Tiny Bonsai Master?

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Bright yellow flowers and a light yellow pot makes for a soft contrast. Haruyosi doesn't identify this little gem, but the flowers look a lot like Potentilla. Though the yellow Potentilla I have in my yard has much smaller leaves relative to the flowers.

We’ll continue with tiny bonsai today, though not all are by Shohin master Haruyosi, who we’ve been featuring lately (I originally wrote tiny bonsai master Haruyosi, but that doesn’t work so well).

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Yesterday we featured freshly trimmed Shimpaku juniper by Haruyosi, now it's a freshly trimmed Ezo spruce (aka Yezo spruce), also by Haruyosi. I love how much age is expressed in such a small tree. I think it's a lot about the rugged bark, but the thick, well-tapered little trunk and the little jin sticking up also lend to the effect.

 

Here's rugged little juniper that does not belong to Haruyosi. It's one of Morten Albek's fine collection of Shohin bonsai. 

 

This brilliant little Persimmon (Daisuke variety, identified by Ryan Bell, Japanese Bonsai Pots Blog) is a bonsai that pops up all over the digital place. I think we've shown it at least four, if not five times here Bark. I don't know who the artist is.
harushimHarkening all the way back to yesterday, here's one more freshly trimmed Shimpaku. And though I know you don't need me to point out what is plain to see, still, that fat twisted trunk is quite impressive on such a small tree. What is less obvious is the jin that's just barely sticking out from under the foliage.

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Freshly Trimmed Tiny Trees

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At a glance, this is a sweet little freshly trimmed Shimpaku bonsai. But if you let your glance linger, you might see just how much age and character this tiny tree expresses. There's that relatively massive little trunk and its rugged twists and scars. There's also the impressive branch development for such a small tree. Altogether a masterful little bonsai. The photo and tree belong to Haruyosi, as do the other photos shown here.

We’ve been featuring small bonsai lately and yesterday it was a few of Haruyosi’s particularly charming small bonsai. So, for the sake of continuity we’ll just keep going. This time it’s Haruyosi’s freshly trimmed tiny Shimpaku junipers.

Just in case you don’t know who Haruyosi is… I think it’s safe to say he is a a master of Shohin (small) bonsai and equally, a master bonsai potter. All the photos shown here are from Haruyosi on facebook.

 

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Enough for now, though there are plenty more where these came from

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Tiny Trees, Brilliant Flowers & Wild Horses

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This sweet little quince with its brilliant flowers belongs to Haruyosi. It's a safe bet that he also made the pot.

It has been several years since I first stumbled upon Haruyosi. Every since that fortunate day, we periodically return to him and his delightful tiny trees and pots. In this case, it’s a rerun (we last showed these photos a little over a year ago), but it’s a good one, so I don’t think you’ll mind.

I happen to believe that quince flowers are as brilliant and pure as any flowers anywhere. So we’ll stick with quince this time – all the little trees shown here are flowering quince from Haruyosi’s facebook photos. They represent a small fraction of his shohin bonsai and bonsai pots.

 

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If you spend some time looking at Haruyosi's bonsai you'll notice how attentive he is to harmonizing (contrasting?) the pot and flower colors.

 

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Haruyosi makes his own pots and doesn't always need flowers to create a colorful (and masterful) effect.

 

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Wild horses and a wild little tree.

 

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It's not that often you see a flower that dwarfs the pot.

 

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Though you don't see that many yellow bonsai pots elsewhere, Haruyosi often uses them. Same goes for red.

 

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Quince flowers and buds.

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High Quality Bonsai (& Photos) in Hand…

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It's not unusual to see a photo of someone holding a small bonsai in one hand. However, you seldom see a photo with two hands. This two-handed approach gives the feeling the tree is being offered. This photo and the others in this post are from Japan Shohin Bonsai. The tree appears to be a Shimpaku juniper. 

One of the problems with photographing bonsai is conveying size. The easiest and perhaps best way is to provide something familiar for contrast.

It used to be fairly common to see bonsai with cigarette packs before smoking fell out of favor. You also sometimes see soft drink cans, though soft drinks are slowly falling out of favor too. Either way, the effect is distracting and shows a lack of respect for the natural beauty of the bonsai.

One of the great things about hands is they are always available (close at hand). Also, they tend to look good and there’s a natural relationship between hands and the art of bonsai.

We originally posted these exceptionally high quality photos in July 2014. They were borrowed from Japan Shohin Bonsai.

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Another two handed offering. This one looks like a Needle juniper (Juniperus rigida).

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 This little Japanese maple only needs one hand. I like the trunk and of course, there's that sweet little pot.

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Another lovely little Japanese maple.

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No hands here, but I couldn't resist. The tree (a boxwood?) is exceptional and the pot, well... you can see for yourself.

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Hand Held Bonsai

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No variety is given with any of the photos featured here and we won't bother to guess. What we do know is that they all show bonsai held in one hand that were posted by Javi Campos Juan.

I’ve always liked photos of hand held bonsai. Party because the hand immediately provides a way to determine the size of a tree. Or at least a very close approximation.

And then there’s the personal touch. An introduction of the hand of the artist (presumably) into the picture, without the more intrusive photos of the artist posing with the bonsai.

In addition to being hand held, these are very sweet little trees. They were all posted on Facebook by Javi Campos Juan. I assume the trees and the hands are his, though I couldn’t verify this. No varieties were given.

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I think the somewhat distracting shoot on the left is for sacrificial purposes (sorry). In other words, to hasten development of the branch.

