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Where do we get inspiration for bonsai? This is a Joshua Tree, in the Mohave Desert, California, which I visited in April 2021. It's not a tree, it's a species of yucca that grows much like a tree yet without annual rings. So there's no real wood. The forms of these desert plants are...mesmerizing. You look out over a plain of them and they're all nearly the same height, fairly evenly spaced, branches sticking awkwardly out, looking like the very worst forest bonsai ever attempted. Looking closer, the oldest ones have an interesting branch here and there, but for the most part, Joshua Trees are the antithesis of the heart of bonsai---the asymmetrical. Sometimes I find it helpful to look at what I don't want to do to find value. A truly awful book can help the writer, if you're attending to what isn't working. With Joshua Trees we may want to take off the bonsai hat and put on the otherworldly hat. They are spectacularly weird. And they're fun to photograph, too. #crataegusbonsai #joshuatree #bonsai #bonsaiart #bandw #blackandwhite
Retrospective Part 5: Eclectic Bonsai. The complete retrospective is on a blog post at crataegus.com, with more images (w/ better aspect ratios) and many ridiculous stories. On Instagram it'll be a 5-part series. #crataegusbonsai #bonsai #bonsaiart #bonsaiartist #treeart #naturesculpture #sculpture
Bonsai Heresy merch! We've been eagerly awaiting this reveal: The great Sergio Cuan has put his popular images from our book onto shirts, hats, mugs, tote bags, and even into a calendar. (The total images from Heresy weirdly fit the number of calendar illustrations perfectly: 12, with the 13th on the cover. We didn't plan that...) Find all these on Sergio's website: https://www.m5bonsaiworks.com/shop #crataegusbonsai #bonsai #m5bonsaiworks
Retrospective Part 4: Bonsai Pots. The complete retrospective is on a blog post at crataegus.com, with more images (w/ better aspect ratios) and many ridiculous stories. On Instagram it'll be a 5-part series. #crataegusbonsai #bonsai #bonsaiart #bonsaiartist #ceramics #bonsaipot
Retrospective Part 3: Graduate School: Ceramic sculpture, intaglio prints, installation. The complete retrospective is on a blog post at crataegus.com, with more images (w/ better aspect ratios) and many ridiculous stories. On Instagram it'll be a 5-part series. #crataegusbonsai #bonsai #bonsaiart #bonsaiartist #intaglio #sculpture #ceramics
Retrospective Part 2: College: Intaglio prints, paintings, ceramics, life drawings. The complete retrospective is on a blog post at crataegus.com, with more images (w/ better aspect ratios) and many ridiculous stories. On Instagram it'll be a 5-part series. #crataegusbonsai #bonsai #bonsaiart #bonsaiartist #intaglio #painting #ceramics
