Rice for Five Years: The Life of a Bonsai Apprentice

Nice maple, even though the color in the photo is way too white. From Peter Tea’s post ‘Apprenticeship and a Japanese Maple.’ Loyalty, humility and inequality for 15,000 yen a month… Others have written about their bonsai apprenticeship in Japan (most notable is Michael Hagedorn’s most excellent and seriously funny: Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk) and now we have Peter Tea‘s genuine (and genuinely funny at times) new voice enriching the mix. I won’t say much more (Peter can speak quite well for himself), except to encourage you to pay a visit to Peter’s blog and especially … Continue reading Rice for Five Years: The Life of a Bonsai Apprentice

Mixed Maple Forest

This playful mixed Japanese bonsai forest is by Juan José Bueno Gil. Rare indeed You don’t see too many mixed bonsai forests, and my guess is that you’ve never seen one with this many varieties (above). They may all be the same species for sure (Acer palmatum), but they aren’t all the same. How many varieties can you count? We’ve shown this mixed forest in Bonsai Bark before. It’s one of my favorites (though it would be nice if the photo were larger). It’s from Saburo Kato’s Forest, Rock Planting & Ezo Spruce Bonsai (published by The National Bonsai Foundation … Continue reading Mixed Maple Forest

New Leaves & Broken Conventions

Spring! Japanese maple by Morten Albek, author of Majesty in Miniature: Shohin Bonsai. Could it really be? Today we are experiencing our first real taste of spring here in northern Vermont, though we’re still a ways from leaves and flowers (unlike in Denmark, where this little maple lives, and where it never gets real cold). A sweet little tree I don’t know what the variety is, but it’s obvious that this very sweet little bonsai is a Japanese maple. Even though the tree is very small, the nebari is quite strong and lends a feeling of both age and stability. … Continue reading New Leaves & Broken Conventions

That Natural Look

This popped up on Bonsai Mania from a photo of Roelof Jansen van Vuuren’s. It caught me because of its light airy feel and natural look. A small cut or two? This sweet Japanese maple (var?) planting reminds me a bit of the Sugar maples on the edge of my property. Sometimes I imagine them small and then start making mental cuts. These trees have the same effect on me; I wouldn’t mind grabbing my scissors and making a small cut or two. Especially on that long left branch on the tree on the right (I think I just disturbed … Continue reading That Natural Look

Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees

Forest on a slab from Bonsai Today issue 23. Though the photo is uncaptioned it looks like it could be an Ezo spruce forest by Saburo Kato. Slant style Japanese maple in fall color. From Bonsai Today issue 14. Artist unknown. This is one of a handful of outstanding Japanese winterberries (Ilex serrata) that pop up here and there in Bonsai Today. It’s from issue 14 (it appears on both the cover and inside, though with different backgrounds). Artist unknown. Trident maple forest from Bonsai Today issue 14. I counted 29 trees, though it’s difficult (if not impossible) to tell … Continue reading Bonsai Gallery: Five Magnificent Trees

Coming Soon: North American Bonsai at the International Bonsai Symposium

This splendid Japanese maple by Bill Valavanis is from the cover of International Bonsai’s special Maple Issue. Do you like North American trees? Larch, cedar, bald cypress, buttonwood, Rocky mountain juniper will be all featured September 10-12 in Rochester NY. Meet some excellent bonsai artists and teachers, take a couple workshops and go home happy (visit International Bonsai for details). Speaking of North American Bonsai… …the gallery book North American Bonsai is now double discounted at Stone Lantern. So is The 1st U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition Album.

Bonsai Art: Deshojo Japanese Maple

Deshojo Japanese maple by Bill Valavanis. It’s been Bill’s day in the sun lately with a successful 2nd U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition under his belt, so why not show another side of his talents? One thing that strikes me about this photo the are the five strong colors (black, vermillon, whitish, green and shades of blue) that stand in sharp contrast to each other. This play of colors in such high contrast, along with the simple beauty of the tree, leaves little doubt that bonsai, when done well, is elevated to pure art. Here’s something I grabbed off of facebook … Continue reading Bonsai Art: Deshojo Japanese Maple

Fifth Entry $100 Bonsai Art Contest

Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) by Mars Healey of the Greater Hartford Bonsai Society. Keep ’em coming We still need at least two more to make our minimum (I had to reject two that were just photos of trees). So ga’head and send us yours. Really! Contest details here Pirates At least one blog has been pirating our posts, lock stock and barrel; but without our links and without any attribution to bonsai bark, or Stone Lantern. If you are reading this on any website or blog that is not ours, and is not attributed to us, then it has been … Continue reading Fifth Entry $100 Bonsai Art Contest