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This funky little tree with its funky little pot also shows a somewhat distracting sacrificial shoot. Though once you know its purpose, it becomes less of a distraction. BTW: we're using 'funky' in the positive sense

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Just wanted to see what the tree looks like without the hand

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Feel the Love for Bonsai

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This looks a lot like a Tsukomo cypress, though we can't be sure because the foliage is difficult to make out.

We originally discovered these photos on Morten Albek’s Shohin blog. Morten found them at Bonsai Project, Feel Feel Bonsai. My response was very positive when I first saw them, though their title Feel Feel the Love for Bonsai is catchy, it seemed a little too romantic, so I dropped the second Feel (or was it the first?). Whichever you prefer, I hope you enjoy the photos.

Here’s part of what Morten Albek wrote about this unusual project.
In Japan this year a very special bonsai art exhibition and performance is taking place. Different artist, photographers, graphic designers i.e. are together with bonsai artist Masashi Hirao displaying bonsai in very refreshing new way during the Feel Feel Bonsai event.

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In this type shot, knowing the variety of the tree and other information we are usually sticklers about, isn't as important as your emotional response. Still, I'm guessing it's a Japanese black pine

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Shadow dancing. This one looks like a Crepe myrtle

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Close up. More evidence that it's a Crepe myrtle

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Shohin display

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I cropped this one for a closer look. All the other photos shown here are just the way we found them

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Bold Bonsai & Added Attraction

teamapleI don't mean to rush the fall season, but couldn't resist this brilliant photo. The tree, a prize-winning Shishigashira Japanese maple is from a Peter Tea post on the 32nd Annual Taikan-ten bonsai exhibition in Kyoto.

This photos shown here are lifted from a December 2012 Bark post titled An Embarrassment of Riches. In addition to the photos the post featured an added attraction; a list of some favorite bonsai blogs (below our ad at the bottom of the post).

reelHere’s what Matt Reel has to say about this tree: “This Japanese Red Pine has such a broad apex it makes me giggle to myself at times. However, one might feel a little tipsy with all that leaning movement if there was a little dainty apex instead. This tree has been wired 3 times in the last few years by three different artists in this order: Omachi Isao, myself, and most recently by Tyler (Tyler Sherrod). We also call it the ‘never ending tree’ because it seems impossible to get the balance just right.” My only comment is I thought the tree was much smaller than it is. Until I saw another photo that gives it away.

 

bjornTied in knots. This lush Shimpaku juniper with its knotted trunk is from the Bjorvala Bonsai Studio's gallery. All of the bonsai featured in the Studio's gallery were styled by Bjorn Bjorholm.

 

pyra-500x351I found this sweet little tree with its equally sweet little pot on Bonsai in Japan. I'm not sure what it is, but the berries look a lot like pyracantha.

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Here are those promised blogs we borrowed from Nichigo Bonsai

Bonsai Eejit google blog reader (150 Blogs)
Aichien Journal
Aijou bonsai
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Centro bonsai tenerife
Crataegus Bonsai
Japanese bonsai pots
John Armitage’s Blog
Paul’s Bonsai Blog
Shibui Bonsai
Sam & KJ’s Blog
Tyler Sherrod Bonsai
Yenling bonsai

Home Turf – Bay Area Bonsai

BIBEXPOSEDROOTS

This exposed-roots pine is from the 2016 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition. I borrowed the photo from Jeremiah Lee's Yenling Bonsai Blog. The caption reads: Started from seed by Morten in 2000 (that would be Morten Wellhaven).

The photos shown here are from Jeremiah Lee’s Yenling Bonsai Blog. They were taken at the 2016 Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition. Bay Island Bonsai is a Northern California Organization that was founded in 1998 by one of North America’s seminal bonsai teachers, Boon Manakitivipart (Bonsai Boon).

The Home Turf in the title is personal. I was born and spent many formative years in the Bay Area, and even though the traffic is horrific (compared to my adopted pristine Vermont) the connection is still palpable.

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Japanese Red Pine. Few things lend a feeling of age to a bonsai more than funky bark.

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This 'Kifu' size Sierra juniper belongs to Jeremiah.

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An unidentified flowering tree. Could it be a cherry?

BIBOLIVE

No identification with this one either, but it's obviously an Olive. A common tree in Northern California.

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Looks like a Shimpaku juniper. Jeremiah's caption reads: Originally grown by Jim Gremel. Hope I can make some like this down the road.

 

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Another mystery tree. We'll leave the guessing to you.

 

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Fruiting & Flowering Bonsai

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Did that huge apple really grown on this small tree? I'm positive it's an apple tree and as you can see, that's most certainly an apple. What we don't know for sure is, if that apple actually grew on this tree, though it could have. Or if it was glued on (it could also be photo-shopped, but I don't think it is).

There’s something a little off about putting your logo on photos that don’t belong to you. In a world with more than enough serious crime and corruption, this practice barely registers. But still, it’s questionable at best.

You can assume that the photos are not attributed, though it’s possible (I can’t read the text), but I seriously doubt that anyone who would put their logo on a tree that doesn’t belong to them, would bother to attribute.

All this begs the question… why post these trees? The answer is, I like them. Plus it provides an opportunity to bring up attribution and honesty on social media and the internet in general.

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I've seen this tree before, but can't remember where, or what it is. It's even possible that it has appeared here on Bark. Mea culpa for the fuzz. The original is very small and I think you still get the essence in this blown up version.

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This sweet little maple is neither fruiting nor flowering, so we'll consider it an outlier.

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I've always loved quince flowers.

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I would recognize this little Rhododendron anywhere. It belongs to Morten Albek and appears in his Shohin Bonsai book (out of print) and on his blog.

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