Grotesque? Or Alive & Absolutely Awesome?

Here’s part of what Juan Andrade wrote about this highly unusual Trident maple… “4 generations in the making, 120+ years old… this tree was started by my Oyakata’s great grandfather…. Nowadays its very hard to find ‘Miyasama’ Trident maple of this caliper in Japan…. This Miyasama encompasses a lot about Aichien deciduous style: power, ramification, age and uniqueness.” See below for your link to Juan’s untruncated quote. I suppose I need to get over my ideas about what is and isn’t grotesque. At lease when it comes to nebari. After all, highly respected bonsai artists – mostly Japanese – seem … Continue reading Grotesque? Or Alive & Absolutely Awesome?

Dancing on the Edge of Balance

Juan Andrade’s precariously balanced Japanese white pine stone planting. If I understand the translation from Spanish, the stone is not bolted, glued or tied down in any way. Though when someone asked if it is stable in the wind, Juan replied “Yes, the stone is very heavy. But still it is tied down for safety.” This photo was cropped. The uncropped original is below.* Here is what the artist Juan Andrade said about the rock planting above: “Sometimes as artists we struggle to find our own voice… Bonsai that dance in the edge of balance satisfy me the most. I … Continue reading Dancing on the Edge of Balance

Staying on Message: A Few More Tips on Defoliation

Here’s Juan Adrade’s English caption for this photo. “Partial defolation on one of the grandfather trees. Close to 100 yrs old.” Here’s his Spanish caption: “Defoliación de las ramas exteriores en uno de los tridentes del abuelo de mi maestro. Este arbol posiblemente se acerca a los 100 años.” Here’s our translation of the Spanish: “Defoliation of the exterior branches of one of my teacher’s Trident maples. This tree is probably about 100 years old.” You might notice the part about exterior branches in the Spanish. This would indicate that Juan is trying to redirect energy away from the outer … Continue reading Staying on Message: A Few More Tips on Defoliation

Nothing but Eat, Sleep and Bonsai for Two Weeks

In Jeremiah Lee’s own words … “Here are a couple trees that Juan recently worked on. I got to see him clean up and style this bad ass twisty Shimpaku.” From Jeremiah’s two week apprenticeship at Aichi-En Bonsai Nursery. Juan is Juan Andrade, a soon to be famous international bonsai artist (if he isn’t famous already). This and the other photos in this post are by Jeremiah. I’ve been a fan of Jeremiah Lee’s Yenling Bonsai blog for a while now (here’s an earlier Bark post that owes its existence to Jeremiah). Not only does Jeremiah take very good photos, but … Continue reading Nothing but Eat, Sleep and Bonsai for Two Weeks

Time and the Ravages of Nature

This after photo by Juan Andrade is a very good example of a field grown bonsai that is grown and styled to look like a yamadori (bonsai collected frm the wild). Though this is a very sweet little tree that might at a glance fool someone, still, there is something about true yamadori that is impossible (almost impossible?) to mimic. Even in the hands of someone as skilled as Juan (and whoever originally grew and styled this tree). This post picks up on Field Grown Bonsai that Look Like Yamadori from last week. Here’s the before photo. You don’t have … Continue reading Time and the Ravages of Nature

Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Here’s Juan Adrade’s caption for this photo. “Partial defolation on one of the grandfather trees. Close to 100 yrs old (Defoliación de las ramas exteriores en uno de los tridentes del abuelo de mi maestro. Este arbol posiblemente se acerca a los 100 años).” All the photos in this post are from a series of photos on Juan’s facebook feed. Facebook is great if you like photos of children, animals or glassy eyed people over eating at restaurants. If you’re lucky and you have the right friends, you might find good photos of quality bonsai. However, it’s somewhat unusual to … Continue reading Defoliación del Abuelo (Defoliating Grandfather)

Playing It Cool

This freshly defoliated monster Trident maple was just posted on facebook by Juan Andrade, who happens to be the guilty party (see below). We’ve featured Juan here on Bark several times. My best guess is this won’t be last time either. Two monsters. The only thing the connects these two trees, at least as far as I know, is that they are both remarkably large. And very cool too. Two things jump right out about the Trident maple above: its remarkably massive trunk, the base of which almost fills the entire pot, and its most excellent taper (good movement too … Continue reading Playing It Cool

Before, During and After

After. A very unusual tree with three trunks merging into one thicker trunk (you can just see a small piece of the third trunk). You could say the reviled RT word (reverse taper) but who cares? By Juan Andrade. From facebook. Just couldn’t pass this one up. This Japanese white pine transformation is so unusual and the result so striking and unique, that… well, you can see for yourself. The artist, Juan Andrade is one of a whole host of young apprentices who are studying or have studied in Japan. At least one other bonsai by Juan has appeared on … Continue reading Before, During and After