“Why in the world did you decide on ‘Crataegus’ Bonsai?”
I get this question a lot. And the answer comes with a story. Well, a three-part story. The first and easiest part of the story is that “Crataegus” is the genus name of the hawthorn tree, which is my last name in German. Years ago I was waffling about for a business name. This was […]
The Dark Paths of Apprentices, Pt. II
Some of you may be following this sub-thread about the apprentices here at Crataegus Bonsai. This past week was a whirlwind as John Eads, the new apprentice, moved into the studio residence with his wife and two kids. The move itself was cacophonous and involved many boxes, several families, and 12 kids. Several things happened […]
The Dark Paths of Apprentices
This is an update on the Dark Paths thread initiated in the last post. I overheard a conversation which was quite clearly a conspiracy, though it was in sotto voce and I was likely intended to hear it. My two apprentices, both disgustingly young, were plotting to take my scissors away at the first indication […]
New Apprentice: John Eads
Another has joined our growing list of indentured servants at Crataegus Bonsai, following the path well laid by Bobby Curttright and Andrew Robson. Bobby has since started his business in Portland, OR and Andrew is in his last month before freedom. John can feed you. He’s run a successful wood-fired pizza food cart in Portland […]
New Apprentice at Crataegus: Jarryd Bailey
In the summer of 2016 a visitor from Tasmania dropped into our studio for a visit. He spent a few hours with us, and asked if by chance there were any openings in classes the next couple weeks. As it happened, there was an unexpected opening and we were able to spend three days in […]
Bobby Curttright Wraps Up Apprenticeship-
After three years here at Crataegus Bonsai, Bobby Curttright has finished his apprenticeship and is setting up his bonsai business of Cascadia Bonsai. I am sad to see Bobby go. Bobby weathered his being my first apprentice with his native stoic nature, resilience, and good humor. We did have quite a bit of fun. There […]
Big Juniper Project: ‘The Fish’: Part III: Finis!
This post is the third (and last!) of our three-day adventure with a Rocky Mountain Juniper. I’ve never done a day-to-day string of posts like this. Did you like it? If so I’ll try it again around the bend. Well. Bobby and I don’t smell like rotten eggs today, thankfully. After today’s styling the juniper […]
Big Juniper Project: ‘The Fish’: Part II
This post is the second about our work this week on a Rocky Mountain Juniper. Today both Bobby and I smell like lime sulfur, which, to the uninitiated, smells strongly of rotten eggs. We had splatters of this solution all over us. Thankfully I have no plans tonight. I was worried about getting a good […]
Big Juniper Project: ‘The Fish’: Part I
This post is the first in a series of daily photos of a juniper in progress. It’s about as close as I can come to “real time” blogging. Bobby, my apprentice, and I have been taking our time with this Rocky Mountain Juniper, and enjoying the process of discovering the bonsai within the tree. I […]
Bobby’s Summer Work
Summer is an interesting time in the bonsai calendar. Whether you have much to do or not depends on what you have in your yard. If you only have black pine that you’ve decandled, you can almost hire someone to water and take a two month break. If you’ve only got spruce, it’s almost the […]
Michael Hagedorn 