Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

A few stills captured from Capital Bonsai’s video on grafting that features Ryan Neil owner of Mirai American Bonsai and major player in this fall’s Artisans Cup bonsai exhibition in Portland, Oregon. I’m out of town visiting friends for the weekend, so to spare me putting together a new post, we’ll jump into our time machine this morning. All the way back to November, 2012. We could just forgo a post today and no one would complain, but I wanted to remind you that our Stone Lantern FREE bonsai wire offering ends tonight at 11:59pm EDT (Just write FREE in … Continue reading Grafting Bonsai – You Might Want to Wait Until the Fall

“That tree has been here for 1,000 years. Do you have the right to not respect that? I don’t think so.”

A little piece of Ryan Neil’s Mirai, lifted from American Shokunin. “Shokunin (Sho-koo-neen) is a Japanese word used to describe an individual that aspires to become a master in their particular craft or art form.” This quote is from the introduction to Ryan Bush’s American Shokunin, an engrossing, almost reverent video that features Ryan Neil and his reflections on trees, humans, life and death, mastery, and perhaps most of all, respect. The video is part of the build up to this fall’s Artisans Cup at the Portland Oregon Art Museum. I hope to see you there. The quote that is … Continue reading “That tree has been here for 1,000 years. Do you have the right to not respect that? I don’t think so.”

Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight* found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time

Good news! The Cup is coming. Those of us who kept the faith when the Artisans Cup was postponed are officially vindicated. You may remember that the Artisans Cup was originally scheduled for October 2013. Until events conspired to cause it to be postponed until 2015. Now that 2015 is preparing its arrival, the excitement that we all experienced two years ago is coming back. Time to start making plans. Michael Hagedorn, an indispensable half of the Artisans Cup original brain trust and major American bonsai artist, teacher and author, just posted this on Crateagus Bonsai.“One of the major events … Continue reading Artisans Cup – Two Years Late & Right on Time

Artisans Cup Postponed

This Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) belongs to Ryan Neil. The photo is from Ryan’s International Bonsai Mirai website. A guest’s guest post. The following is from Michael Hagedorns Crataegus Bonsai blog. Artisans Cup postponed until September 2015 This is a guest post by Ryan Neil. I am in full support of his words here: Over the past fourteen months of research and planning the potential of the Artisans Cup has been a driving force in our bonsai community to grow and improve the level of our trees. The enthusiastic response of the entire Western bonsai world fueled our ambition and … Continue reading Artisans Cup Postponed

Bring Your Passport to the Cup

Image from the Artisans Cup website. They also have an excellent blog with great articles like ‘Bonsai as an Education: the Pursuit of Sustainable Life.’ While we’re in Portland (actually I’m home in cold blasted Vermont, but the memories are fresh) it seems like the right time to talk about the Artisans Cup. I think it will prove to be a break-through (earth shattering?) bonsai event and you just might kick yourself if you don’t go. If you need encouragement, there are plenty of very good reasons to put the soon-to-be-very-famous Artisans Cup at the top of your list; not … Continue reading Bring Your Passport to the Cup

What a Difference a Day Makes

Large juniper that was styled by Michael Hagedorn in 2007. Though it looks like a Juniperus chinensis, the variety is unidentified. This photo and the before photo (below) are from Michael’s Crataegus Bonsai. What a difference five hours makes Michael Hagedorn restyled this monster juniper in five hours, and though I guess that doesn’t really qualify as a whole day, still, we’ll stick with ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’ (ask your grandparents). The operation took place at Miami Tropical Bonsai in 2007 and was captured on a video that you can watch on youtube. Artisans Cup I found the … Continue reading What a Difference a Day Makes

Floating Clouds, Around the Bonsai World, Before & After, Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

Floating clouds. Here’s an unusual tree for your enjoyment. Or, for your criticism if you feel the profusion of foliage pads is unnatural (given conventions these days, you might also say the pot is a little heavy, but I don’t think so). For me, it’s sheer delight. The tree belongs to Hsiu Yang, one of Taiwan’s many great bonsai artists. Viva Mexico! Found this here. Was intrigued, but didn’t find any other links (Confederacion Mexicana de Artre Bonsai wasn’t current). Here’s the Spanish: Expocisión Anual de Arte Bonsai en Coyoacan. 4 al 7 de Octubre de 2012. Ven con … Continue reading Floating Clouds, Around the Bonsai World, Before & After, Your Guess Is As Good As Mine

Time for Some Serious Bonsai Training

Tamarisk (Tamarix) from Ryan Neil’s International Bonsai Mirai gallery. Aside from the fact that this is an exceptional bonsai, there is much that can be said and learned about Tamarix; as an invasive foreigner and a worthy subject for bonsai. The excellent description on Bonsai Mirai is well worth a look, as is what Wikipedia has to say about this intriguing plant. Go west middle aged man (woman) and anyone else While we’re on the subject, check out Ryan’s Defining Concept Courses. If you’re the ambitious type and you can create the time, you could head out to Portland and … Continue reading Time for Some Serious Bonsai Training

New American Masters at the Rim

I was struck by this large Ponderosa pine at the 3rd U.S. National Exhibition. It’s even bigger than it looks here and also has more depth and movement than this two dimensional representation shows. Still, you can get some idea of its natural power. It belongs to Ryan Neil. New American Masters show at the Pacific Rim Collection Michael Hagedorn and Ryan Neil both apprenticed in Japan where the term Master isn’t thrown around casually, and my guess is that neither of them is completely comfortable with it being used in reference to themselves. However, whatever term your choose, there’s … Continue reading New American Masters at the Rim