Rock planting named 'Pandora'

Hello,
I got this stone from my friend. It is bowl rock- a kind of volcanic. I put it together last friday.


severral sets of aluminum is glued on to the rock. i used concrete and super glue.


This is what it looks like

Nice, I think the comon name for that rock is lace rock commonly used in the fish hobby to keep ph at 8 to 8.4 (limestone based) also awesome for land scape plantings

i selected several Kingsville boxwood. the oldest is 40 years old. they are grown in Seattle area by John Hind (I think i get his name correctly) so i put all of them on the stone to see what it will look like.



it is put together during Intensive class and 3 students help putting this rock planting together. the roots are comb and cut. i use muck (clay+akadama dust + New Zealand sphagnum moss)to build the wall. then tied the root ball on the rock. i slowly add my mix (AKA Boon mix - 1 part akadama, 1 part lava and 1 part pumice plus a little bit of charcoal and crushed granite sifted clean work it in with chopstick, Muck hold the soil in. after it is complete we use moss to cover the whole surface of the soil.



Bob King is taking picture for article for American Bonsai Society.
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Pic from the right side


from the left side

And here, I present 'Pandora' She will be shown at our show this weekend, January 16-17.
http://bayislandbonsai.com/bib-annual-exhibit/

i hope to see you there.

I like the picture of the trees still in their pots all placed on the rock. Makes me think as if I were to ask my friends to help me with a project like this and that would be what they would do.

Seth,
this is not lace rock. i have quite a few pieces of lace rock also. it has better color. i used them for saikei in the past.
Thanks,

Wonderful arrangement you created none the less

jon hultgren wrote:I like the picture of the trees still in their pots all placed on the rock. Makes me think as if I were to ask my friends to help me with a project like this and that would be what they would do.

It was really fun for everyone in the class.

Wonderful result!!! Thanks for sharing it with us!!

Is the name of the piece a reference to a recent movie that has just been released in 3D?

Joe Hatfield wrote:Is the name of the piece a reference to a recent movie that has just been released in 3D?

Joe, yes that is one of the two reasons. The other is Pandora Box(wood).
I only name a few trees in my collection.

Great work.

It's not often that I can locate an area of reference in bonsai so well, but this image transports me to one rocky cliff along the Avenue of the Giants in Northern California. At that spot a chunk of the mountain hillside must have broken off and slid into the Eel River, which hollowed out and swirled around the base of it. It had many sublime twisted Live Oaks growing on top and everything dripped with moss. Very cool, thanks for posting your process!

Boon,
Great idea, the new composition is much better than as individual Bonsai. We do not see enough well done creations thank you for sharing it.
How will you display it in the exhibit? Will you place it directly on a display table or use a water basin? Will you use a scroll or any other elements?
I will understand if you can't share this until after the show!

Mark

I love the photographic record of your technique, the rock, fixing details and your result.

You rock strongly reminds me of the structures formed by the collapsed roof of a lava cave I discovered in Iceland.



Excellent post Boon, thank you.

Good luck with the display.

Thank you for your comments.
I will post the pictures from the show next week probably Tuesday before i go to Belgium.

I hope to see bonsai friends in Europe on the 23th and 24th.
Boon

Pandora rocks, Boon! Have a good time at Noelanders, and don't forget your big tools..

-dorothy

Very cool. The piece should show very well.

Nice work Boon, and good luck!

I've just been trying to stand on my head to see what the rock looks like upside down. I think you could have used it either way, but the way you have it shows more drama.

G'day Boon...

Wonderful piece of work Boon...

I look forward to meeting you at your show, tomorrow...

Pat...mounted on my trusty steed, riding off, wildly, in all directions...

dorothy7774 wrote:Pandora rocks, Boon! Have a good time at Noelanders, and don't forget your big tools..

-dorothy

big tools are too heavy to carry. I will bring my tools for Bonsai LOL.
thanks,

here is the close up of the Navi. it is taken during the set up of the Bay Island Bonsai Exhibit. Thank you Peter Tea for the Navi.
Picture is taken by Jonas Dupuich www.bonsaitonight.com

boon wrote:I hope to see bonsai friends in Europe on the 23th and 24th.
Boon

We await your arrival with anticipation

And remember:If it's Tuesday

Tony

Tony wrote:

boon wrote:I hope to see bonsai friends in Europe on the 23th and 24th.
Boon

We await your arrival with anticipation

And remember:If it's Tuesday

Tony

i am sorry that i did not make it clear. if i have time, I will post the exhibit pictures on Tuesday 19th. and i will leave on Wednesday 20th to see you.
You funny guy - cannot wait to see you.

Here is Pandora on Display. For those of you who have not seen the movie, Avatar. This will not make sense to you. I broke all the rules in bonsai when I put one of the blue people (Navi) in the rock planting. A few people did not like it at all. But most people loved it as a fun piece with the action figure in it. If people really hate it, I will for sure do another.
When i have time, I will put it on the slab. Remove the figurine and small accent plant on the stone. Then display it traditionally.

Have fun

Pandora close up


Display of Pandora


small accent plant that a member of Bay Island Bonsai put on the stone.


Large accent plant that i use for the display