Good News for Bonsai Art & Culture

A good example of the kind of results Cheng Cheng Kung gets with his Sidiao method. Hint: it’s the deadwood. We just heard that Cheng Cheng Kung has confirmed to be one of the demonstrators at Robert Steven’s International Bonsai Art & Culture Biennal 2014. This is good news indeed for those of us who are planning on attending (here’s the registration form if you haven’t gotten around to it yet). Just in case you don’t know Cheng Cheng Kung, here’s the short version: Mr Cheng is one of the most famous bonsai artists in the world and the creator of … Continue reading Good News for Bonsai Art & Culture

Great Pots Deserve Great Trees

Malpigia glabra (Barbados cherry) by Hsieh, Cheng-Hua. Still traveling so we’ll borrow one more from our archives (April 2011). In keeping with the last post, we’ll stick with Taiwanese bonsai. More Taiwanese Bonsai Here are three more bonsai from the 2008 Taiwan Bonsai Creators Exhibition booklet which appears on Bonsai Shari Si-Diao, Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s website. It’s the pots, as well the trees, that really grabbed me. Ficus microcarpa by Huang,Ching-Chi. Variety unlisted. By Tung, Wen Chi. Yixing Bonsai pots are available at Stone Lantern

It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

Unless you know the whole story (see below), you’d swear that this dynamic bonsai is an ancient yamadori (tree collected from the wild). But actually it’s a field grown Taiwanese juniper whose time on earth (so far) is measures in decades rather than centuries. The bonsai artist is the highly accomplished Mr Cheng, Cheng-Kung of Taiwan (you can see a spinning version on his website). The owner is Mr. Hsu,Lung-Fa. Though we have many friends and fellow bonsai lovers who to take the time and trouble to write comments, perhaps our favorite is Jose Luis Rodriquez. Jose Luis is a … Continue reading It Only Looks Like a Yamadori…

Silk Carving & Some of the Best Bonsai in the World

I believe we’ve shown this remarkable tree before, but it’s worth another shot. It’s easy to be impressed by a tree like this; it’s massive girth and equally massive spread alone compel our attention. But there’s more of course; the strong nebari that helps create an overall sense of stability and balance, the texture and movement of the trunk and lower branches, the lush thick canopy with just enough open space to keep it from being too heavy, and so on. Altogether a world-class bonsai. This tree and the rest in this post are by Cheng, Cheng-Kung, a world-class bonsai … Continue reading Silk Carving & Some of the Best Bonsai in the World