Kimura Rocks

The mature look. It helps to start with well developed trees. I think most of us would be happy to have trees like these Shimpaku as single bonsai, let alone as parts of group plantings. It’s hot here in Vermont, my bonsai need water and so do I. Once again it’s time to dig into our archives and vacate this office. This post originally appeared summer before last and again last summer. A question about watering came up when this was originally posted. I’ll preempt this time with my answer: “My guess is the hinoki plantings are kept in shade … Continue reading Kimura Rocks

Our Masters Series Juniper Book Is Due Back in December – Bonsai Wire & Tool Sale

The Magician again. This sculpted Shimpaku juniper is by Masahiko Kimura, a master of stylized and not so stylized bonsai. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book (out of print, but due back in December). There are also numerous examples of Kimura’s bonsai in The Magician, another Stone Lantern Masters’ Series book. 25% off 500 gram (1.1 lb) rolls of Bonsai Wire Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more 25% off Roshi Bonsai Tools Plus 10% off for Stone Lantern orders 100.00 or more

Master Bonsai Magician

This powerful and famous Yew by is by Bonsai Master Masahiko Kimura. It’s from The Magician (below). It also appears in Bonsai Today issue 56. Archives plus today. Most of this post originally appeared in February 2010 and again last year. It was originally titled ‘Eccentric Bonsai: Fearless Master Kimura Again’. I’ve added some copy and killed some of the original copy in an attempt to reduce the wince factor. I’ve also added another photo for your enjoyment. Same species but very different tree. Though it’s not as powerful as many other Kimura trees (see above and below), nor … Continue reading Master Bonsai Magician

More Deadwood & Six Reasons to Love a Bonsai

The uninitiated sometimes wonder how a tree like this stays alive. The answer; excellent care and that live vein that snakes its way up the trunk. The feature that really sets this tree apart (taking nothing away from the live vein and the tree’s overall beauty and balance) is that delicious deadwood reaching into the sky. I think it’s the fluidity of the movement that keeps it from being over the top (so to speak). The tree belongs to Nicola Kitora Crivelli. It’s from a gallery on Bonsai Empire. More deadwood. We’re on a roll so we’ll just keep … Continue reading More Deadwood & Six Reasons to Love a Bonsai

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Crème de la Bonsai

2012 Kokufu Prize winning Informal upright Shimpaku juniper (Juniperus chinensis var. shimpaku). This and the other images in this post are from Phoenix Bonsai. Just back and trying to dig out (no good vacation goes unpunished), so once again we’ll dip back into our archives. This one is from 2013. It’s titled Kokufu: More of the Very Best Bonsai. Just in case you haven’t heard of Kokufu, it is generally regarded as the Crème de la Crème when it comes to Bonsai Exhibitons. As long as we’re stealing images from Phoenix Bonsai Society we might as well pillage their text: … Continue reading Crème de la Bonsai

There Are Bonsai, and then…

There are bonsai and then there are bonsai. This fluid masterpiece belongs to Isao Omachi. There are other adjectives that come to mind, like elegant, graceful and exquisite, but the problem with writing about bonsai almost everyday is these superlatives get used until they lose their meaning. Oh well. Mr Omachi doesn’t say anything about this tree and I won’t venture any guesses. It’s from his facebook photos. All the trees shown here are from Isao Omachi’s facebook photos. If you’ve been following the international bonsai scene, you know that he’s the one who had his entire bonsai collection (and … Continue reading There Are Bonsai, and then…

Laziness & Irresponsibility (or Even Willful Deception)

We’ve shown this brilliant bonsai before, but a planting this perfect deserves another shot. The photo is attributed, but to the photographer (Jonathan Singer) rather than the bonsai artist. We can use it anyway, because it’s easy to recognize as a rather famous root-on-rock planting that belongs to Masahiko Kimura (aka The Magician), a man who revolutionized the world of bonsai. The trees are Shimpaku junipers (with a what looks like a small azalea near the bottom). The photo originally appeared in Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. If you spend anytime looking at bonsai on places like facebook or pinterest, … Continue reading Laziness & Irresponsibility (or Even Willful Deception)

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

What’s Eccentric?

This wildly elaborate juniper bonsai is from Bjorn Bjornholm’s facebook photos. It’s a case where a darker background would work better, but borrowers can’t be choosey. Here Bjorn’s caption: “Procumbens wired and ready for its trip to Tokyo.” When I saw the photo above my first thought was… it’s been a while since we did a post on eccentric bonsai, so why not? On reflection however, the whole notion of eccentric is called into question. This has a lot to do with the sudden spread of bonsai throughout the world and the cross pollination made possible by easy travel and … Continue reading What’s Eccentric?