rich beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification. Still on vacation and still working. But just enough to edit (or eliminate) dated information and resize the images on this post from July 2012*. This wild looking Hornbeam … Continue reading Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

A Skinny Lone Tree, a Large Empty Space…

California Juniper (Juniperus californica) at the Cup. It belongs to Seiji Shiba. Estimated age: 1000-1600 years old, trained for 15 years. All the photos in this post are by Hoe Chuah. I just rediscovered* an exceptional bonsai blog. It’s titled Bonsai Penjing & More and it belongs to Hoe Chuah. Most of the best bonsai blogs have good photos, but blogs like Bonsai Penjing & More that combine quality photos with thoughtful, well written comments are lot less common. The following by Hoe Chuah is from yesterday’s Bark comments. The tree he references is just below. “I like Michael Pollack’s hinoki … Continue reading A Skinny Lone Tree, a Large Empty Space…

Visceral Wonder & Other Comments on Judging Bonsai

This is one that I kept coming back to (see Michael Plishka’s visceral wonder comment below). It’s a Southwestern white pine (Pinus strobiformis) that belongs to Greg Brenden (an earlier smaller iteration in a different pot was shown at the 2010 U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition). The show booklet says the pot is by Ron Lang, but Ron told me that his wife Sharon made it and that he created the rough finish (see below). There were several trees in Lang pots at the exhibition. This photo and the close up below, are borrowed from Bonsai Penjing & More. Yesterday’s post … Continue reading Visceral Wonder & Other Comments on Judging Bonsai

Bonsai U.S.A. & Beyond

Picasso’s (aka Dan Robinson’s) now famous wild and wonderful Hinoki. It’s from Will Hiltz’ most excellent book, Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, about Dan’s life and work. BTW, it’s just back in print and available at Stone Lantern. Back from the west coast very late last night and swamped with catch up so, we’ll borrow from our vast archival store once again. This one originally appeared July 4th, 2013. Independence Day. It seems appropriate for our post Artisans Cup recovery period as some of the trees are by artists who displayed at the Cup and one is by Ryan Neil himself. … Continue reading Bonsai U.S.A. & Beyond

“It’s About Time We in the Bonsai Community Caught Up”

This majestic old pomegranate (Punica granatum) was styled by John Naka. After John died, his wife Alice donated it to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. Mr Naka was and is a major influence on Dave De Groot’s view and practice of bonsai (more below on Dave). Yesterday’s post resurrected an old debate that has been running on and off for years here on Bark and elsewhere. We’ve been calling it highly refined bonsai versus naturalistic bonsai. If you check the comments to yesterday’s post and earlier posts on the topic, you’ll get an idea of just how high passions … Continue reading “It’s About Time We in the Bonsai Community Caught Up”

Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. I think it’s time to revisit a discussion that seems to provoke plenty of interest each time we bring it up (there were 35 comments to this post back in 2011 and numerous comments to previous posts on topic). It’s also timely given that Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is now back in print and Dan Robinson’s bonsai play a big part in the discussion. A note about Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees that I neglected to mention last post: By agreement with the publisher, … Continue reading Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer is back in print! We’ve been waiting for this wonderful, ground breaking book to come back into print for a long time. Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is surely one of the most important and beautiful bonsai books ever published. Will Hiltz, author and photographer elevates the art of book making, and Dan Robinson, bonsai artist and master, elevates the art of collecting, growing and styling bonsai. Dan Robinson’s approach is uniquely his own and shows profound respect for trees, nature, art; the whole process that we … Continue reading Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Bonsai News Flash!

We featured this dramatic Sierra juniper here on Bark back in January. This time though, after a long journey from the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai, it’s made the national bonsai news. We just got an email announcement from The Pacific Bonsai Museum: Here it is, almost word for word: “The Pacific Bonsai Museum proudly announces its first acquisition, a Sierra Juniper by rising bonsai artist Ryan Neil of St. Helens, Oregon. The acquisition was made possible by a generous gift from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. Here’s a link to the press release for … Continue reading Bonsai News Flash!

Staying on Theme – New NABF Website

Japanese black pine by Dan Robinson. Dan is known for his dramatically wild collected trees from the American northwest (and Canadian far west). Obviously this Black pine doesn’t fall into that category, though a bit of that wild look is still there. It received a WBFF Certificate of Merit. We’ve been featuring new websites a lot lately so we might as well stay on theme. All the photos in this post are from the new North American Bonsai Federation (NABF) website. NABF is affiliated with the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF).. One of the things the WBFF is known for … Continue reading Staying on Theme – New NABF Website