Bonsai tree

It’s hard to create a good shohin display. With larger trees, we work to find trees, pots, stands, and accents that work well together. With shohin, the same is true but the number of trees can jump to 6 or more. When done well, shohin displays create truly unique experiences. Here are some photos from this year’s California Shohin Seminar, the biennial event held in Santa Nella, CA.

The tree above points clearly to the right making it a good fit for the left side of the display. But beyond that, the tree’s silhouette provides a bit of dissonance. It’s well done and very well ramified, but there’s little transition between the trunk and fine branches. I’ve thought about how I might develop it differently and can’t say that I’ve come up with much. It’s an interesting little tree.
More simple than the traditional box stands, single tree stands are a great way to show off a tree. I like this stand’s curved support and the way it creates an asymmetrical display.
A few trees fell into the large shohin or chuhin categories. These larger trees were excellent.
In sharp contrast to many of the antique pots featured in the exhibit, at least one contemporary pot made a colorful statement. It would be fun to see how these pots are received when they too become antiques.
Another well-done shohin bonsai.
From what I can tell, the Hotel de Oro really gets into hosting the seminar. Even the front desk provides an excellent, albeit unorthodox, bonsai display.