Finding Fault Doesn’t Make You a Hater

Luigi Maggione’s wildly expressive, unusual bonsai with Itoigawa shimpaku foliage that has been grafted onto a Sabina juniper (Juniperus sabina). There’s a lot to like about this bonsai (I found it while perusing Salatore Liporace facebook feed) including just how strikingly unique it is and that way it jumps off the page and demands your attention. There are also some issues that might be called faults. Which begs the question of what constitutes a fault and also why bother to find faults at all (answer; finding faults doesn’t make you a hater* if you use them as learning tools – we … Continue reading Finding Fault Doesn’t Make You a Hater

Another Immense Bonsai

This photo of what can only be described as a massive Sabina juniper was taken at Bonsaisense in Mallorca Spain, after two days of skillful transformation by Bjorn Bjorholm (and algunos amigos). Flashback. When I first glimpsed the tree above, I thought we were back at the Artisans Cup. I think this connection has a lot to do with this tree’s size and spread and just how many impressively large trees there were at the Cup. In case you wondering, the size of a bonsai isn’t what makes it worthy or not worthy. Still, size does add dramatic effect. Especially … Continue reading Another Immense Bonsai

The Sargent

This dynamic tree with its unusual trunk shaped liked the number 3 (this effect is enhanced by the fluid, brush stroke like movement that runs up and down the length of the trunk) belongs to Marcelo Michelotti. He calls it Il Sergente (see below). Yesterday I stumbled upon the bonsai of Marcelo Michelotti, yet another of the talented bonsai artists that seem to be popping up everywhere lately. Marcelo lives and works in Alta Gracia, Argentina. All the photos shown here are from his facebook feed. A lovely confusion of names. Marcelo calls the tree above Il Sergente (the Sargent). … Continue reading The Sargent

It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

A wonderfully convoluted Sabina juniper after a little taming by Gabriel Romero Aguadé. If you look at the before photo below, you can see that Gabriel did quite a bit to tame what started out as tree with a world of potential but also with a crazily unruly crown and a trunk with poor taper. It’s not too hard to see how the crown was brought under control (some very detailed labor and some time for new growth to fill in). But the taper is a bit more mystifying; not much has changed, but somehow it looks much better. BTW, … Continue reading It’s Still Labor Day Weekend & the Sun Is Still Shining

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?)

Heavy Crowns & Wordy Captions

Based on the photos from Sandor Papp’s blog, this, or the tree just below, might be my exhibition winner (the actual winner is at the bottom of the post). It’s unusual to see this much deadwood on a deciduous or other broad-leafed bonsai, but then Privets are tough trees (Ligustrum vulgaris in this case). Speaking of deadwood you might notice the impressive sabamiki (Japanese for hollow trunk – plural in this case). The unique, well-chosen pot is also worth a mention. The trees shown here appear on the Bonsai Blog of Sandor Papp. The occasion is the recent bonsai exhibition … Continue reading Heavy Crowns & Wordy Captions

A Happy Accident

The original caption from Milan Karpíšek reads “Sabina of my friend ready for a show.” He doesn’t say who the friend is. We might assume that the tree belongs to a friend and was styled by Milan, but we know about assumptions. Maybe someone can clue us in. The three trees shown here are from Milan Karpíšek’s facebook photos (Milan is from the Czech Republic). Like many of the bonsai featured here, these were discovered by accident (aka stumbled upon). A very happy accident indeed. I decided to show all three photos just the way Milan presents them on facebook … Continue reading A Happy Accident

Shed Some Light & Win a 25.00 Gift

Cropped photo of an amazing Sabina juniper (uncropped version below). It’s from KINGII blogspot. Here’s the Spanish caption Nombre de esta sabina rastrera de Luis, se le puso tras el primer modelado, ya que la primera rama era tan amplia que parecía una bandeja. Nunca había salido en ningún lado, asñiq ue se puede considerar una presentación en sociedad, a pesar de que lleva unos 5 años en casa. Here’s how you can win a 25.00 Stone Lantern gift certificate Be the first person to send a sensible translation of the Spanish above (in perfect or near perfect English). Don’t … Continue reading Shed Some Light & Win a 25.00 Gift

Rebar Fix

Contrast this with the before photo below to get a hit of what you can do with a piece of rebar, some nerve, and more than a little skill. All the photos in this post are of bonsai by David Benavente. I’m out of town and busy with things too numerous to mention, so I’m going to mine our archives once again. Apologies if you’ve already seen this one, but considering that it’s from over three years ago, my best guess is that most of you haven’t, and if you have, you’ve forgotten it by now. And just in case … Continue reading Rebar Fix

No Matter Where You Go…

This elegant Sabina juniper (aka Savin juniper) was styled by Walter Pall. Does the deadwood that’s hanging down on the left distract from the natural flow of tree, or does it add something (a touch of untamed wildness?) to the overall effect? The photo is from The Art of Bonsai Project. The pot is by Bryan Albright. “No matter where you go, there you are” (Buckaroo Banzai) could be paraphrased, “no matter where you go on the web, sooner or later you’ll find Walter Pall ” (the Buckaroo of European Bonsai?). Walter is both prolific and very good at what … Continue reading No Matter Where You Go…