Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer is back in print! We’ve been waiting for this wonderful, ground breaking book to come back into print for a long time. Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is surely one of the most important and beautiful bonsai books ever published. Will Hiltz, author and photographer elevates the art of book making, and Dan Robinson, bonsai artist and master, elevates the art of collecting, growing and styling bonsai. Dan Robinson’s approach is uniquely his own and shows profound respect for trees, nature, art; the whole process that we … Continue reading Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Back Budding – Feed Your Bonsai!

This shohin Carpinus coreana (Korean hornbeam) by Mario Komsta has appeared here on Bark before. As a companion plant no less (see below). No problem though. Any tree this good deserves to be shown more than once. As a companion or by itself. You might wonder why we’re headlining a dormant tree in mid-summer. Well, it’s a great tree and it goes with this post which has appeared twice already here on Bark (with some value added each time). I have been trying to get a few of my trees to back bud lately. So far to no avail. But … Continue reading Back Budding – Feed Your Bonsai!

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Bonsai News Flash!

We featured this dramatic Sierra juniper here on Bark back in January. This time though, after a long journey from the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai, it’s made the national bonsai news. We just got an email announcement from The Pacific Bonsai Museum: Here it is, almost word for word: “The Pacific Bonsai Museum proudly announces its first acquisition, a Sierra Juniper by rising bonsai artist Ryan Neil of St. Helens, Oregon. The acquisition was made possible by a generous gift from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. Here’s a link to the press release for … Continue reading Bonsai News Flash!

More Bonsai Color & a Snake About to Strike

This is one of those azaleas that would look good even without the flowers. Speaking of the flowers, I suspect the photo has been shopped a bit as the color is a little too bright. You can find this and the other four photos shown here (along with a couple dozen others) at the Akademia Bonsai web gallery. We’ve been featuring a lot of color lately, especially Satsuki azaleas in bloom and the response has been very positive, so here are a couple more azaleas for your enjoyment and some fall color as well (apologies for those of you who … Continue reading More Bonsai Color & a Snake About to Strike

Walter’s Fairy Tale Bonsai

Walter Pall just put this Oriental Hornbeam up on his Bonsai Adventures blog yesterday. I’m not so sure Walter would say the tree is as developed as he’d like, but it is at least well on its way. Especially considering it is one of his ‘Fairy Tale’ bonsai. A style that tends to have a wild almost primeval look. Walter Pall is nothing if not inventive. Don’t believe me (though I don’t know why you wouldn’t)? Here, here and here are a some pieces of evidence from posts found right here on Bonsai Bark. If you want more evidence, you … Continue reading Walter’s Fairy Tale Bonsai

Bonsai Ramification and a Leap of Convoluted Logic

This Japanese hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora) is from Bonsai Art’s facebook photos (from issue 129 of their magazine). I’ll let you provide your own superlatives. No artist’s name is provided on facebook or in the magazine for either of the trees shown here, but I’d bet they’re Japanese. Last week we did a post on ramification which states the following: “the thing that most separates Japanese bonsai from much of the bonsai in the West is refinement. With deciduous trees this is most obvious when you look at ramification (branch structure and particularly fine branch structure).” Based on the source (Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Ramification and a Leap of Convoluted Logic

Komsta Bonsai

Calligraphy anyone? I don’t know if calligraphy was on Mario Komsta’s mind when he styled this remarkable tree. I do know that there was a time when bonsai that looked like calligraphy was popular and that many scholars agree that bonsai was, in part at least, inspired by the calligraphy of the old Chinese masters (this is especially true of bunjin style bonsai). Of course you could say that nature created the long calligraphic stroke that helps make this tree so unique, but we don’t know what Mario removed or otherwise changed to enhance the effect. We’ve been featuring the … Continue reading Komsta Bonsai

Developing Fine Branching on Deciduous Bonsai

This Hornbeam by Mario Komsta has appeared on Bonsai Bark in a number of incarnations. Though it does appear even more ramified in later photos (see below), still, this particular stage in its development shows a pretty good example of ramification on a deciduous bonsai, while maintaining an overall sense of proportion. In the photo below, the branching almost overwhelms the trunk, while in this photo, it serves as a perfect counterpoint that emphasizes the power of the trunk. Nice choice of pots too. Continuing our mid-summer semi-vacation, I’m taking the easy way out once again. This post is drawn … Continue reading Developing Fine Branching on Deciduous Bonsai

Ramificato ad Extremo

An exercise in extreme ramification. Mario Komsta’s latest photo of his now famous Hornbeam (Carpinus laxiflora). The three photos below are earlier stages of the same tree. All have been featured on Bonsai Bark and at least two in Mario’s facebook photos. Fine ramification can be the difference between average and exceptional bonsai The photos in this post provide a chronology of a Hornbeam that belongs to Mario Komsta. Though there is much to say about this magnificent bonsai, it’s the fine ramification (branching) that I find the most compelling (taking absolutely nothing away from the trunk’s stupendous base). In … Continue reading Ramificato ad Extremo