NEW! Bonsai Embroidered T-Shirts

Brand new. Embroidered bonsai logo on all cotton black T-shirts. Kimura’s legendary formal upright Japanese white pine Long time bonsai embroidery maven Cindy Cones did a remarkable job of replicating Masahiko Kimura’s magnificent formal-upright Japanese white pine bonsai; probably the most distinctive, well-known formal-upright bonsai in the world. So distinctive and well-known that it appears in our Masters’ Series Pine book (2nd printing due in July), in The Magician, The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2 and on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 80. Discounted prices We’ve come up with new pricing formulas that are well below list prices on … Continue reading NEW! Bonsai Embroidered T-Shirts

Sculpting Deadwood

Francios Jeker‘s finger and dremel power carving tool. From Bonsai Today 105 (still available). It didn’t used to be this way Have you noticed how almost everybody carves deadwood these day? It wasn’t always the case. I just thumbed through Kyuzo Murata‘s classic Four Seasons of Bonsai (first edition 1991 and long out of print) and could find only 3 or 4 bonsai that had some carving (out of over 100 trees). The same goes if you look back through other older bonsai publications. New horizons Even though it’s overused, carving opens up whole new horizons for us bonsai hackers, … Continue reading Sculpting Deadwood

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

You Can Win Our $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest!

A close up of a large nursery stock plant that was transformed into a shohin (small bonsai) by Morten Albek (author of Majesty in Miniature, Shohin Bonsai), from Bonsai Today issue 107. Why you can win No one has entered yet. We’ve had a couple threats, but no one has sent us any photos of the raw stock yet. The contest is wide open. One suggestion Do what Morten Albek did. He took a relatively large nursery plant and cut it way down to make a small bonsai. That’s just one idea, but it’s a good one. Another suggestion Do … Continue reading You Can Win Our $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest!

Bonsai in the Bluegrass

June 16-19, 2011. This looks like a good one. If you are thinking about it, but not sure, check out the impressive list of visiting bonsai instructors. List of instructors with profiles Enrique Castano, Jim Doyle, Robert Kempinski, Min Hsuan Lo, Boon Manakitivipart, Jonathan Maples, Ryan Neil, Chiara Padrini, Doug Philips, Martin Schmalenberg, Andy Smith, John Thompson, Ed Trout, William Valavanis List your event here Just send us the information with a good image or two (72 dpi, 680 pixels wide). <wayne@stonelantern.com> Celtis (Hackberry) in fall color. By Min Hsuan Lo, one of the symposium’s headliners. Min has been featured … Continue reading Bonsai in the Bluegrass

$1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest

Though I don’t think it was done in one season, still this Dwarf Kingsville boxwood is a pretty good example of a bonsai from nursery stock. So good in fact, that it appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 107. It’s by Michael Persiano. The stakes have risen in our Bonsai from Scratch Contest In a moment of weakness we changed the first prize from $250.00 to $400 and added another $600 worth of prizes. We figured you wouldn’t mind. The prizes First prize $400 gift certificate to Stone Lantern Second prize $250 gift certificate to Stone Lantern Third … Continue reading $1,000 Bonsai from Scratch Contest

Mystery Tree: Win $25 Gift Certificate

Stable and wild all at once. This tree has to be one of the most perfect and powerful bonsai around. The highly refined look of its massive crown, combined with its huge, wild nebari and trunk (twin trunks actually) and its almost static sense of stability, make for a mesmerizing bonsai. Win a $25 gift certificate to Stone Lantern Be the first to properly identify the owner (artist), the species, where this photo was taken and the name of the photographer (if you are the photographer, please do not enter this contest), and you’ll win a $25.00 gift certificate to … Continue reading Mystery Tree: Win $25 Gift Certificate

The Evolution of a Honeysuckle

Morten Albek’s now famous shohin Boxleaf honeysuckle as it appeared in the 2010 Danish Bonsai Exhibition where it was part of Morten’s winning shohin display (see below). Morten is the author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai (Stone Lantern publishing) and creator of the Shohin-Bonsai Europe website. Here’s how it looked when it appeared on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 105 six years ago. Same pot, but if you compare this with it’s later incarnation above (disregarding that this photo’s is much sharper) you’ll see a tree is maturing in a very positive direction. Moten’s winning display. In case … Continue reading The Evolution of a Honeysuckle

Plan Ahead for Our Next Big Contest

Simon Carr styled this little gem from scratch (see below) for an artofbonsai.org contest way back in 2005. It later appeared in Bonsai Today issue 103 in an article entitled ‘Instant Bonsai’ (I’d like to see what it looks like now). Bonsai from Scratch It’s time to get start thinking about your entry in our upcoming Bonsai from Scratch Contest. We’re going to make it worth your while with a $250 Stone Lantern gift certificate for the winner and other gifts for outstanding entries. Five easy steps to get you started 1. Find an untrained stock plant. Your choice of … Continue reading Plan Ahead for Our Next Big Contest

Bill’s Bonsai & Stone Lantern’s Sale

I don’t think there are very many genuine Tokonomas in North America. Of the few I’ve seen, this is one of the very best. The funky curvy wood on the right and the wildly voluptuous wisteria contrast perfectly with the formality of the rest of the display. For your enjoyment Bill Valavanis of International Bonsai recently posted a series of excellent photos on facebook. We’ve included a few for you to enjoy. You can view them all here. Also for your enjoyment Stone Lantern (that’s us) is having a wild and woolly book sale and Bonsai Today sale right now. … Continue reading Bill’s Bonsai & Stone Lantern’s Sale