Nik Art bonsai blog

Santieri del Carso

2018-04-16T11:15:00.001+02:00

Some photos from the bonsai exhibition in Trieste, Italy this weekend.

Nekaj slik z razstave v Trstu ta konec tedna.

My spruce.
Moja smreka.

Literati mugo

2018-04-13T09:06:00.000+02:00

Pinus mugo development 2010 - 2018
Razvoj ruševja 2010 - 2018

Taxus development

2018-04-13T08:55:00.002+02:00

2009

2011

2012

2014 before first styling / Pred prvim oblikovanjem

2014 after first styling / Po prvem oblikovanju

2016

2017 before second styling / Predrugim oblikovanjem

2017 After second styling / Po drugem oblikovanju

Miyabi-Ten

2018-02-26T17:44:00.004+01:00

It is often a pleasure to visit Italian exhibitions, not just because of the quality of the bonsai, but also because they are held in such picturesque locations as this time. Castle Brando above the small village Cison di Valmarino was the venue for Miyabi-Ten exhibition this time. The exhibition itself is held every two years, and is getting better everytime. I was happy to exhibit one of my bonsai once again and will gladly return next time.

Pogosto mi je v užitek obiskati razstave v Italiji. Ne samo zaradi kvalitete bonsajev ampak tudi zaradi slikovitih lokacij kjer so prirejene. Tokrat je bil za novo lokacijo razstave Miyabi-Ten izbran grad Brando nad malo vasico Cison di Valmarino. Razstava je prirejena vsaki dve leti in je vedno boljša. Zadovoljen sem, da sem ponovno sodeloval z enim od mojih bonsajev in se bom naslednjič z veseljem vrnil.

My larix.
Moj macesen.

XIX. Noelanders Trophy

2018-02-19T18:20:00.002+01:00

In the first weekend of February another edition of the Noelanders Trophy took place in Genk, Belgium.

As always a great event, also very crowded because of the big exhibition and vending area. Always worth visiting.

Here are a few glimpses.

Na prvi konec tedna v februarju je potekala že 19. izdaja velike razstave Noelanders Trophy v Genku v Belgiji.

Kot vedno, je bila to odlična prireditev, z ogromno obiskovalcev zaradi kakovostne razstave in velike izbire prodajalcev.

Nekaj utripov.

My entry for the exhibition. A spruce on which I have been working for 8 years.
Moj bonsaj na razstavi. Smreka, na kateri delam že 8 let.

Vesele praznike

2017-12-20T15:03:00.000+01:00

First snow

2017-11-30T10:38:00.001+01:00

Prvi sneg to sezono.

Juniperus sabina development

2017-11-29T09:38:00.000+01:00

Here is the juniper as I got it in late 2014.
Takšnega sem dobil pozno v letu 2014.

After first major cut in 2015 and before styling.
Po prvih večjih rezih in pred oblikovanjem, 2015.

After the first styling.
Po prvem oblikovanju.

Spring 2016.
Pomlad 2016.

November 2016, just before another needed styling.
Novembra 2016, tik pred ponovnim oblikovanjem.

After the second styling.
Po drugem oblikovanju.

Today before bringing it back in shape.
Danes pred urejanjem.

And the current image. I'm not yet too sure about the pot. I may well leave it in this one or plant it into a clasic one in spring.

In trenutni izgled. Nisem še čisto prepričan glede posode. Morda ga pustim v tej, ali pa ga bom spomladi presadil v klasično.

Berberis cut-back

2017-11-23T13:26:00.002+01:00

Did a little cut-back on my small Berberis. It has really developed nicely in the past year and actually won't need much longer to be show ready which is quite rare for decidious bonsai to be 'ready' so soon.

In spring I will repot it and hopefully it will fit into it's new pot. It's quite on the small side. Otherwise we will just wait one more year. :)
Last photo is the tree one year ago.

