Bonsai: The Art of Living Sculpture

by Jack Douthitt

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0847823202
• ISBN13: 9780847823208
• Release Date: May 2001
• Publisher: Rizzoli International Publications
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.0" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Beautiful pictures.....

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.

The Art of the Bonsai

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.