Eccentric Bonsai: Pushing Invisible Boundaries

Unusual, yes. Eccentric, somewhat. Sweet, definitely! The compressed quality (like a very large foot stepped on it) and the way the foliage sort of clings to the trunk, make for an unusual bonsai. Even the pot and the reddish brown ground cover are different. But aside from its more eccentric qualities, there’s that wonderful trunk. The image is from Joko Sulistianto’s facebook photos, as are all the images in this post. I don’t know who the tree belongs too (ditto on the others). Pushing invisible boundaries Way back in the recesses of time (2009 & 2010) we featured a whole … Continue reading Eccentric Bonsai: Pushing Invisible Boundaries

Three Rare & Wonderful Yamadori Bonsai

Even the most jaded collector has to be amazed when they stumble upon a tree with this much character. It’s from Walter Pall’s conifer gallery. The tree looks a lot like a Ezo spruce, but then, if it was collected in Europe, it couldn’t be. Walter Pall’s conifer gallery The three bonsai shown here have been borrowed courtesy of Walter Pall. They represent a small sampling of Walter’s wonderful conifer collection. Naturalistic bonsai Walter Pall has long been a strong proponent of what he calls ‘naturalistic bonsai.’ To my eye, all three trees in this post speak with a strong … Continue reading Three Rare & Wonderful Yamadori Bonsai

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 … Continue reading Weekly Wire 7: The Old School Way

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 … Continue reading Abstract Bonsai & Peace in Our Time

Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

Can you imagine the time needed to develop and maintain the numerous foliage clouds? Does this level of refinement exist outside of Japan? Needle juniper (J. rigida) by Shinji Suzuki. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Picking up where we left off Our last post provoked more discussion than any post so far. Roughly drawn, the topic is naturalistic bonsai versus highly stylized and highly refined bonsai. I thought it might be good to continue with examples that exist at the extremes, at least in my view. This Big cone Douglas fir by Dan Robinson jumped out at me because … Continue reading Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

That Old Argument Resurfaces

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from your comments, the discussion about the virtues of highly refined Japanese bonsai vs a more naturalistic western style (championed by Walter Pall among others) is a topic that at some of you are interested in. I count myself among this interested group. An impassioned comment … Continue reading That Old Argument Resurfaces

Nature, Picasso & the Hand of Man

Here’s an exquisite, powerful old tree that features some wild twists and turns. I found it here. My guess is it’s a Shimpaku juniper that was originally collected in the mountains of Japan. A further guess is that it fell into the hands of one of the Japanese masters. One more guess; it was professionally photographed and appears in a Japanese bonsai book or Bonsai magazine Okay, I stand corrected (see comments) That Old Question: Naturalistic vs Highly Styled Bonsai Though nature originally grew, shaped and aged this wonderful old tree, there is no pretending that humans didn’t have a … Continue reading Nature, Picasso & the Hand of Man

Mugos by Mother Nature & Georg Reinhard

The sculpted look. This Mugo pine by Georg Reinhard combines wildness and elegance with its flowing lines and almost perfectly shaped robust live growth. I particularly like the way the deadwood twists and turns all the way back down to soil and the jagged lightening bolt on the left. Though I know that some people take issue with highly sculpted deadwood, this is so well done that I can’t imagine even the most dogmatic proponents of the naturalistic look being too worked up about it. There are Mugos, and then there are Mugos… I don’t think we ever see Mugo … Continue reading Mugos by Mother Nature & Georg Reinhard

The Magician: After & Before

After. Pretty impressive, no? You’ll encounter very few bonsai that are both this powerful and this refined anywhere on this planet. In fact, I challenge you to find even one that rivals it (they do exist, but are oh so rare). Photo from Bonsai Today issue 59 (still available). Too refined? Masahiko Kimura has fallen out of favor with some people over the last few years. You might hear or see comments about how his bonsai is overly sculpted, overly refined, unnatural looking. For where I sit, it’s unfortunate when we feel we must take sides and pick either refined … Continue reading The Magician: After & Before

Three Bonsai Masterpieces

This full cascade Japanese Katsura tree Kadsura vine is from Bonsai Today issue 5. Its overall height (not including the stand) is 31 inches (79 cm). Bonsai Galleries During its heyday, Bonsai Today magazine was known for its excellent how-to articles by Japanese and other masters, and for its world class bonsai galleries. The three trees featured here are from long out-of-print issues, and present just a very small taste of what lies beneath the covers of Bonsai Today.