Almost Incomprehensibly Thick

A picture is worth a thousand words. What better way to lend a little perspective to what turns out to be an almost incomprehensibly massive trunk with almost incomprehensibly thick bark? It’s from a Peter Tea post titled ‘The Return of the King.’ See below for a couple more photos and some info on this classic tree. Way back in January 2009, we introduced Bonsai Bark with a photo of, believe it or not, bonsai bark (see below). At the time I thought it was a pretty good shot, at least until I saw the photo above. Too late to … Continue reading Almost Incomprehensibly Thick

Bonsai Conspiracies

This strange and wonderful monster resides at Ryan Neil’s International Bonsai Mirai, but the photo is from Aarin Packard’s Capital Bonsai blog. Most of Aarin’s posts are from the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, but this one is from a recent visit to Bonsai Mirai. Conspiracies? I probably should have titled this ‘what happens when bonsai artists visit each other’ but my guess is Bonsai Conspiracies got your attention. No matter, it was inspired by four notable bonsai artist/bloggers getting together (in two sets of two). Artisans Cup postponed until 2015. There’s another theme at play here; two of artists … Continue reading Bonsai Conspiracies

Monster Bonsai

A Halloween monster (trunk, that is). It’s not that often you see a tree with such a powerfully thick trunk, especially when you consider its size relative to the rest of the tree. According to Mareta Marrtell (facebook), it’s a 50 year old Kuromatsu (Japanese black pine ) that was grown from seed. Mareta says the photo is via sgforums.com. I tried that address, but came up empty. I did find a bonsai gallery at The Singapore Penjing and Stone Appreciation Society as a result of a search using s g forums, but couldn’t find this tree. In any case, … Continue reading Monster Bonsai

Deadwood, More Deadwood & A Beautiful Weekend

Deadwood! Two weeks ago we featured a couple of Serge Clemence’ bonsai in a post on deadwood. I guess the reason I didn’t include this Mugo pine in that post is because Serge has so many trees with powerful deadwood. Still…. More deadwood! I found this powerful tree on Bonsai Tonight. It’s from the Redwood Empire Bonsai Society‘s 29th annual show that took place in Santa Rosa CA recently. When you see a tree like this and others in the show, it’s hard not to be struck by just how far north American bonsai has come in few short … Continue reading Deadwood, More Deadwood & A Beautiful Weekend

Bonsai Tonight Visits Picasso

Dan Robinson, famous bonsai innovator and owner of Elandan Gardens, gives 1,500 as the year of origin for this wild Ponderosa pine. Photo by Jonas Dupuich of Bonsai Tonight. The Picasso of Bonsai According to Will Hiltz, the author and publisher of Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees, it was Frank Okimura who first referred to Dan Robinson as the Picasso of Bonsai. I think these photos and the photos in Gnarly Branches make a pretty good case for that name. Another title that fits is Dan is Bonsai Pioneer (also from Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees). The natural in naturalistic The notion … Continue reading Bonsai Tonight Visits Picasso

Bonsai Blogs: A Quick Web Journey

Mystery tree. It’s from Peter Warren’s latest post on his Suruyama blog. Unmentioned, unnamed and the brightest spot in the post. A quick journey around the bonsai web Though we often feature photos from other bonsai blogs, this type of sampling is something new for Bonsai Bark. I suspect you’ll see more in the future. Meanwhile, please don’t feel insulted if your favorite blog isn’t included. No attempt has been made to cover them all, or even search out the very best. Just stuff that caught my attention at the moment. If you know any you’d like to see here, … Continue reading Bonsai Blogs: A Quick Web Journey

A Magnificent Bonsai with a Strange & Wonderful Shari

Hanging out. Or just hanging in? I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a shari quite like this one; it seems to be floating in the opening of the sabamiki (trunk’s hollow). Still, I think this would be a wonderful tree even without the shari; the sabamiki, the nebari and the superbly textured bark all create a powerful sense of age and character. I found both photos shown here at Michael Bonsai. They are originally from Bonsai Tonight. Does the shari draw your attention to, or distract from, an otherwise magnificent trunk? What would happen if you removed the shari … Continue reading A Magnificent Bonsai with a Strange & Wonderful Shari

The Twist & Other Bonsai Eccentricities

Doing the twist. We’ve featured a few of these corkscrew types lately (all Shimpaku junipers), but this one takes the cake. Even though there’s something unnatural about many of these twisted bonsai, some work better than others and I’d put this one in that category. BTW: nature sometimes does twist trees in this manner, but I’m not so sure you’d find ones with this many twists growing naturally. Photo by Jonas Dupuich of Bonsai Tonight. Pines and junipers at Meifu-ten All of the photos in this post have been lifted from a post on Bonsai Tonight titled Pines and junipers … Continue reading The Twist & Other Bonsai Eccentricities

Taxus Time & Missing Comments

After. Mario Komsta with Pete Carino and Bonsais Del Sur. Here’s Mario’s website for those of you who aren’t facebook friends. Mario Again? We (that’s me) tend to go on rolls around here. A couple years ago it seemed like every other post was about Michael Hagedorn’s bonsai. Then it was Bonsai Tonight. And of course there’s always Robert Steven (I reckon he appears in more of our posts than anyone). Not that these folks are the only ones that reoccur; when you post exclusively about bonsai three to four times a week for over three years you, recycling is … Continue reading Taxus Time & Missing Comments

Bringing the Magic Up To Date

After. From a demo by Masahiko Kimura at the 11 ASPAC. (Asia Pacific Bonsai & Suiseki Convention) in Takamatsu Japan. It helps to start with great stock. It also helps to be Masahiko Kimura. Photo by Jonas Dupuich (Bonsai Tonight). Still magic after all these years Just in case might think that the not-so-old Master has lost his touch. It does help to start with great stock, but taking that great stock to the next level requires vision and a deft touch. Especially when the next level is accomplish in a single demonstration. Japanese demos and Western demos The photos … Continue reading Bringing the Magic Up To Date