Still Sleeping at the Switch

Do you recognize this award winning Shimpaku juniper? It appears in Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature (and older version is in the gallery of our Masters Series Juniper book). It belongs to Masahiko Kimura. The photo is by Jonathan Singer, as are all three photos in this post and all of the photos in Fine Bonsai. The three trees shown here are all from a review of the book Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature, that appears at Smithsonian.com. We were alerted to the review by Matt Calcavecchia in the comments on a recent post (scroll down to the last tree … Continue reading Still Sleeping at the Switch

Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

Fine Bonsai. The vividly photographed Japanese maple with its outrageous nebari, luminous leaves and tunnel that allows you to see into its midsection, is from the uniquely powerful and soulful new gallery book, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature (cover photo below). This tree resides at the Shunka-en Bonsai Museum in Tokyo. No artist’s name is mentioned. Commercialism? No! (well maybe just a little) I hope that you’ve noticed that we keep a safe distance from too much shameless commercialism here on Bonsai Bark (our newsletter is another story). However, it’s that time of year, when lots of goods and money … Continue reading Gifts for Bonsai Lovers

The Finest of the Fine

This luminous Tensho Satsuki Azalea belongs to Joseph Noga of Winterville, NC. You can find it and the other photos in this post, in Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. The finest of the fine It’s not that these are the finest bonsai in the world and it’s not that they aren’t either. It’s more the combination of top quality bonsai and top quality photography has resulted in some of the finest bonsai photos you’ll see anywhere. In this vein, it’s important to bear in mind that these digital images, though very good, are inadequate. For the full effect and for … Continue reading The Finest of the Fine

A Fine (and Great) New Book

Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature is now available at Stone Lantern. One of the most astounding books… This morning Andy Rutledge sent me his well considered and well written review of one of the most astounding books I’ve ever seen. So rather than subjecting you to my same old prose once again, let’s try a fresh voice for a change (note, you can see Andy’s entire review on his Bonsai Journal … you might also enjoy visiting a more multifaceted Andy here). Andy Rutledge’s review When my copy of Fine Bonsai arrived I almost dropped it as the delivery man … Continue reading A Fine (and Great) New Book