2 new ji itas

I've finished 2 more ji itas, both are Christmas presents.

This ji ita is made from one of the elm boards I showed in an earlier post.

NOT FOR SALE

The burr detail on this board is lovely and the staining has really highlighted the different colours within the wood.

This ji ita is for my good friend Trev (Peter Warren).
I hasten to add that Peter didn't commission this board and it's not something that one could use in a bonsai display (too twee).


I made it to thank Peter for re-invigorating my passion for bonsai and displaying trees, I'm hoping he'll be able to use it at home as a coaster for his cuppa.

The quality of my trees has improved greatly since Peter started working on them, and myself and several members of my local club now book Pete for workshops 4 to 5 times a year.

The board was made from laburnum wood that was shown in an earlier post.







I hope that you all have a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year.....go steady on the Loopy Juice !

Pictures of root stands and ji ita from Japan

Mark Cooper kindly took these pictures of root stands and ji ita's that he saw during his recent trip to Japan.

The larger ji ita sets were for sale at 65000 yen or £570......
Bargain, I'll get my wallet
Seriously though the workmanship on these boards is incredible.

Chuhin sized root stands (ne taku) waiting to be sold at auction.
Fantastic work.




Thanks very much Mark, I really appreciate the pictures.

Re-working of an older root stand.

This is a small root stand that I made a couple of years ago from a piece of Ash cut from a tree in my garden.
It was one of the first stands that I'd made and wasn't as good as I'd like so I re-worked it a little recently.
As you can see in my previous post I think it works quite nicely on a ji ita board with my new Ilex serrata.

The original stand

The re-worked stand:

I opened up the holes slightly and thinned the underside of the ne taku.

The stand was then stained a darker shade.

Size:100mm x 65mm x 12mm

New Ilex serrata with exposed roots

Here's a little beauty I've just taken off Peter Warrens hands.

It's most probably classed as a mame size bonsai but should work nicely in a 3 or 5 point shohin display, or even as an accent tree for a larger bonsai.
The red berries are ideal for adding seasonal interest to a display.

 Size: 115mm wide x 60mm high

The berries of the Ilex are a lovely bright red and the ideal size for mame & shohin bonsai.





The tree ideally could do with a slightly higher root stand but I think it looks quite good on the ne taku and ji ita that were at hand.

More pots from Japan

Here are some more pots that I've purchased from Japan this year.

I'll be using some of them in the coming spring for waiting bonsai.

Size: 192mm x 144mm x 45mm
Koyo

This pot is for one of the Chinese Elms shown in my last post.

Size: 132mmm x 103mm x 22mm
Hattori

I have a small Zelkova broom developing that I hope to put into this pot in a couple of years.

Size: 114mm x 50mm
Bunzan

Nothing planned for this pot yet.....things may change though !

Size: 96mm x 40mm
Potter unknown

Possibly for use with the Ilex Serrata shown in my next post.

More glorious glazes, I don't always have a tree in mind to use with them, but with pots like these you just have to buy them.......don't you ?