Author: Roy

Design Sketch by RoyJan 13, 201916:00

Off the wall

Jan Culek sketches options for the juniper of John Rigg John: ‘I had this tree in the garden for about 17 years. It has lots of curving branches with partial deadwood. I have been working...

Report by RoyDec 3, 201812:19

The 6th US National show

The US National Bonsai Exhibition is the creation of Bonsai Master William Valavanis, supported by a vast team of volunteers. The first exhibition was held back in October 2008 and has continued bi-annually since then....

Report by RoyDec 2, 201815:46

Samurai & Bonsai

On the 150th anniversary of the restoration of Imperial rule, bonsai is displayed at the former capital. An outdoor exhibition is quite rare, even when it’s at a scenic site like the Nijo-jo castle, where...

Report by RoyDec 1, 201811:21

The call for bonsai art criticism

The first experiment of Pacific Bonsai Museum’s two-year-long project, the LAB (Living Art of Bonsai), has been run and the results are the unnerving of the artists. Pacific Bonsai Museum’s Curator Aarin Packard asked three,...

Seed by RoyNov 25, 201813:54

PODOCARPUS

The challenge is to create a finished tree starting from scratch In this series we look at creating bonsai from cuttings, grafting and other methods with interesting and unusual species. With the help of illustrations...

Report by RoySep 28, 201813:36

Northwest Rendezvous

The Bonsai Society of Portland and Pacific Northwest Bonsai Clubs Association presented the 2018 Northwest Bonsai Rendezvous this month in Milwaukie, Oregon. The event was a big success! Three days of workshops, critiques, and demonstrations made the time...

Pots by RoySep 7, 201813:03

That’s no ‘Mame’

Making Big Pots In Jingdezhen – Zhenshang Ceramics Discover how the giant pots of Jingdezhen are made. Zhenshang is well known for working with International and Chinese artists to manufacture unique custom designed porcelain and...

Column by RoySep 1, 201821:36

It pays to show

The letter has arrived. Anxiously you pick it up. The postmark tells you all you need to know about where it has come from. Your heart thumps. With trepidation you open the envelope. YES! For...

Pots by RoyAug 25, 201818:08

Tokoname potter

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Report by RoyAug 10, 201813:52

Bonsai Namaste

Three women from India began dreaming about a huge bonsai event with more than 1000 bonsai on display. This dream started more than 8 years ago. February 22-26 2018 it was finally realized. After much...

Garden visit by RoyAug 9, 201816:05

Bonsai down under

Tony Tickle visits the National Bonsai & Penjing Collection in Canberra, Australia and hopes it will inspire other countries to consider their own collections. If you visit the website Trip Advisor and search ‘Things to do...

Garden visit by RoyDec 21, 201708:30

Rock climbing in a bonsai garden

David Benavente lives his dream with a garden full of bonsai. Hidden in the mountains just a few minutes’ drive from Madrid, David Benavente has his dream bonsai garden. It’s a well laid out garden...

Styles by RoyNov 9, 201712:31

Sankan-gi | Triple trunk style

Triple trunk style – This has three, five, or seven trunks of different trunk diameters growing from a single root ball. If there are three trunks of differing diameters, it is referred to as a […]

Profile by RoyJul 27, 201715:23

Never fix a screw into a bonsai

Viet Luan Tran (40) went to Germany in 1979, son of a high ranking army officer at West Point. He and his family had arrived as Vietnam War refugees. ‘I feel neither Vietnamese nor German. What I can say is I wear Vietnamese roots and Germany is my home.’ Bonsai is his passion, his guide for life....

Profile by RoyJul 12, 201716:51

On being a deshi in Shunka-en

A professional gardener, German Valentin Brose’s love of bonsai drew him to Japan to learn more about this fascinating art. So he
decided to quit his job and went to work for famous Master, Kunio Kobayashi. He soon found out that life as a student is somewhat
different ...

Design Sketch by RoyJul 1, 201716:43

An elegant pine

Antonio Ricchiari sketches the options for the Pine of Gunther de Boeck Antonio Ricchiari passion for bonsai started in the early seventies. He is known for his many publications in bonsai magazines and writer of...

Workshop by RoyJun 28, 201715:13

Easy-going forest planting with maples

Takao Katsumata creates a deciduous forest. There is a certain type of enjoyment that is special and unique to a forest style bonsai, regardless of the species or origin of the material. As a part...

Shohin by RoyJun 27, 201711:30

Going wild

Ageing a Prunus avium – wild cherry It was a journey of more than 15 years that began with simple native garden material and resulted in a stunning small-sized bonsai. Morten Albek guides us through...

Profile by RoyJun 26, 201720:55

The Bonsai Ballerina

Jennifer Price discovered bonsai 8 years ago after retiring as a professional ballerina. She had the opportunity to study with long-time friend and teacher, Jim Doyle and, through Jim’s influence, went to work with artists...

Step by Step by RoyJun 14, 201711:17

Warren does it

Peter Warren (UK) shows you how to style a buxus Peter...

Pots by RoyJun 13, 201721:33

Roy Minarai

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Styling by RoyJun 1, 201720:01

Utah Juniper

Now that I have settled back in California, it’s time to rebuild my Bonsai collection! For the past 6 months, I have been slowly rebuilding the Bonsai business I left behind and have worked with many terrific people. I have study groups that have formed throughout California and even in other States! You can say that I’m living the Bonsai dream! I hope to play my part in helping the promotion of bonsai in the United States and get good information out there to those that want it. My other goal is also to build a quality bonsai collection for myself and not just enjoy the final development of the trees, but the journey as well.

Styles by RoyMay 30, 201717:40

Yose-Ue | Forest/group style

Forest/group style – We can see this as a small forest in a flat pot. It should create the illusion of a miniature version of a forest. The distances between the trees should be different. Do […]

Styles by RoyMay 30, 201716:14

Moyogi | Informal upright style

Informal upright style -The trunk is slightly bent and tapers toward the top. The top of the tree is straight above the base of the trunk. The branches are distributed asymmetrically. The lower branches must […]

Styles by RoyMay 30, 201712:34

Chokkan | Formal upright style

Formal upright style – The trunk is straight and tapers toward the top. The branches of the bonsai must gradually become shorter and thinner from the bottom to the top, be horizontal compared with the […]