Bonsai, Before & After – Evolution & Elevation of a Native Scots Pine
Jan Culek's caption for this yamadori pine reads... "Evolution of native Czech Sylvestris pine between the years 2013-2017." In English Pinus sylvertris is commonly called Scots pine. Jan makes no mention of the slab pot or the deadwood stand that supports it
Here’s one more post featuring the bonsai of Jan Culek. It’s an unusual before and after of a yamadori Scots pine. The tree itself is distinctive enough and shows off Jan’s skills, but I think it’s the deadwood underneath the tree that that elevates the bonsai and causes the whole presentation to stand out (if you suffer from fear of puns, please accept my apologies – twice!)
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Before and after, with tiny companion
Before, closeup. The pot is similar to the one in the after shot. Perhaps they were both made by Erik Križovenský (the same Erik Križovenský that made the rocks in our first Jan Culek post) but that's just a guess
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.
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. I don’t see any wire, so it looks like he’ll save rewiring for another time. The same goes for repotting. The photos are from Jan’s fb timeline
Before
After
Jan Culek - Czech Republic. This photo of Jan is from the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection of Australia
If You Only Visit One Bonsai Event This Year…
THE ONE BONSAI SHOW NOT TO MISS!
Time to register and make your plans for accommodations etc. Bill Valavanis has all the information you need right here
Come visit us and our field grown Larches in the Vendors Section. We look forward to seeing you there!
Bill Valavanis air layered these three Koto Hima Japanese maples from the same tree back in 1986
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
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Freshly planted stone on a GREEN T TURNTABLE. Here's Jan's caption... "Today´s work with a freshly created rock planting. I enjoy to explore the potential of our stones and to play with ideas and shapes"
Two before and after stone plantings... Here's what the artist, Jan Culek wrote about his stones... "Something for all the rockplanting lovers and fans - the commission orders starts right now! If you like to order some special rock tower or stone from our production, don't hesitate and contact us at info@janculekbonsai.com"
The artist at work using his GREEN T TURNTABLE. Here's his caption... "The highest piece from the collection, it is important to push the limits up..."
Celebrating a Half Century of Bonsai
I think this speaks for itself. Especially if live within driving distance. Here's your link
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 Erik Križovenský (the artist who made the rock), on his website and on facebook. –
Hanging off a cliff somewhere in the Alps with its disappearing live vein and deadwood bones
Erik Križovenský is a whiz when it come to unique pots and other vessels for planting bonsai
A piece of Mauro's balcony bonsai collection
Maruo's T-shirt and bookThe original photo
Size Matters & Small Is Beautiful
Robert Steven's digitally enhanced version of a Trident maple by Carl Morrow (the photo Carl submitted is below)
Continuing with the bonsai wisdom of Robert Steven, this was one of our earliest of his famous critiques (September, 2010). I’ve added the copy just below today, but Robert’s expert comments are exactly as wrote them eight years ago
The right pot can have a transformative effect on a bonsai. This includes the right size pot. A common mistake many of us make when we start, is over-potting trees. The mistaken view that trees need massive amounts of soil to thrive and grow is common and it can take a while to develop the confidence to move a tree into a suitably sized pot. Not so say it’s impossible to under-pot a bonsai, but that rarely happens (sometimes for show, trees are put into pots that may be a little small for long term health, but these trees are usually moved back a somewhat larger pot when the show is over).
There’s more we could say about optimal pot size (for example the negative effect of over potting trees for health and visual effect), but we’ll leave that for another time.
The original photo
Robert’s comments
“Despite the details, bonsai design is all about composition, and the pot is one of the most important composition elements. A well chosen pot can reflect and enhance the best features of a tree and effect the overall image, adding both nuance and balance.
“Our first impression is a sense of visual imbalance. This is due to pot size (which is too big) and improper potting position. Another disturbing thing is the foliage edge on the left side seems to be heavier than the right side. This creates and unbalanced effect, since the tree’s movement flows to the right.
“Solution :
- Reduce the foliage on the left to enhance the tree’s natural flow to the right.
- Prune some leaves to show some of the branches structure, this will give an older look to the tree.
- Use a smaller pot.
“There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste because of personal preferences. But I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.”
You can visit Robert’s bonsai blog here: http://blogs.knowledgeofbonsai.org/robert_steven
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.
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One of many display areas
One of a whole slew of impressive bonsai
Another impressive bonsai as part of one of many unusual mixed media displays
Another mixed media display. This one and the two below are from Robert's facebook photos
Some of the many opening ceremony performers
The Maestro himself
Bonsai Art & Ink Painting – A Perfect Intersection
Something new under the sun! Sumi artist Sonia Stella's caption reads... "Bonsai by Sandro Segneri and modern ink by me"
I’m always a little stoked when we discover a new bonsai artist (quoted from our July 14th post). Now we can double down on that with today’s discovery of Sonia Stella’s Bonsai Art & Ink Painting – Sakura Studio. Or maybe triple down, with the added excitement of discovering a perfect intersection of two arts performed at such a high level.
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Exquisite, elegant, beautiful
More evidence
A piece of an Ume (Japanese flowering apricot). From Sonia's photo album titled Inspiration Bonsai. Stella's eye for bonsai is impressive. Just as you might expect
I cropped the lead photo in hopes of a better look at Sandro Segneri's magnificent root-on-rock bonsai. If I have a complaint about Sonia Stella's Bonsai Art & Ink Painting - Sakura Studio, it's that this is the only bonsai I could find among a whole series of shots, that is attributed to the artist.
Sonia with an impressive, to say the least, Japanese white pine
Superior Bonsai Deserve a Superior Turntable
Everything looks good on a Green T turntable and this luscious azalea in full flower is no exception (it will look even better on with the new green rims - see below). Here's part of the caption that the folks at Green T wrote with this photo... "@bonsaiwarsaw loves azaleas! This variety of bonsai require lots of special care and dedication and we are glad that such a young innovative bonsai artist is trusting Green T to do his best!" I cropped the original photo to feature just the tree. The uncropped version is below.
One of North America’s favorite bonsai artists, Suthin enjoying his Green T
That's Bjorn Bjornholm contemplating a tree that we featured just two day ago. Here's Green Ts caption... "@bjorn_bjorholm_bonsai is giving his touches to this beautiful scoth pine styled during a demo for @takibonsai! Another quality work done on a quality turntable! Coincidence?
The Magician with one of his famous rock plantings and another omnipresent Green T at this summer's World Bonsai Convention
Here's the uncropped version of the photo from above. The artist is Marcin Gajewski
One example of why the Green T Basic is the turntable for large bonsai