Movement, Power & Artistic Freedom

Abstract bonsai art. I think there’s a temptation to judge trees with elaborately carved deadwood. But maybe it’s best to just appreciate the skill involved and not worry about too much deadwood or whether the result look like our sense of what’s natural or not. Not to downplay the importance of bonsai the look like trees in nature, rather to appreciate the vast variety of approaches and results in our wonderful world of bonsai Yesterday we featured Cheng, Cheng-Kung’s colorful side. Today we’ll touch upon his famous Sidao carving method and some results. Hopefully this will peak your interest. If … Continue reading Movement, Power & Artistic Freedom

Great Bonsai Shots – a Story of Time & Human Artistry

A story of time and human artistry. This shot (looks like a Japanese white pine) is from Kunio Kobayashi’s famous Shunkaen Bonsai Museum in Edogawa, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. When I first saw it, I was sure that it’s from the tree below. After closer examination, I’m not so sure. All the photos in this post are from the Shunkaen Bonsai Museum fb timeline The Shunkaen Bonsai Museum was founded by the great bonsai master, Kunio Kobayashi. Here’s what Mr Kobayashi wrote about the museum… “The Museum was built with the ambition to spread Japanese culture, especially Bonsai in a new way … Continue reading Great Bonsai Shots – a Story of Time & Human Artistry

The Monk, Bonsai Before & After

Before and after by Salvador De Loy Reyes. He calls it The Monk, but gives no other information, including no species (looks a lot like a Shimpaku juniper) or details of any kind, though you might guess it was originally field grown and purposely twisted to look like an old Japanese yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild). Without seeing the other side of the tree, it’s almost impossible to follow the live veins in their delightfully chaotic movement up the trunk Yesterday’s post featured three trees that were ready to be reviewed and retouched by Salvador De Los Reyes. Today it’s a before … Continue reading The Monk, Bonsai Before & After

“JeJeJe” – One Very Impressive Olive & Two Others that Can Use Some Reviewing & Retouching

This impressive old Olive must have taken a long time to carve. Assuming that most of the deadwood was carved by human hands (with some power tools’ help of course). Either way, it’s masterpiece (though there’s still the sacrifice shoots on the lowest branch, which will look a lot better when their work is done and they are removed). Speaking of the lowest branch, here’s Salvador De Los Reyes’ caption with this tree… “Vamos a dar mas fuerza a esa rama de abajo,” and here’s my translation… “We are going to strengthen the lower branch.” The photos of the three Olives and the Spanish text in this … Continue reading “JeJeJe” – One Very Impressive Olive & Two Others that Can Use Some Reviewing & Retouching

Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot

Sweet! I thought you might like to see this. It’s Carl Morrow’s Trident maple in a very well chosen and appropriately sized pot (Carl sent photos in an email, so no links) Last week we featured a Robert Steven critique of a Trident maple that belongs to Carl Morrow (Size Matters & Small Is Beautiful). It was a repost of a one we originally did in September, 2010. Carl took Robert’s advice and repotted the tree into a smaller pot, though not the same pot Robert used in his simulation (it’s hard to find simulated pots!). As it turns out, I think … Continue reading Trident Maple Bonsai in a Well Chosen Pot

Before and After on a Well Established Bonsai

A maintenance before and after. No variety is listed, but it looks like it might be a Shimpaku juniper. The artist is Jan Culek. You might notice the GREEN T Hydraulic Lift Turntable Sticking with Jan Culek, our newfound bonsai artist (see yesterday). This one is a fairly simple maintenance before and after. The shape and other main features have already been established, so it’s time to bring it back to its previous beauty (and beyond). Mostly it’s a matter of thinning the overgrown foliage, cleaning the deadwood and applying lime sulfur, and also cleaning and brushing the the live veins to bring out their natural beauty. … Continue reading Before and After on a Well Established Bonsai

Something for Bonsai Rock Planting Lovers & Fans

Great stone. Great planting. All but the lowest juniper appear to be growing in pockets of soil in the stone. This is referred to as a root-on-rock bonsai. It looks like the lowest one has its roots growing down into the pot (protected for now by moss). This would be root-over-rock style. The artist is Jan Culek Continuing our rock planting theme from yesterday… Most large complex stones for bonsai plantings are made by human hands, and the ones shown here are no exception. They’ll all by Jan Culek GREAT BONSAI TOOL SPECIAL ENDS SUNDAY NIGHT 40% OFF LIST PRICES ALL BONSAI AESTHETICS TOOLS INCLUDING … Continue reading Something for Bonsai Rock Planting Lovers & Fans

Hanging off a Cliff Somewhere in the Alps

This very distinctive bonsai belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The rock was made by Erik Križovenský, a master of unique pots and other creative vessels for planting bonsai. No mention is made of the type tree, but it looks like some type of Juniper. I cropped Mauro’s original photo (below) to get a closer look and to eliminate some background noise It’s past due time to revisit Mauro Stemberger, an old favorite here on Bark. If you’d like to see more of what Mauro is up to you can visit him on facebook and on his Italian Bonsai Dream website. You can also visit … Continue reading Hanging off a Cliff Somewhere in the Alps

A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

I don’t know how big this planting is, though I’m leaning toward pretty big. Impressive too with its sophisticated sense of depth (larger trees in front and smaller toward the back). Not to overlook the very large pot with its flowing lines and no doubt hefty price tag. This photo and the next three below are from Bill Valavanis’ blog Continuing with yesterday’s mixed media bonsai theme, this one is from Robert Steven’s 2014 1st International Bonsai Biennale. At the time we referred to it as the most unusual and provocative bonsai extravaganza ever TWO NEW TOOL SPECIALS Famous Roshi BONSAI Tools 30% … Continue reading A Most Unusual & Provocative Bonsai Extravaganza

The Tallest Trees in the World Brought Down to Bonsai Size

Closeup of a California Coast redwood from Bonsai Mirai’s collection. It’s interesting that most Redwood bonsai tend to be so stocky, given that that they are the tallest trees in the world. You can see the photo of the whole tree below Continuing from yesterday with Bonsai Mirai,the home of what must be the largest and most impressive collection of collected bonsai (yamadori) in the country. Today it’s California’s Coast redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) There are so many iconic North American trees. In fact, and at the risk of just a little chauvinism, our rich array of trees just might be the most … Continue reading The Tallest Trees in the World Brought Down to Bonsai Size