Bonsai: The Art of Living Sculpture [Hardcover]

Jack Douthitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2001

Bonsai pays tribute to the artistry and design behind these fascinating miniature trees. The text compares the ancient art of bonsai to the traditional arts and focuses on the specific design elements of the bonsai--the roots, trunk, branches, foliage, and container--and discusses how bonsai artists manipulate these elements for a specific effect. Unlike the traditional arts, bonsai requires working with material that is alive and ever-changing, presenting unique challenges and rewards.

Featured are photographs from the most highly-regarded bonsai artists throughout the world. The bonsai photographed are not only the most popular pine, juniper, elm, and boxwood, but also the more exotic or colorful rhododendron, crabapple, wisteria, and bougainvillea. A useful reference section provides a list of public bonsai collections worlds.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jack Douthitt has been a bonsai enthusiast for over thirty years. The former president of Bonsai Clubs International, he has served as a judge at bonsai exhibits and exhibited his own award-winning bonsai at various shows. Jack's bonsai appear in both the National Arboretum Collection of American Bonsai in Washington, D.C. and the Weyerhaeuser Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection in Tacoma, Washington. In 1987, he was named "One of America's Outstanding Bonsai Artists" by the National Bonsai Foundation.

Warren Hill is the supervisory museum curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; 1st edition (May 18, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847823202
• ISBN-13: 978-0847823208
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,026,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of the Bonsai, June 5, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Bonsai: The Art of Living Sculpture (Hardcover)

First of all, this book is beautiful: from the trees in it (a truly amazing array, photographed simply to highlight the beauty of the bonsai) right down to the paper it's printed on, the book itself is a work of art. Wonderful design, good captions, and good color, too. An homage to the art of bonsai, and indeed a bonsai-lover's must-have for its beauty alone.

Second of all, I actually liked the text. It's not a basic how-to or a boring dense history- it focuses instead on the philosophy and, again, the art of bonsai. Just reading the book is calming.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The art of making a great book, October 9, 2009

By 

Real Name (los angeles) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai: The Art of Living Sculpture (Hardcover)

The title is perfect. I just wanted a book with great photos of beautiful trees and this book is it. Plus quotes and simple captions that compliment the photos. Then in the back of the book, so it would not distract from the art, the author was thoughful enough to give detailed information about each tree. I will hold on to this one.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful pictures....., October 8, 2004

By 

E. Tenney-Domanski - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bonsai: The Art of Living Sculpture (Hardcover)

Simply elegant and inspiring pictures are captured within the pages of this book. The fan of simple, straightforward, bonsai designs that reflect nature, will be quite happy with the selected works of art. Also, the admirer of the more complex and fantastic manipulations of the trees will be pleased.

The writing throughout the book, on the other hand, leaves much to be desired if one is interested in learning any how-to tips. I was able to look through and read sections of this book before I bought it, and was aware that there was little information or substance to it. I purchased it for its pictures, nothing else. If you want to know how to grow bonsai, buy another book. If you want inspiration and pretty pictures, this book will fulfill your needs.