Bonsai Master Class [Hardcover]

Craig Coussins (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 28, 2006

Join the contemporary artists around the world who are refining and developing the ancient art of bonsai. Find out about state-of-the-art tools invented by Ken Moore. See how Rob Clausen uses latex and fiberglass to create dramatic groupings of trees on a rock base. Explore the breakthrough methods of Singapore’s bonsai masters, with inspiring examples of the results. Covering both basic and advanced techniques and illustrated with step-by-step photographs taken over months, Bonsai Master Class is designed to guide the reader on an artistic journey. It provides expert tips throughout on buying bonsai, seasonal care, horticultural requirements for different climates, and distinctive ways to display the results.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Coussins packs this substantial, lavishly illustrated guide to Japan's ancient art of bonsai with everything from a refresher course on the basics--watering, feeding, pruning, wiring, and repotting--to advanced techniques for those seeking nothing less than a total horticultural and aesthetic journey. Technically, bonsai is a tree with roots and foliage pruned to generate multiple growth points and reduce the distance between these internodes for greater strength. Step-by-step instructions with photos guide readers through the various skills necessary for maintaining bonsai, and Coussins demonstrates techniques using pines, yews, azaleas, junipers, and more, as carving, trunk splitting, trunk fusing, and manufactured deadwood create numerous horticultural visions. Using detailed listings of bonsai styles, tree names, and even heights (from thimble to 65 inches) in Japanese and English, Coussins provides a complete guide for novices and bonsai artists. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Sterling (December 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1402735472
• ISBN-13: 978-1402735479
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #177,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Thousand pictures tells a great story, January 19, 2007

By 

Yamadoriman "Big Boys" (Wyoming, America) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai Master Class (Hardcover)

Superbly written with, what I believe to be, over a thousand images, this is the most comprehensively photographically intensive Bonsai Book in the world. Craig Coussins has written a number of very popular Bonsai Books and his books are indeed unlike most others. It's not about him but rather about Bonsai, Bonsai techniques, other teachers' demonstrations and that is why I love this book. Craig Coussins has traveled all over the globe teaching Bonsai and he has asked his many friends to share the platform of this book with him.
What you get is a very interesting assortment of wonderful Bonsai Masters showing you what it is that they do well. Clearly a lot of work has gone into this book and the breadth of knowledge in this book is simply vast. It's not too technical which is a relief but a book written with passion, presented with gusto and read with love. His last book started this broad attitude to discovering knowledge but if it was not for the author I doubt that many of us would have had the chance to meet so many wonderful teachers.
I am sure that Mr. Coussins has very little Ego or we not have seen such a publication. He is clearly an ardent promoter of other Bonsai Masters while being one himself. Now that really is refreshing. Visit the masters from Singapore, South Africa, Belgium, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, America and Canada through Craig Coussins photography of stunning bonsai and landscapes from all these and so many more countries where you can find Bonsai. I love it. I visited his website and that was another revelation. I loved that too.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Title misleading, August 4, 2008

By 

Aaron Chuin Zeng "chofaman" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bonsai Master Class (Hardcover)

I was hoping for more from the book and was disappointed. There is a lot of general information. I have mostly deciduous trees and there wasn't that much information on it. I had to return the book.
For advanced level, I recommend the Bonsai with Japanese Maples. It gives way more detail and how to information. Thanx!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars bonsai Master Class, September 21, 2007

By 

Elliot Claire (Mpls, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bonsai Master Class (Hardcover)

While this book has a lot of great information about bonsai and good photos the editing of the photos make it hard to follow the progress of the trees in many cases. The photos seem to be out of order and they are shown in reverse negative so the trees are first on the right side of the pot then on the left side in the sequence. I still appreciate the volume of work and the effort to bring this to print. I just wish the editor liked the subject enough to care about the finished book. I would not recommed this book to the beginner or anyone who doesn't understand basic photography.