A Magnificent Monster & Bjorn’s Online Bonsai Course

The magnificent monster was sent to us by Oscar at Bonsai Empire. It’s part of a package about Bjorn Bjorholm’s upcoming online intermediate bonsai course. This post is not so much about this tree above (or the others shown here) as it is about an upcoming online bonsai course by Bjorn Bjorholm. However, I will assume a connection… that Bjorn at some point had a hand and scissors in them all. He has been fortunate in that regard; his six plus years of apprenticeship under the famous Bonsai master Keiichi Fujikawa afforded countless opportunities to advance his hard earned skills … Continue reading A Magnificent Monster & Bjorn’s Online Bonsai Course

Bonsai & Brad Pitt

Brad Bjorn posing with an impressive (Stewartia?) bonsai. From an article in Architectural Digest titled “Meet the Brad Pitt of Bonsai.” Still looking after my grand kids (and enjoying this fog-shrouded City by the Bay while they’re in school), so to save time and trouble we’ll borrow from our archives. This one appeared last December. We don’t usually feature photos of people. I almost always find people in bonsai photos distracting. Rather than ‘look at me with my beautiful bonsai,’ I prefer ‘look at this beautiful bonsai.’ However, occasionally photos of people with trees work. In this case, because the … Continue reading Bonsai & Brad Pitt

Wild & Wonderful Bonsai, but No Tanuki Please

A couple things qualify this bonsai as unusual. First, as you can see, it’s got all kind of lines looping and jutting in an almost chaotic fashion. But there’s a method to the madness. All the loops and juts not only add interest and excitement, but they come together in a way that creates both balance and tension. Second is the fact that it’s a Procumbens juniper. A species that you don’t see that often as specimen level bonsai. You do see a lot of dwarf Procumbens as little beginners’ trees here in north America, but that’s another story. Yesterday’s … Continue reading Wild & Wonderful Bonsai, but No Tanuki Please

It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons

This Itoigawa shimpaku juniper won the Finest Medium Size Bonsai prize at the 4th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (September 2014). Though it looks larger, its height is only 12″ (30.5 cm). It belongs to Troy Schmidt of Asheville North Carolina. Though I don’t know this tree’s whole story, I do know that both Boon Manakitivipart and Bjorn Bjorholm have worked on it (it takes a village of bonsai artists and patrons). The photo above is from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook feed. The other photos in this post (except the very last one) are from a 2012 workshop that Boon hosted. It’s … Continue reading It Takes a Village of Bonsai Artists & Patrons

Another Immense Bonsai

This photo of what can only be described as a massive Sabina juniper was taken at Bonsaisense in Mallorca Spain, after two days of skillful transformation by Bjorn Bjorholm (and algunos amigos). Flashback. When I first glimpsed the tree above, I thought we were back at the Artisans Cup. I think this connection has a lot to do with this tree’s size and spread and just how many impressively large trees there were at the Cup. In case you wondering, the size of a bonsai isn’t what makes it worthy or not worthy. Still, size does add dramatic effect. Especially … Continue reading Another Immense Bonsai

Wildly Expressive Bonsai

Blown up and a little fuzzy, but still… astounding! Some days you just get lucky. Yesterday I stumbled across the wildly expressive bonsai you see here. It was posted by John Romano (of Kaikou School of Bonsai fame). Here’s what John wrote about it: “One of my favorite shohin bonsai. Owned by a private collector in South Korea (bought in Japan). My good Japanese friend maintains this person’s trees. The owner is a collector and doesn’t show his trees (doesn’t care!) but has fabulous trees bought mostly in Japan. Is it really shohin? I don’t care! love it! Recent posts by … Continue reading Wildly Expressive Bonsai

Crazy Shimpaku Bonsai

One of several great Shimpaku junipers from a post by Bjorn Bjorholm. I picked this one in part because of the little curlycue jin (dead branch) hanging down. I’ve seen plenty of other intriguing jins, but this one is so distinctive and in a place so prominent that it comes close to stealing the show (in spite of the light background that diminishes its effect, and in spite of the many other wonders of this tree). We’re busy around here, but we’re still trying to post everyday. So, it’s the archives again. This one is from April 2014. I picked … Continue reading Crazy Shimpaku Bonsai

Coffee, Bonsai & Something for the Season

Trident maple at the 2013 Taikan-ten Exhibition. There’s a lot going on with the tree; three major trunks and a baby one sticking out the back, a large mounding nebari and a whole lot of movement. I particularly like the trunk on the right that emerges from the base of the nebari (the base of the base). I borrowed the photo from Bjorn Bjorholm. The color seems a bit off, but you still get the drift. It’s a busy time when catching up seems even less likely than usual. One solution is to delve back into our archives. This one … Continue reading Coffee, Bonsai & Something for the Season

Bonsai Shape, Texture, Color, Density, Leaves, Trunk, Bark, Deadwood, Size, Pot, Overall Feel & More

Bjorn’s caption for this photo says: Shimpaku Juniper, great day’s work in AL. A mystery, but only for a moment. With just a little nosing around, we came up with Brian Van Fleet’s Itoigawa shimpaku. This photo and the others in this post are from Bjorn Bjorholm’s facebook feed. One thing you might notice about the three trees shown here is just how different they are. From each other, and in the case of the bottom two, from most other bonsai. Not different in terms of the five main traditional styles (two of them fall into the informal upright style), … Continue reading Bonsai Shape, Texture, Color, Density, Leaves, Trunk, Bark, Deadwood, Size, Pot, Overall Feel & More

Mastering Worlds, Exploring Bonsai & Tribal Art

This ‘living room’ shot (cropped from a larger photo below) is actually a part of an important art exhibition titled Mastering Worlds; Exploring Space and Scale in Tribal and Asiatic Art that is taking place in NYC this weekend. Not too long ago there was a debate in the Western bonsai community about whether bonsai should be recognized as an art. Fortunately, that debate has been put to rest (for most of us, at least). Bonsai at its best qualifies as art in every sense of the word. Now to get the rest of the world and particularly the art world … Continue reading Mastering Worlds, Exploring Bonsai & Tribal Art