The following pics are a before/after series of a chuuhin shimpaku juniper I recently styled at the nursery. If you look closely, this bonsai is actually root-over-rock and relatively old. It doesn’t appear that much was done to the tree, other than cleaning and a few adjustments; however, in reality it took nearly 7 hours from beginning to end (including cleaning, de-wiring, re-wiring every branch, and placement). Please enjoy.
Below is a White Pine ‘Miyajima’ (grafted/aka setsu-goyo) that I recently restyled for a client. The tree had a few flaws (i.e. perfectly straight lower trunk & long, thick branches) that I was able to hide by rotating it a few degrees clockwise in the pot. After a few short hours of wiring, I think it’s much improved. Of course, there’s always room for improvement…how about air-layering the top third of the tree off and making a nice chuuhin bonsai?…guess we’ll save that for another day.
Had a great time as the guest artist at the Nashville Spring Bonsai Show this past weekend at Cheekwood Gardens; great turnout and even better trees. The following pics are from a repotting session of a Psifera Juniper in a private collection following the show.
The original front (pic 1) lacked interest and hid the nice aged deadwood and movement of the trunk. So to bring out its interesting features we rotated it about 90 degrees clockwise (as seen in pic 2, still prior to repotting). The tree will be wired in the next few weeks and I’ll post pics of the final results. Thanks to Owen, Chad, and Mike of the Nashville Society for your help. Enjoy!
Below are some pics from my recent trip to Nashville, TN. These are all owned and maintained by Mike Blanton. The first two shots are a before/after of a Scots Pine I wired, the third is of a Shimpaku I wired as well (note* the deadwood on the lower left will be carved in the near future). The fourth is of a couple of friends, Rubia and Shannon, potting up a Kiyohime maple, and the last two are of a few more of Mr. Blanton’s trees. Enjoy!
Hello!
I would like to apologize to those of you who had previously been viewing my blog on a regular basis. It’s been too long since I last posted and in the future I will make a concerted effort to update this page on a more frequent basis.
Just to catch everyone up to speed:
Over the past several months I have been working to establish myself and my business in the worldwide bonsai community. Thanks to the help of so many incredible individuals, my tour/teaching schedule has managed to fill up beyond my expectations.
I have also been asked to become a regular contributor to the American Bonsai Society’s magazine. My writings, entitled ‘Notes from Japan,’ will be featured in the quarterly journal and will include topics related to an array of bonsai culture and design aspects.
In addition, I will be returning to Osaka, Japan again this May 2010 to continue my studies at Fujikawa Kouka-en nursery. Unforeseen circumstances cut my apprenticeship shorter than expected early last summer so I am grateful to be afforded a second opportunity to work with one of the greatest contemporary bonsai masters in the world, Keiichi Fujikawa.
Below are a few of my works since returning from Japan last June. Please enjoy!
I will be finishing my apprenticeship and returning home to the US at the beginning of July 2009 to begin teaching bonsai. If you or your club/society might be interested in hosting me for a demo, lecture, or workshop, please contact me at bbjorhol@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you!
For those of you who requested, here are a few shohin bonsai from our nursery in Osaka. Enjoy!
March is our busiest month without question. We have been repotting bonsai non-stop for what feels like an eternity, but it’s been an interesting/rewarding experience nonetheless. We started with the deciduous trees whose buds had already started to swell and we’re now slowly working our way into the needle evergreens. With hundreds of trees needing to be repotted this year, the work would have been too daunting for only Mr. Fujikawa and myself to handle so the entire Fujikawa family pitched in to relieve some pressure. Mr. Fujikawa’s elderly parents do most of the root pruning while my Oyakata handles the more aesthetic part of the job – the actual repotting itself. Of course I do whatever I’m told to which usually means lifting things twice my bodyweight and running chores for everyone. Much of my education here has been visual rather than hammered in verbally so while I’m running around in the current chaos of the nursery, I am continually observing and thereby learning. Physical and mental exhaustion are a regular part of each day here, but I have no complaints.