Na češminu sem malo skrajšal letošnje poganjke. Sem kar prijetno presenečen nad razvojem drevesa v eni sezoni. Glede na dosedajni razvoj, ne bo potrebno več veliko časa in drevo bo 'pripravljeno' na razstavo.
Spomladi ga bom presadil v novo posodo in upam, da se mu bo prilegala, saj je dokaj majhna. V drugem primeru pa bom pač počakal še eno leto. :)

Zadnja slika je bila posneta pred enim letom.

Black pine development

2017-11-21T09:24:00.002+01:00

This is the story of the development of one of my black pines or Pinus nigra. I got this tree in a trade with a friend in 2015. Since it has already spent a few years in the pot, I begun working on it the same year.

To je zgodba o enem od mojih črnih borov oz. Pinus nigra. To drevo sem dobil z menjavo s prijateljem leta 2015. Ker je bil že nekaj let v tej posodi, sem lahko takoj začel z delom.

The first task was to bring the foliage closer to the interesting parts of the trunk by benting it.

Prva naloga je bila ukriviti krošnjo bliže zanimivim delom debla.

In 2016 I was invited to do a demonstration at the EBA exhibition in Hungary. I decided to bring my pine and style it there.

Lani sem bil povabljen za demonstratorja na razstavi EBA, ki je takrat potekala na madžarskem. Odločil sem se, da bom delal na svojem boru.

After the demonstration.
Po demonstraciji.

This spring the pine got a new, more suitable pot.
Letos spomladi je bil presajen v drugo, bolj primerno posodo.

So, now it was time to deal with this tree again. Unwired and ready for new wire.

Sedaj je bil že pravi čas za ponovno delo na drevesu. Stara žica je odstranjena in vse pripravljeno za novo.

I decided to change the front a bit to get better movement in the trunk and to hide the crossing.

Odločil sem se, da nekoliko spremenim sprednjo stran, s katere se bolje vidi gibanje debla in da skrijem križanje pri zavoju.

And here is the finished tree.
In končni izdelek.

Aki-Ten

2017-11-21T08:47:00.000+01:00

A few photos from the Aki-Ten exhibition, which was held in Brixen/Bressanone, Italy a few weeks ago. Very lovely exhibition with good quality bonsai. The guest of honor was the Japanese bonsai master Chiharu Imai.

Nekaj fotografij z razstave Aki-Ten, ki je potekala pred parimi tedni v mestecu Brixen/Bressanone v Italiji. Odlična razstava s krasnimi bonsaji. Uradni gost je bil japonski mojster Chiharu Imai.

My Larix at the exhibition. This time exhibited without any wire.
Moj macesen na razstavi. Tokrat razstavljen popolnoma neožičen.

Autumn Cotinus and Larix

2017-10-30T09:18:00.003+01:00

Ruj in macesen v jesenskih barvah.

Bonsai Europa 2017

2017-10-18T11:12:00.002+02:00

After my visit to Czech Republic I went to the UK a week later where the Bonsai Europa exhibition took place. So in two weeks I have made more than 5200 km, but all well worth it.

Po obisku Češke sem teden kasneje odpotoval še v Anglijo na razstavo Bonsai Europa. V dveh tednih sem skupno prevozil nekaj več kot 5200 km, kar pa se je izplačalo.

Czech national bonsai exhibition

2017-10-18T11:07:00.003+02:00

Here are some photos of the Czech national bonsai exhibition I participated in a few weeks ago.

Nekaj slik s Češke nacionalne razstave bonsajev, na kateri sem sodeloval.

Sabina styling

2017-10-03T10:10:00.003+02:00

Two mugo pines

2017-10-03T10:09:00.001+02:00

Bonsai & Kusamono Fest 2017, Hallein, Austria

2017-06-06T09:57:00.002+02:00

Here are a few glimpses from this past weekend from the 5th Bonsai & Kusamono Fest which was held in Hallein, Austria. Every time a very good atmosphere with great hosts and people from plenty different countries.

This time I was an official guest along-side some other big names in the European bonsai scene. And of course I exhibited a few of my trees.

Nova razstava je za nami. Minuli konec tedna je potekal že peti Bonsai & Kusamono Fest v Halleinu v Avstriji. To razstavo vedno spremlja odlično vzdušje, prijazni gostitelji in obiskovalci / sodelujoči z vseh koncev tega dela Evrope.

