Post 216 Bonsai book publication

I've been conducting an 8 lesson (3 hours each) training program for a couple of years, at the local club, which I've called the Foundations Program. It's for those new or not so new to bonsai who want to cover the basics in a more structured way than is possible to pick up at the usual club activities. The program is supported by a series of Powerpoint presentations on a wide range of topics. The idea is to cover the syllabus using mostly discussion points on the slides, so there have been no detailed notes. The idea behind that is to encourage active learning.
Suffice to say it has gone down very well and so over the last couple of months I've been writing it all down, in book form. The Powerpoint presentations felt like I'd done most of the work, but that hasn't been quite the case. Is it a text book? Perhaps, but with all the pictures it is close to 130 pages and I'm heading down the exciting path of self publishing.

This is the title page, featuring my Lilly Pilly. 
 

And this is the intended table of contents. The summary I've drafted to describe the book, which I've needed for the various registration details, like ISBN and Catalogue data etc is as follows:

"The book offers information on the aesthetic and horticultural knowledge which is essential to the cultivation and stylistic development of a bonsai tree. The Japanese bonsai aesthetic, as it is widely understood in the west, is analysed and described in terms of design principles. Alternative models and approaches to a tree’s style are discussed. Step by step guides are provided for a variety of development paths, activities and techniques."

 It's 95% written with 95% of photos taken. Should be out for Christmas!

Post 215 New pots for June 2016

I just completed a batch of new commission pots. Here are the first three:

Pot No 257 at 470 x 363 x 90 is a big oval with quite sloping sides and a square rim. The glaze is one I've used many times; good old 7-27. It has a nice weathered bronze coloration with some variation with application depth. Glazing the feet completes the simulation of a weathered unglazed pot.

 Pot 258 at 430 x 323 x 82 is an oval with rounded rim and lower bead. The pot has nice lines with that convex wall. Greenish glaze has come out with blue tones in this shot.

 Pot 259 is a round  semi cascade pot at 309 diameter and 118 high. The proportions worked very nicely with this one to make an attractive pot. The concave walls sweep up to incorporate the rim which is offset by the lower bead, slightly elevated from the base. The feet cant ever so slightly outwards. It is surprising how these small changes have a big impact on look and feel.

Another more elevated view. The red brown glaze has just a little sheen again to simulate the waxed unglazed look.

Post 214 New pots

Ok, well I'm catching up and have another post today, having taken a few more pictures. As I said in my last post in this firing group there are a few pots which have been inspired by the rugged sophistication of paleolithic pots. For most of the people of the time most of what they have left behind are their flint tools and pots. As challenging as life at the time must have been just to survive they found time for decoration of their utilitarian pots. Inscribed lines and patterns often filled with a clay of a different colour, exercising creativity without concern for precision; truly wonderful objects. So I have made a few of my own, to follow:

First up is Pot 236, an oval at 215 x 170 x 50 with a 'beaten' wall surface reminiscent of beaten copper ware, in a lightly applied matte blue glaze.

Next is Pot at 244 at  250 x 195 x 50. A nice little formal oval with rounded flange and mid brown satin glaze.

 This is Pot 249 an oval at 210 x 170 x 50. The wall is fluted and the pot rimless in my beige breaking rust glaze.

 Pot 249

 

Pot 251 at 215 x 165 x 50 is an unglazed oval with three rings of oblique slip filled engraved lines.  The body of the pot is my standard stoneware which fires to a biscuit colour in the electric kiln and the slip fill is an off-white stoneware.

 Pot 251 detail

 

Pot 252 is the slightly larger oval with straight sides at 240 x 185 x 50, unglazed. The walls have vertical engraved slip filled lines.

 Pot 252 detail

  Pot 253 at 215 x 165 x 50 is an unglazed oval pot with convex walls, inward curved at the top and vertical slip filled engraved lines.

 Pot 253 detail

 

 

 Pot 254 is an oval with three rows of impressed marks then glazed in a brown glaze. Size is 250 x 190 x 50

 

 Pot 254 detail