I remember one of the first times I flipped through Kindai Bonsai, the Japanese bonsai magazine. Not being able to read a word of Japanese, I studied the photos. What struck me was how similar the black pines looked. I’d grown up with an appreciation of pines and could see that they were different, but […]
Styling
Styling bonsai gives trees their charm. Read the posts below to learn about the artistic decisions we make when working on bonsai.
2014 Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition
The Golden State Bonsai Federation’s 37th Convention was host to the 2014 Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition. The event has become one of the better venues for recognizing new bonsai talent in North America. From the ABS website: The Joshua Roth New Talent Bonsai Competition is an annual competition to recognize and promote new bonsai […]
Daisaku Nomoto workshop
I recently had the opportunity to participate in a workshop led by Daisaku Nomoto. In town from Miyazaki, Japan, to help with the BIB exhibit, Nomoto spent the day helping a handful of students with their trees. I spent most of the day with a white pine I’d picked up at last year’s BIB Auction. […]
Making a big cut
While maintenance work like minor cutback or wiring can make a tree shine, it’s the larger cuts that really speed along development. Of course, we don’t always enter workshops expecting to make these big cuts. Such was the case for a tree that showed up to last weekend’s Bay Island Bonsai workshop. After selecting a […]
Seeking style guidance for an old procumbens juniper
I enjoyed last week’s discussion of an old procumbens juniper displayed at Yamato Bonsai Kai’s 42nd annual exhibit. Procumbens juniper Some commenters suggested a few improvements for the tree. In response, I’d like to invite you to share your ideas graphically by indicating where the primary branches belong and providing an outline of the silhouette. […]