Feature Gallery: Shohin Bonsai

This gallery is the first in a series of size specific galleries designed with the intention of creating a resource of inspiration as well as a source of enjoyment for all. It is our hope that those who favor Shohin bonsai and those who seek inspiration for designing bonsai of this size will find these galleries valuable and educational.

We have compiled the photographs in these galleries from submitted photographs and various other sources, such as contest entries and galleries here at AoB. This gallery, like all of our galleries, is meant to be dynamic and to grow as more trees are submitted.

Introduction by Ted Matson

As an artist, I respect those who can express the most with the least.

Shohin bonsai, with their small size and limited structures, offer this challenge. To me, they are more difficult, not just because they are harder to grow in very small pots, but because the limited number of usable elements force the artist to become very careful and deliberate with how they build the tree’s structure. An analogy would be impressionist painters who, just by the way they load a brush with pigment and apply it to the canvas with a very deliberate, controlled gesture, can present something that the viewer is able to “see” in the composition. In that way, a simple brush stroke conveys so much information.

Shohin is like that. You have a limited number of strokes (branches, twigs, etc.) to convey the impression of a much larger, older, more complex tree structure. It offers a challenge and reward that is almost an inverse proportion to its size. The smallerthe tree, the harder it is to make it work, and the greater the accomplishment when it does. – Ted Matson

Special thanks to Heather Hartman, Michelle Dougherty, and Ted Matson.

We hope that you find the following photographs as inspiring and enjoyable as we do.