Click on Images to Enlarge!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Hans Mt. Hemlock

Well, Hans van Meer has come and gone from my house. Let me tell you, he is one of the nicest, funniest people I have ever met!! I had such a great time with him and I am honored to have been the one to get him to the states for his first visit. Hopefully this will be the first of many trips to come.
We had a great time working on trees, drinking beer, shooting pool and working on trees, haha! He is a very talented artist and I am sure will be come one of the best in all of Europe very soon. Here is a tree that we worked on together in my yard.
It is a Mt. Hemlock, has about a 6"+ trunk and stands about 30" tall. It is an amazing tree.....one local bonsai master told me it was a junk tree.....I collected it because I saw this tree in it. My original vision had a different apex, I like the one Hans designed better!!
It was fun working with Hans, and I was able to learn from him. A good time was had by all.... Hans loved this tree.....
Before any work

Hans working away!

Finished for now..

Hans is done for the day!
This Mt Hemlock has amazing bark, a killer deadwood top that is older than I am and now a wonderful shape to it. This tree just goes to prove that sometimes "Masters" are even wrong! Better pictures of this tree will be posted in the coming weeks....

5 comments:

Manu said...

Wow! Awesome tree! I don't remember the weather being that nice around the time Hans was here - I wish I could work on my trees in shorts...

Will said...

That's a great tree, Jason. No wonder you were after those big Chinese pots! You really collect some amazing trees.

Perhaps you could divulge a trade secret and tell us the specific beer that resulted in the inspiration for this styling. Did Hans require a European beer, or did an local micro brew go better with such a local tree?

I'm wondering what local master said it was worthless, but you don't have to answer here. :)

I've heard that Mountain Hemlocks can lose their vigor even just a bit south of here in Portland, so if you need to vacation the tree up here from time to time . . . . LOL!

It's really great, what you are doing for the world of bonsai - not only the amazing trees you are collecting and working on and displaying here on your blog, but also the efforts you put into bringing and hosting such great talent to the States and to the Northwest. Thanks for all you are doing.

Will

Will said...

(Let me try this again now that I've got an official blogger account!)

That's a wonderful tree, Jason. Now I know why you wanted those large Chinese pots!

I've heard that Mountain Hemlock often lose their vigor even just a little south in Portland, so if the tree needs a vacation please keep me in mind . . . :)

Was Hans properly inspired by a local micro brew, or did he require a familiar European beer to create this beautiful styling?

I just want to say that its great to see you offering so much to the world of bonsai these days, not only with your collecting and your own trees and your work with Oregon Bonsai, but also through your efforts to bring and host top notch artists from other countries. And now your web on top of that! Great work, and thanks for all you do.

Will

Jason said...

Hi Manu,

Yes, from time to time we were in the sun! Heck I even got a sunburn one day!

Hi Will, thank you so much for the niec words. I appreciate that and it is nice to be recognized for the work I put in. As for Beer, Hans like the local Drop Top Amber Ale....one night he liked it tooo much, lol!!! I will keep you in mind for tree sitting, lol!!

Thanks friend! Jason

Pete said...

Hi, I just dug up several Mt. Hemlocks and repotted in my bonsai pots with commercial bonsai compost. They are all turning yellow and dropping needles. Are you familiar with this phenomenon? Once they drop needles, do they grow back in spring?