Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in DEMO, Preparation 0 comments

Juniperus chinensis “Sotto il cielo d’inverno” 2012

This juniper owned by “Franchi Bonsai”, was the subject of the demo held by master Minoru Akiyama in February 2012 at the exhibition “Sotto il cielo d’inverno” (“Under the Winter Sky”) in Pescia (Italy) at Franchi’s Bonsai Center. On this occasion I had the honour and the pleasure to assist the Maestro throughout the work. Let’s start with the choice of this tree: it was a quite big juniper chinensis. The vegetation was vigorous, abundant and so dense that you could not even see the trunk. It was impossible to have any idea of the styling development unless we thinned out the vegetation. Unfortunately, there was little time and a lot of work. Better to get started quickly! The master began by cutting the big redundant branches in search of movement and valuable branches. I followed the master in all phases: from pruning to cleaning the trunk, from creating the shari and jin to applying the wire. After a few hours of work here is the final result: In order to help the tree recover soon, and to leave different styling option for the future, the Master preferred to keep more branches than strictly necessary.  After the work was completed, […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in DEMO 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis “Carmen”

In September 2018 this juniper chinensis enters in my collection. A tree with apparently no particular virtues, but I was actually intrigued by its sinuous trunk. As soon as I saw I felt  grace, movement, energy….yes, this is a tiny dancer I thought! She will be a flamenco dancer and I will call it Carmen! It is a common juniper chinensis with a slightly light colour. The needle, although not as interesting as a kishu or itoigawa variety, is appropriately thick and compact. Health is good and vigour well distributed.     The front is obvious, given previous workings on the tree. My contribution here won’t denaturalize the previously executed work, but it will certainly add a lighter and more dynamic look. By the way, it’s perfectly understandable: a bonsai is a living sculpture in continuous evolution and even if the previous workings are well done, with time it inevitably loses shape and definition. This is the right time to restore and redefine this juniper. Front / Back     Right side / Left side      Definitely the trunk sinuous directions are the main focus of this tree…soft and light, with a vein of wood that accompanies the trunk […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Japanese black pine (Pinus thunbergii)

Styling of a Thunbergii pine; property of my friend Alfio Andreuccetti. Here are some before/after pictures related to the styling.   FRONT     BACK     RIGHT SIDE   LEFT SIDE     CLOSE UP OF THE LEFT BRANCHES     CLOSE UP OF THE RIGHT BRANCHES     VARIOUS DETAILS             We could have obtained a more defined work cutting of needles. On this occasion we preferred to leave the needles intact in order to leave more energy on the gems.
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Juniperus Chinensis “TWIST”

I usually create my bonsai starting from the very beginning of a tree, so that I can feel free to reed it and interpret it. I like the idea of conceiving and making a bonsai from scratch. In this case instead I thought to make an exception and make myself a gift! In 2012 the company Franchi, where I work, imported this juniper. It is not a “noble” or more famous variety like itoigawa or kishu. Unlike these, the vegetation of this juniper, of which I do not know the variety, is lighter in colour while the needle is much larger and messy. .   I can be sure of something: it will be more difficult to create a dense and fluffy foliage like that of more valuable varieties. Despite this, the movements of the trunk and the twist between dead wood and the other veins attracted my attention right away. It was for this reason I decided to buy this tree. In April 2012 the juniper had a super thick foliage. In a rectangular vase suitable for a cascading style, the juniper was positioned with the trunk horizontally and with an inclination that did not emphasize the beautiful movement. […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Preparation 0 comments

Phoenician juniper – Juniperus Phoenicia

This Phoenician juniper became part of my collection in June this year, after a dear friend decided to part with it. Not having a juniper of this variety and being a plant in an advanced state of cultivation I couldn’t resist the possibility of having it in my garden. In fact the plant is very interesting with abundant areas of dead wood and veins starting to swell. The natural movements and those created with the folds make it very interesting and dynamic. Over the years an intense work has been done to contain the vegetation that can only be done with continuous pinching. Here is the Phoenician before the works:: Front / back   Right side/Left side   Some details:     After assessing the perfect state of health, it’s time to work on it. In this long work I will always have the precious help of Andrea, a very dear friend of mine. The first thing we do is a careful cleaning of the bark and vegetation. It is thus highlighted the beautiful colour of juniper in addition to all the movements often hidden by a bark too thick. I do not deny that I was very fascinated by […]
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in PHOTOS, Preparation 0 comments

Baby Cupressus Sempervirens THE “CIPRESSINO”.

The story of a small cypress tree:     2008 – the plant is grown freely      
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Exhibitions, PHOTOS 0 comments

KOKUFU-TEN 2018 – The Shohin display

All photos of Shoin display exhibited at the 92nd KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION 2018 held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in February 2018.   Display n°1     Display n°2     Display n°3     Display n°4     Display n°5     Display n°6     Display n°7     Display n°9
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Exhibitions, PHOTOS 0 comments

KOKUFU-TEN 2018 – part 2

All photos of the trees exhibited at the 92nd KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION 2018 during the second part of the exhibition held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum from 13 to 16 February 2018.
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in Exhibitions, PHOTOS 0 comments

KOKUFU-TEN 2018 – part 1

All photos of the trees exhibited at the 92nd KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION 2018 during the first part of the exhibition held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum from 8 to 11 February 2018.  
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Nov 18
by Francesco Santini in PHOTOS 0 comments

Visit to Nijo-jo Castle in Kyoto

The photos taken at Nijo-jo Castle in Kyoto during my visit in February 2018. From Wikipedia: In 1601, Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, ordered all the feudal lords in western Japan to contribute to the construction of Nijō Castle, which was completed during the reign of Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1626. While the castle was being built, a portion of land from the partially abandoned Shinsenen Garden (located south) was absorbed, and its abundant water was used in the castle gardens and ponds. Parts of Fushimi Castle, such as the main tower and the karamon, were moved here in 1625–26. Nijo Castle was built as the Kyoto residence of the Tokugawa shōguns. The Tokugawa shogunate used Edo as the capital city, but Kyoto continued to be the home of the Imperial Court. Kyoto Imperial Palace is located north-east of Nijō Castle.  The central keep, or tenshu, was struck by lightning and burned to the ground in 1750. In 1788, the Inner Ward was destroyed by a citywide fire. The site remained empty until it was replaced by a prince’s residence transferred from the Kyoto Imperial Palace in 1893.  In 1867, the Ninomaru Palace, in the Outer Ward, was […]
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