Oct 18 2018

Bonsai Potter Martin Englert plus Video

Earlier this month I met up with Martin Englert at the European Bonsai San Show 2018. An inspiring bonsai potter from Osnabrück in Germany, his exquisite hand-painted porcelain works completely contrast with his earthy honest wood-fired pots. By the time I got over to his vendor table a lot of his work was sold. If you do get to see his work buy NOW, it will only become harder to find and DEFINITELY collectable.

Take a look at his website HERE

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Aug 8 2016

My visit to National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia next year.

My host at National Bonsai and Penjing Collection of Australia in Canberra have announced the program for my visit in March next year, looks like I have quite a busy week ahead of me. I am following in the footsteps of Pavel Slovak… Tough act to follow! It will be great to meet up with all the guys and girls I chat to on social media.

Bonsai Week this year will happen from 20 March till 26 March 2017 at the NBPCA in Canberra.

Our International guest this year is Mr Tony Tickle from the United Kingdom.

This years agenda will be as follows:

Monday 20 March
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

Tuesday 21 March
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

Wednesday 22 March
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

Thursday 23 March
9:00 till 4:00pm – Masterclass with Tony for Club Nominated Participants & Club Nominated Observers (Not a public event)
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

Friday 24 March
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
12:30 till 1:00pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA
1:30 till 3:30pm – Tony’s Presentation – A bonsai case study over 20 years “From Mountain To Exhibition”
5:30 till 9pm – Bonsai Demonstration – An Arboretum International Bonsai Experience plus auction (Ticketed event)

Saturday 25 March
9 till 4pm – Masterclass with Tony for Lenders and Donors & Lender/Donor Observers (Not a public event)
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

Sunday 26 March
9 till 4pm – Masterclass with Tony for Volunteers & Volunteer Observers (Not a public event)
10:30 till 11:30am – Demonstration of Bonsai Techniques inside the Village Centre (Artists will range from Curators of the Collection to Senior Volunteers)
1:00 till 1:30pm – Curator’s Guided Tour of the NBPCA

DESCRIPTIONS
Curator’s Guided Tours – A guided tour of the NBPCA facility. Hear stories of bonsai and penjing within the NBPCA and see the working back of house facility. FREE – no booking required

Bonsai Technique Demonstrations – Various artists will be working on trees throughout each day of Bonsai Week. FREE – no booking required

Master-classes with Tony- artists who have been involved with the NBPCA either as a Volunteer, Lender or Donor, or a Club Nominated Artist, have been invited to nominate for a participant or observer of these workshops with Mr Tickle. From the list of nominees, 10 participants and 10 observers will be randomly and fairly selected to be involved. FREE for those who have been selected

Tony’s Presentation – Mr Tickle will present an audio-visual bonsai case study prepared over 20 years. FREE event – Please register your interest in this critique by emailing leigh.taafe@act.gov.au or calling 02 6207 8483.

Evening Bonsai Demonstration – An Arboretum International Bonsai Experience – This is the premier event of Bonsai Week. A Gala Cocktail Evening Demonstration by Mr Tickle. An opportunity to dress up and socialise with good friends while experiencing the wonders of the Arboretum of an evening. Watch the sun setting from the award winning Village Centre Complex, see the Bonsai & Penjing Collection under lights, marvel Tony as he transforms a stock tree into a bonsai masterpiece within a relaxed and comfortable setting, then have a chance to bid on that very tree at auction. (Other auctions will happen throughout the evening). This is a ticketed event. Price and bookings information has yet to be determined. The bar will be available for cash purchases of further drink refreshments.

Jan 13 2016

5th US National Bonsai Exhibition

I am participating as a Demo Artist and Judge at the 5th US National Bonsai Exhibition on September 10-11, 2016, in Rochester, New York. This will give me a chance to meet up with all the guys and girls who I have been chatting to for so many years on the many Bonsai Forums, Reddit, Facebook and through this blog. I will be sharing the stage with:

Minoru Akiyama– Japan
Enrique Castano– Mexico
Peter Warren– UK
Sean L. Smith– Pennsylvania
Ryan Michael Bell– Mississippi

Take a look at the poster for the great line up on

Nov 1 2015

The Special Branch at Bonsai Europa

Photo: Jelle Ferwerda

An event the size of Bonsai Europa could not happen without a good team behind the face at the front, I singled out Terry Foster for special praise because without him driving me forward I would never have completed the pre-build of the exhibition staging. All of this was prior the BIG build on Friday 9^th October at the venue. 12 months prior to the event I put a call out to the bonsai community to help me stage this ambitious event. I invited two clubs to rally their members to help, The Wirral and Akamatsu and in return they would stage their own display as part of the overall exhibition. Those that were not in these clubs did not disappoint, a team of 25 volunteers assembled at 8.00am and the build commenced, it was completed at 5.30pm.

Over the weekend these same guys played a major role in security, demo assistance, front of house and 101 other duties that arose. And at the end of the event the breakdown… You guys made it a success. Same time in two years?

Oct 29 2015

Studio photos from Bonsai Europa 2015

As there have been so many photos posted online of the trees in the exhibition many will have seen these trees, BUT studio photography is better, these show the trees in the best way possible. I would consider publishing a book but it would only be high quality and would need a large print run to make this viable… its possible if there is enough interest. Please share this post, do not download the images but link to this blog post. I reserve the moral right to these images. If you wish to have any images for publication, please contact me via the contact form or if you are the owner of any of the trees and I will send you a copy for your blog etc.

Do not copy