Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

Only Mother Nature. There is no way anyone will ever grow a tree quite like this magnificently wild Rocky Mountain juniper. Taking this a step further, there is almost no way anyone will ever be able to collect and style a tree like this, though there are a handful of people who have the requisite skills and knowledge. In this case, it’s a combination of two who share the skills and knowledge: Randy Knight* found it, collected it and made sure it survived the trauma, and Ryan Neil styled it, potted it and currently keeps it alive and well at … Continue reading Bonsai Mirai, Yamadori & Why You Should Visit Portand this September

What You Do to the Land You Do to Yourself – An Indepth Discussion with Andy Smith on Collecting Wild Bonsai

Rocky Mountain Juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) collected by Andrew (aka Andy) Smith and first styled by Walter Pall. It would hard to find a better pair for the job. Andy (Golden Arrow Bonsai) is a professional forester, master collector of wild bonsai and a bonsai artist in his own rite, and Walter Pall is a world famous bonsai artist, teacher, trouble maker (in the positive sense of course) and owner of a very impressive bonsai collection. The photograph is by Walter. My apologies for the fuzz. It’s the result of dramatically increasing the image size. On balance I think this size … Continue reading What You Do to the Land You Do to Yourself – An Indepth Discussion with Andy Smith on Collecting Wild Bonsai

If It Ain’t Fun, It Ain’t Bonsai

This Black Hill Spruce belongs to Andy Smith. As you may have guessed the tree was collected in the Black Hills of South Dakota. By Andy. He estimates that it’s 150-175 years old. The stone was also belongs to Andy. You can find this image and all but one of the other images in this post on Andy’s Golden Arrow Bonsai website. Golden Arrow Bonsai is Andrew Smith (aka Andy), though he no doubt enjoys some help from friends and family. Andrew is a bonsai artist and professional woodsman who specializes in collecting trees from nature. If you would like … Continue reading If It Ain’t Fun, It Ain’t Bonsai

Never Finished & Not Exactly Faint Praise

This Rocky Mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum) with its delightful deadwood and fluid movement was collected by Tony Cardoza and styled by Michael Hagedorn. Here’s Michael’s caption: “Finished tree. Or as my friends remind me, ‘No, not finished, that’s a dead tree!’ It’s quite alive. The tree is 24″ high, 31″ wide. The left lower branch is the key branch so it will need to grow out a bit. Left flow. In fact all the branches need length, as it looks like a small tree on top of a large base. I hope I’ve set things approximately right so there will … Continue reading Never Finished & Not Exactly Faint Praise

Rocky Mountain Juniper High

Dazzling deadwood. I think I see a live vein on the left edge of the trunk. Otherwise, this spectacular old specimen is a study in deadwood (with a little rebar thrown into the mix). It’s a Rocky Mountain juniper. The artist and owner is Ryan Neil, International Bonsai Mirai. The tree was originally collected by Andy Smith of Golden Arrow Bonsai (Stone Lantern offers Andy’s excellent DVD on collecting bonsai). Intenational Bonsai Mirai has a great little back story on this intriguing old tree. More daring high quality bonsai Every time I visit Ryan Neil’s International Bonsai Mirai website something … Continue reading Rocky Mountain Juniper High

Stealing from Michael Once Again: Matt Reel & Other Bonsai News

Matt Reel. Another American apprentice in Japan. From Kinbon magazine via Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai. Japan’s most prestigious I don’t think it’s very often that a young American bonsai apprentice shows up in Kinbon, Japan’s most prestigious bonsai magazine. The artist is Matt Reel, who has been apprenticing in Japan under Shinji Suzuki since 2006. Matt is from Portland, Oregon (that’s where Michael Hagedorn and Crataegus reside). If you’d like see more photos and read what Michael has to say about Matt, you can visit Crataegus (one of my favorite bonsai sites). Michael’s excellent book Michael Hagedorn also apprenticed in … Continue reading Stealing from Michael Once Again: Matt Reel & Other Bonsai News

Golden Arrow Smith

Common juniper. Estimated age 125 years. Collected, wired and potted by Andrew Smith, Golden Arrow Bonsai. Golden Arrow Bonsai Golden Arrow is Andrew Smith (his website says Andrew, though I’ve always known him as Andy), with perhaps a little help from his friends and family. Andrew is a bonsai artist and professional woodsman who specializes in collecting trees from nature. If you would like to learn how to collect the right way, check out Andrew’s DVD, How to Collect Wild Trees. Andrew also has a DVD on styling collected trees that’s entitled Finding the Bonsai Within, Ponderosa Pine Wiring Techniques, … Continue reading Golden Arrow Smith

A Good Place to Visit (in the Winter)

The Bonsai Exhibit at the The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens. Visit The Morikami (the essence of Japan in South Florida)… … but you might want to wait until winter. Once you get past the purple/pink background you might notice that this wild and sparse Rocky Mountain Juniper is reminiscent of the Ponderosa pines that you (and the Pine beetles) find by the millions in the Rockies (and the Sierras). It’s on display at The Morikami. It was styled by Ben Oki. Bonsai & Japanese arts & culture Since its opening in 1977, The Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens (and … Continue reading A Good Place to Visit (in the Winter)

Bonsai Seasonals with Michael Hagedorn

You could spend your whole life collecting bonsai and never find one as impressive as this. From Michael Hagedorn’s Crataegus Bonsai Seasonals. Here’s what Michael says about this photo… “Initial potting of a large Rocky Mountain Juniper, Winter 2010 Seasonal.” Just a little understated. If this is any indication, it’s worth noting that Michael has his students working on trees of this caliber (and caliper). Study with one of the very best My guess is that three days with Michael will be worth months or even years of fumbling about in your backyard in hopes that trial and error will … Continue reading Bonsai Seasonals with Michael Hagedorn