New Tokonoma

bonsaial1

I have built this Tokonoma for the Tulare Fair week after next. It is 6 feet long by 30 inches. Not as deep as a normal tatami matt but I built this to sit on top of a 6' table. The inside is 46" tall.

The display is built of birch, cherry and black walnut. The curve in the top is due to the lens on my camera. The dark area at the top on the inside is a strip of cork I had to apply to stick a pin into to hang a scroll. The MDF was so dense I could not get a pin into it. Sorry about the sun, but I shot my pyracantha in a fall setting out side to take advantage of the sun. The cranes are flying out of the picture designating fall.

The secong shot is my truck in the background for perspective. I may take some more photos tommorrow!

Comments welcome, Al

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RedPine

Very beautiful work Al, very inspiring scene. Why have you chosen to omit the Tokobashirafor the Tokonoma?

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maria kapra

Your talent shows every aspect in this Tokonoma Dispaly. Job well done and very meticulously constructed every detail except the shadows on the photos.

You Rock Mr Al

Peter

pup

G.day Al

I have seen a portable one on the other web site and at show in Western Australia. The owner -maker put an opening the length about 15cms wide in the roof which allowed light in the photographs taken did not have deep shadows. I hope this of help to you. Pup

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Carl_Bergstrom

Dang, Al -- that's a nice piece of work. I'm seriously jealous; I'd love to have something like that to play around with. Of course, once I did, I'd have a reason to go spend way too much on scrolls and it would all be downhill from there, but hey, it'd be great....

Anyway, it's terrific to see someone taking the bonsai display so seriously. This is the sort of thing that needs to become a lot more commonplace before bonsai as art really takes off in this country. Congratulations for being on the vanguard.

Best regards,
Carl

bonsaial1

Pup, funny you should mention the cut out for sunlight. I had planned on not putting a top on at all. I was just going to make a band for the top to complete the look of an alcove. I then decided that the Tokonoma would be for indoor use anyway and I have decided that I will put three lowvoltage halogen lights in the top for display.

I am going to keep this one. I have built many for other people and for donations. I had planned on useing this one as a donation too, but since it came out so good, I am keeping it for myself. I will make it accessable to other clubs in my area for display purposes on request.

I decided to keep this based on a Display group I intend on forming here in the Central valley. The group will be by invitation and will base all its energy towards formal display. I have a venue already and need to post a date to reserve it for the spring. It will be in the new Woodward Park Regional Library and the room will hold 150 people. It is covered with a light brown pleated material on the walls and they provide up to 20 tables and 150 chairs. The room is round and about 100 feet in diameter. I wonder if Danny Use would take my phone calls for some ideas to kick around...

The Library was designed by Art Dyson, the last student of Frank Lloyd Wright. Below is a picture of the Library.

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bonsaial1

The round conferance center is shown with a red arrow. Also not evident in the photo, the walls are covered with grass cloth inside and out. Extra snazzy! see ya all later..al

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BrianG

Beautiful display Al. Really nice job. I have one question though - I always have a problem with deciding the flow of a tree and was wondering how you decided that the flow of your tree is to the left, when the main trunk sweeps so much to the right?

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bonsaial1

Brian, Very good question! While the main trunk has some movement to the right, you will notice that at its present potting the apex is nearly centered over the base of the trunk. The secondary trunk is not, it is very much to the left. In a three point display the aim is to focus the sweet spot in and around the middle of the display, using the scroll as a fulcrum. This is very well documented by Carl Bergstrom and his piece on the steelyard in display.

With this twin trunk the larger crown needs to be on the outside of the scroll to balance the display into the middle of the sweet spot. If I change the tree by flipping it as I did in photo shop, you can see how the weight of the tree has changed and makes the whole image out of balance. The larger crown on the right, in the original picture, becomes the wall on the right while the actual wall of the Tokonoma becomes the wall on the left. The large crown between the scroll and the smaller crown adds another verticle wall and splits the display into three parts instead of two which is what the scroll is supposed to do.

Nice question though..Thanks, Al

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