All in One Bonsai and Ceramics: February 2014

Welcome to All in One Bonsa

Bitten by the Bug

Welcome to All in One Bonsai...a blog that aims to remind me of what I have forgotten. Over the years I have been finding out as much as I can about the art of bonsai. I hope the information in this blog will shed some light to the beginning bonsai enthusiast out there.

I saw some bonsai trees at a corner market one night in Taipei and asked the guy if he was willing to teach me how to create these miniature trees. He directed me to a night school where all the instruction was in Chinese. My Chinese ability is very ordinary at the least so although I was learning bits and pieces, I really wasn't getting all I wanted from the course. The best parts were when the teacher would start pruning a beautiful tree or when he showed us how to repot a bonsai. The mystery was still out there but my interest wasn't waning, if anything it fueled my motivation to find out more. And so I did.

Let the adventure begin...

Recently I have discovered the joy of pottery. Bonsai and pottery are close friends so it was only a matter of time before I was introduced to her. Welcome to All in One Bonsai...and pottery.

Feel free to visit my site where you can purchase some of my handmade pottery. Quite a few pieces have been wood fired as it is the prefered method here in Taiwan:

Esty Shop: AllinoneCeramics

Sunday 9 February 2014

Wood Fired Pot

Hand Made Bonsai Pot

A few weeks ago I had some spare time so I decided to make a bonsai pot. I began slapping a solid rectangle block of clay together and then slowly digging out the inside. This is the final result after having it wood fired. I have had other pots wood fired as opposed to using an electric kiln before. It becomes a little unpredictable as to what the wood ash will do in a wood kiln, however, I was happy with how this one turned out.

The underside of the pot. While travelling in Southern Taiwan we were lucky enough to come across an old master chop artist. He made me this tiny chop you see on the bottom. The Taiwanese are so friendly and giving, he made me this chop for free! It was carved out of wood. The chop is my Chinese name. I have always been a fan of the chop - the Chinese characters are art in of itself.

Length measures 10 centimetres. Width measures 6 centimetres and the height measures 2.5 centimetres. It is quite a small pot to house a small bonsai. I plan on putting a juniper tree in this pot and posting what it looks like at a later date.

I rolled some granular soil particles over the clay to get the slightly bumpy effect.

One large hole and four smaller holes, essential for drainage and also used to secure the tree to the pot with wire.

If you love bonsai, I would encourage you to try your hand at making pots for your trees. They will be unique and you will feel slightly more attached to your trees.

Please visit my online pottery shop at AllinoneCeramics for handmade ceramic pieces.