Tokrat sem se razstave udeležil kot povabljen gost, poleg nekaterih drugih pomembnih imen Evropskega bonsajizma. Seveda pa sem razstavljal tudi par dreves.

Thuja & Taxus

2017-05-25T12:25:00.003+02:00

Spring cleaning of new growth and getting some shape back on an eastern white ceader and a yew.

Spomladansko čiščenje nove rasti na ameriškem kleku in tisi.

Arco

2017-05-09T14:07:00.002+02:00

A few glimpses from our trip to the Arco exhibition in Italy.

Nekaj utrinkov z razstave bonsajev v Arcu.

Awarded hawthorne

2017-04-25T10:07:00.001+02:00

Here are my studio photos of my hawthorne.
Še malo boljše fotografije mojega gloga v polnem cvetenju.

8. Alpen - Adria

2017-04-24T14:29:00.002+02:00

After two years the 8th Alpen - Adria exhibition took place again in St. Veit, Austria. As usual I participated aswell and exhibited a Pinus mugo and a hawthorn, for which I recieved an award. Below are a few glimpses from the event.

Po dveh letih je ponovno prišel čas za Alpen - Adria razstavo, ki jo prirejajo naši kolegi z avstrijske Koroške. Kot po navadi, sem sodeloval. Razstavil sem svoj gorski bor in glog, za katerega sem prejel nagrado. Spodaj je nekaj utrinkov.

Spring work

2017-02-27T12:45:00.001+01:00

Some spring work on my decidious trees. Fagus, Cornus, Prunus and Cotinus.

Pomladno delo na bukvi, drenu, rešeljiki in ruju.

Scots cascade

2017-02-17T13:37:00.003+01:00

This story began almost ten years ago in 2008 when I got this scots pine as a gift from my grandparents. Since the tree was well rooted I made the first basic styling almost right away. That time I went for a tree with two tops using my beginner knowledge.

Zgodba o tem rdečem boru se je začela pred skoraj desetimi leti, leta 2008, ko sem ga dobil kot darilo od mojih starih staršev. Ker je bil že dobro ukoreninjen sem se z mojim začetniškem znanjem kmalu lotil prvega oblikovanja. Odločil sem se za dva vrha.

A year after it already went into what I thought was its final pot.

Leto kasneje sem ga že presadil v posodo, za katero sem pričakoval, da bo končna.

Sadly soon after the top apex died and I was left with a long straight and unattractive branch, so I decided to let the tree grow freely for a while until I could figure out what to do with it. That was in 2010.

Žal je kmalu za tem zgornji vrh odmrl in ostalo mi je drevo z eno ravno vejo, z zelenjem zgolj na koncu. Ker takrat še nisem točno vedel kaj narediti z njim, sem ga pustil prosto rasti. To je bilo leta 2010.

In 2013, with my knowledge improved I slowly began bending the old unflexible trunk. Below the start of the first bend...

Leta 2013, z večjim znanjem, sem začel kriviti staro, neprožno deblo. Spodnja slika prikazuje začetek prvega zavoja...

...followed by the second bend a year later.
...in še drugega, leto kasneje.

The next photo is from 2017 just before styling (old needles already plucked). In the mean time I transplanted the tree into a bigger training container and positioned it at a better angle.

Spodnja slika je že iz 2017, tik pred oblikovanjem (stare iglice sem do tega trenutka že potrgal). Do tedaj sem bor še presadil v večjo trening posodo in nekoliko prilagodil kot pod katerim je bor posajen.

And after styling.

Now it needs some more remification and a nice bonsai pot!

Po oblikovanju.

Sedaj se mora bor še lepo zgostiti in dobiti lepo posodo.

Berberis and Sabina

2017-02-17T10:50:00.002+01:00

Styling season is starting, so here are two of my recent projects.

Firstly here is the first styling I have done on this small but very old Berberis thunbergii. This one is only about 30cm tall and suspected to be somewhere from 30-40 years old.
I decided to style it in a way simmilar to its natural habitus, that is why strickt standard styling rules were not applyed here. But nevertheless some branch selections and wire were required to make the future structure better. I look much forward to the further development of this tree.

