Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

This Itoigawa Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis ‘itoigawa’) by Dougie Smith qualifies as opulent for sure. Outrageous? Well there is that huge rock jutting up from the skinny little (but very handsome) pot. As for outstanding; that goes without saying. Note: I don’t know what the smaller trees down low are. Maybe azaleas? Myrtle? This photo and the others in this post are by Philippe Massard, though I cropped them all to bring the trees closer. A quick two day vacation and another dip into our archives. This one is from February 2014. I picked it to show a second time, primarily … Continue reading Still Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

There Are No Rules (but What About Guidelines?)

Same tree, better photo. The original caption from a post two years ago started with: “Snakes. From Estação Bonsai on Facebook. I couldn’t find any mention of the artist….” We were none the wiser until someone offered this in the comments: “The first sabina juniper you mention is from Patrick Cremers..” Once we had a name it was easy to find the new photo (the original is below). However, I can’t tell if Patrick is the artist, the photographer, or just someone who posted this photo (confused yet?). Here’s a link if you’d like to explore further. We’re a little … Continue reading There Are No Rules (but What About Guidelines?)

Comparisons Are Odious, But Still…

European black pine (Pinus nigra) by Mauro Stemberger. I took the liberty to crop this photo (the uncropped version is below) and to brighten it up a bit (the other photos in this post too). All of the photos here are from The Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. The bonsai shown here all appeared at the 2014 Noelanders Trophy in Belgium. The photos were taken from The Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. They represent a small sampling of Sandor’s Noelander’s photos. Whenever I see photos of the some of the best European bonsai I can’t help but compare them with … Continue reading Comparisons Are Odious, But Still…

A Fascinating Mix of Insight & Opinion

Unfinished, but wild and wonderful. I wonder what this Scot’s pine bunjin beauty looked like before it was collected somewhere in the wilds of Sweden. It belongs to Muaro Stemberger. It’s from his facebook page. Mauro also has a website. It’s called Italian Bonsai Dream. Traveling once again, so we’ll resume our archival explorations. This one, originally titled Bunjin Bonsai Bliss is from October, 2011 (with some current editing and elaboration), though any Bark discussion of Bunjin warrants a mention of Moving Out of the Bonsai Mainstream with a Deft and Delicate Touch (from December 2012), whose comments are the longest … Continue reading A Fascinating Mix of Insight & Opinion

It’s All About Yew

The powerful tree with its heavy flowing deadwood (it reminds me of melting wax) and luscious reddish bark is truly wonderful, but then there’s that little companion too. Have you ever seen a piece of deadwood used as a bonsai companion? This Taxus (yew) and charming little piece of deadwood belong to Mauro Stemberger. The pot is a Tokoname. On the road again today, so we’ll go ahead and borrow from our archives once again. This one originally appeared in December 2012. Species specific series. I’ve been thinking about starting a species specific series (in this case it’s actually genus … Continue reading It’s All About Yew

Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

This Itoigawa Shimpaku (Juniperus chinensis ‘itoigawa’) by Dougie Smith qualifies as opulent for sure. Outrageous? Well there is that huge rock jutting up from the skinny little (but very handsome) pot. As for outstanding; that goes without saying. Note: I don’t know what the smaller trees down low are. Maybe azaleas? Myrtle? This photo and the others in this post are by Philippe Massard, though I cropped them all to bring the trees closer. All the photos in this post are from the Noelanders Trophy XV which was recently held in Belgium. The photos are all borrowed from Philippe Massard … Continue reading Opulent, Outrageous & Outstanding

The Trend Only Gets More Outrageous

Snakes. From Estação Bonsai on Facebook. I couldn’t find any mention of the artist and even though I don’t like to show trees without attribution, just couldn’t pass this one up (there’s another from Estação, below). The old rules of bonsai, if they ever really existed, were broken as soon as they were made and the trend only gets more outrageous (in whatever sense you prefer: out·ra·geous: shockingly bad or excessive, wildly exaggerated or improbable, very bold, unusual, and startling). As you can see, this common Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) belongs to Harry Harrington (Harry on facebook and Harry’s famous … Continue reading The Trend Only Gets More Outrageous

Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer…

Japanese yew with one thin live vein and lots of great deadwood. From Mauro Stemberger’s Italian Dream website. Mauro Stemberger is something of force in European and world bonsai. He usually starts with excellent stock and ends with even better bonsai. This is not not the first time we’ve featured Mauro’s bonsai and it won’t be the last. For more, here’s Mauro’s website and here he is on facebook. In the artist’s own words… “Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bad a little longer…” The Snake. We’ve shown this famous Scot’s pine before, but … Continue reading Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer…

Looking Into the Bonsai Future

This dramatic photo of one of Robert Steven’s masterful bonsai was borrowed from the Internet Bonsai Club. It’s our first taste of what promises to be a remarkable event (see below for some details). FREE ADVERTISING! Would you like to see your bonsai event featured here? If so, just send me a notice with a link to the event. That’s it. But remember, no link, no show. My email is wayne@stonelantern.com. You might also want to mention the event (with or without a link) in the comments below. There are no graphics for this Lake Charles Bonsai Society calendar, but … Continue reading Looking Into the Bonsai Future

Scots Pine: One Artist, Four Trees

The Dancer by Mauro Stemberger. Mauro’s facebook caption reads: Never give up !!!! Swedish scots pine “The Dancer.” You can see that Mauro is planning a new planting angle and most likely a new pot. You might imagine a bunjin type pot (shallow, round, maybe a little rough…). Good Scots pine bonsai (Pinus sylvestris) are easier to find than good Austrian black pine (Pinus nigra) bonsai. For example, a quick search turned up all four Scots pines shown here in just one person’s collection; the omnipresent Mauro Stemberger. We could easily do the same with Walter Pall and perhaps some … Continue reading Scots Pine: One Artist, Four Trees