You ain’t seen me right? (or “Where’s (the) Wally!)

Last night I was allowed out to play by Mrs Wife so Les and I attended Kent Bonsai Club’s August meeting as I’ve been interested for a while to see how “the other half” live. Quite surprised, and then playfully abusive, the members that I know made me feel quite welcome in their own way – most it seemed to involve me parting with money! Once the shock had worn off I had a chance to catch up as I’d not seen many of them since CKB last year.

I must admit that it was fairly “odd” to be, as Andy put it on the MBS Blog about Crawley, the other side of the fence but I had a great evening coming home with some good memories and some late 1990′s “Bonsai Porn”. It’s really funny looking at some of the magazines as I’ve now either worked or met many of the “artists” featured, a bit spooky – God they look so young!

I was “allowed” to get my hands dirty and create a “bloody Maidstone tree” (or at least set it on the right path) from a Field Maple with a stunning trunk. Many years work ahead but with the right care and styling this could be one of the better Field Maples on the “circuit”. Let’s hope that the owner is still talking to me next time I see her! So where will I “pop-up” next, who knows, it could be at your place!! SUTEKI Squirrel, over and out.

Oh Behave!

Mo·jo

mō jō Noun

The word originally means a charm or a spell. But now it’s more commonly said meaning sex appeal or talent.

1. Self-confidence, Self-assuredness. As in basis for belief in one’s self in a situation.

2. Good luck fetish / charm to bolster confidence.
3. The ability to bounce back from a debilitating trauma and negative attitude.

Well, it appears to be back and not a moment too soon – shame I’m off to sunnier shores in the not too distant future!  I think that my lack of Mojo was mainly down to the long Winter and my trees being late pushing on that my mind became to wandering to everything apart from Bonsai and Ceramics! 

Anyho, batteries soon to be recharged (I hope) and then full speed ahead on the pot frot as I will be losing my Workshop in August until the end of the year so I’d best get busy. 

Wish me luck, and more entries here soon (hopefully!),
Love, Peace & Bananas,
Simon

Can anyone help?



Turning Heads

My friend Adrian is one of the few disabled bonsai hobbyists that I know.  Like me, he enjoys making things from scratch (mainly, in my case model cars) and he really surprised me, and it seems many within the Bonsai community, with his revolving and tilting workbench.  There are not too many times that things come onto the market that are a “must have” but I feel that what he has produced falls into this bracket.  Seen being used by UK professionals, at the UK New Bonsai Talent contest and now being used in Europe after successful sales at Burrs this little gem is a joy to work with.

Although originally aimed at the Shohin market this stand will hold up to 6kg so also ideal for smaller Chuhin trees.  Here’s what Peter Warren had to say on Adrian’s gadget:-

“I found it to be a great little table, much better than the one I had previously which had a similar design but the ball joint and the clamp was too slack so I never used it.  This one has a very secure and stable feel to it, and especially combined with the turntable it makes for easy work and easy work makes for good work.  They will be for sale at the Shohin UK show next year no doubt, but for any Shohin enthusiast, I would recommend it.”

High praise indeed. 

Adrian is working on a larger floor standing model and I’m sure that it will be as popular as his table top version.  You can order yours by visiting Adrian's new website HERE or keep an eye out for him at a Bonsai Show near you!

Drawing on inspiration

 

Whilst looking back on my personal Bonsai year I spent some time looking at what has inspired me and areas where I need to improve on.  One area that separates the pros form us mere morals is that use of design sketches.   One of my Bonsai heroes, Will Baddeley,* has produced (and encourages us to embrace) some stunning designs for members on his Forum (the European Bonsai Forum) as well as at the many Workshops he attends.  Although “art” might not be everyone’s strong point it’s worth taking the time to give it a go.

Whilst at the Burrs Workshop in November many of the professional artists used this medium to help explain their design “vision” for the material but it also helps the owner to refine the overall design over the following years.  Here’s what I mean………….

I know that myself, along with many other novices, benefit from having a blueprint for future work and it also provides an excellent part of a trees progression, just ask anyone lucky enough to be the owner of an original Slovak or a Baddeley!

*Check out Will’s Blog here

Happy New Year from Suteki!

Apologies for my lack of recent “posts” but this is due to a) I’m totally erratic at posting at the best of times, b) lack of, or extremely intermittent, broadband and c) having to babysit 2 unwell children over the Christmas period.  Not having a landline “jelly-bone” was quite interesting (just goes to show how often it got used!) but the lack of internet did prove frustrating!  Any-ho, I digress!

I’m extremely proud of what I achieved with Suteki Accent Pots during 2012 whether it was the fantastic sales (especially at CKB) or seeing my pots or plantings being used in formal displays.  My thanks go to all my customers and friends that have given me encouragement to continue with what I enjoy.  Thanks again for your support, next stop my pots at a “Top” Show!

Talking of Celebrating Kent Bonsai, I think that that had to be right at the top of my “proud moments of the year” list.  OK, I’m gunna toot my own horn here but I think that the Show was one of the best events this part of the country has ever had.  The feedback was tremendous (no pun intended) and bearing in mind it was my first large scale organisational event I’m very, very pleased with the outcome.  The help and support that I received from Kent’s Club members and traders alike was fantastic and I couldn’t have organised the event without their input, but I’m pleased for me.  Lots of stress, plenty of sleepless nights but an overall feeling of a “job well done” outweighed everything.

So what does 2013 hold for the Fiendish Frog?  Well I’m gunna be continuing to explore new avenues on the pot front, new glazes, designs etc.  My last batch, available here, went down a storm along with a couple of new colours that I managed to “sell” to one of the UK’s best Shohin pot makers – sorry bud could resist it!  Although I’m gunna miss Noelanders I’m really looking forward to the Swindon Winter Image and Shohin UK Shows along with Bonsai World later in the year.  Best of British Bonsai – the jury’s still out for me I’m afraid!  Lastly, but probably most importantly, it’s another year back at school.  2012, plus the trees in my garden, proved to me that although I’m on the right path I still need to improve some of my basic skills.  I’ve mentally planned my curriculum for the year but will have to see how the pennies, and pots, go.

Almost Famous!

Earlier this year I was interviewed by Tony Tickle, as part of his Bonsai Potters Showcase, and this has now gone live here.

Tony has been a friend and Bonsai mentor of mine for a quite a while now and I was very surprised to say the least when he asked me to take part.  Although it took part at Willowbog in early 2012 to be posted at all is a great honour indeed considering that he has interviewed some of the best Bonsai potters in Europe.  Kicked off by by my best bud Andy “Stone Monkey” Pearson after Swindon last year this series has grown into an interesting insight into European  Bonsai ceramics.  My latest creations can be found on my website

If you get a chance do checkout some of the previous interviews and please don’t laugh too much at my story.  Still a way to go but “almost famous”!