Počasi se začenja sezona dela na bonsajih. Spodaj sta dva moja nedavna projekta.
Prvo oblikovanje na manjšem, vendar starem češminu. Visok je približno 30cm in star okrog 30-40 let.
Odločil sem se, da ga ne bom oblikoval v klasični stil, temveč se bom držal njegovega naravnega habitusa. Vseeno pa sem opravil selekcijo vej in jih ožičil, ter s tem napravil boljšo podlago za končno strukturo krošnje. Zelo se veselim nadaljnega dela na tem malem bonsaju.

Before
Pred oblikovanjem

After
Po oblikovanju

Sometimes trees can surprise you. This sabina juniper came to my garden by coincidence and did not look like much at first sight. I decided to try and make it a bit more appealing. After I dug through the big mass of foliage I discovered quite a few nice features like old deadwood and even some tapper and nice twists in the trunk.
This was not a totall styling, only some major branches were put in position.

Včasih te nekatera drevesa lahko nekoliko presenetijo. Tale Juniperus sabina (smrdljivi brin po naše) je prišla v moj vrt bolj po naklučju in na prvi pogled ni prav veliko obetala. Odločil sem se je lotiti in jo narediti vsaj malo bolj privlačno na pogled. Ko sem se prebijal skozi gosto krošnjo, kar je nakazovalo dobro zdravje drevesa, sem odkril kar nekaj lepih lastnosti kot so star mrtev les, ožanje debla in celo nekaj lepega gibanja.

To ni bilo popolno oblikovanje, le nekaj glavnih vej sem usmeril v boljšo pozicijo.

Before

Pred oblikovanjem

After
Po oblikovanju

NT & EBA & ESA

2017-02-12T20:54:00.002+01:00

One week ago the 18th edition of the Noelanders Trophy was held in the Belgian town of Genk, this time along side with the EBA & ESA exhibition.

If you are familiar with this exhibition you know just how huge of an event this is. But for those who are not familiar, let me just tell you there were about 200 bonsai exhibited, 80 traders selling their items and about 4500 visitors during the whole weekend.

Here are some glimpses. Only some overall photos of the exhibition since photography was once again not allowed.

Pred enim tednom je v Belgijskem mestecu Genk potekala že 18. razstava bonsajev Noelanders Trophy, tokrat združena z evropsko EBA & ESA razstavo.

Če poznate Noelanders Trophy, veste kako velika je. Za vse ostale pa lahko povem, da je bilo razstavljenih okrog 200 bonsajev, prodajalo je 80 prodajalcev in preko celega vikenda je razstavo obiskalo okoli 4500 obiskovalcev.

Spodaj je nekaj utronkov. Le nekaj potografij razstavnega prostora, saj je bilo fotografiranje razstave ponovno prepovedano.

The two ovrall winning trees. Juniperus sabina and Taxus cuspidata, both from Spain.

Zmagovalna drevesa. Juniperus sabina in Taxus cuspidata, oba iz Španije.

Best decidious.
Najboljši listavec.

Once again I was lucky enough to participate and exhibit a few of my own trees. Small shohin display for the Noelanders Trophy and Carpinus koreana for EBA.

Ponovno sem imel srečo sodelovati na razstavi. Na Noelanders Trophy-u sem razstavljal manjšo shohin kompozicijo, na EBA razstavi pa svoj korejski gaber.

This years demonstrators were Mitsuo Matsuda (JP), Daisaku Nomoto (JP), Salvatore Liporace (IT) and David Benavente (ES).

Demonstratorji tokrat so bili Mitsuo Matsuda (JP), Daisaku Nomoto (JP), Salvatore Liporace (IT) in David Benavente (ES).

Finally I also managed to visit the famous bonsai garden of Jean-Paul Polmans. Trully awesome collection.

Končno mi je tudi uspelo obiskati dobro poznan vrt mojstra Jean-Paul Polmansa. Resnično lepa zbirka.