When I think back to my earliest memories of studying bonsai with Boon Manakitivipart, I remember there were Kokufu books everywhere. We’d look at them in the workshop, at lunch, and after dinner. They were a constant reminder of what was possible if we kept at it long enough. After studying with Boon for several […]
Styling
Styling bonsai gives trees their charm. Read the posts below to learn about the artistic decisions we make when working on bonsai.
Juniper design Q&A – identifying next steps on a Sierra juniper
I received some good questions following the previous post about a Sierra juniper. Why aren’t you planning to keep foliage on the upper branches? Why did you decide to graft and where are the grafts? How did you decide which branches to cut? What’s the overall plan for developing this tree and how long will […]
A simple test to evaluate the integration of foliage and deadwood
A trick for evaluating the design of bonsai with prominent deadwood features.
Rocky Mountain juniper – first wiring
The initial branch work comes after four years of working on the roots and reducing unnecessary branches.
Kokufu 101: shohin
Today I’d like to share a single tip for styling shohin bonsai – focus on branch density. As you look at photos of shohin displayed at this year’s Kokufu exhibit, you’ll notice that all of the trees are full. There’s a good reason for this. Because the trees are displayed in groups, it makes sense […]