A mate of mine gave me a pot........

[Jamie]

im not keen on it either leigh, it doesnt look right, i takes away from the tree rather than add to it

[kcpoole]

Nice leigh
If the moss extended down onto the soil below it I reckon it would look fine,ands the combination would be better for it, but as it is just stopping it looks crap

Ken

[bodhidharma]

Nice leigh
If the moss extended down onto the soil below it I reckon it would look fine,ands the combination would be better for it, but as it is just stopping it looks crap

Ken

Tell us what you really think K.C I agree, if it extended into the soil and around the tree it would be fine

[Luke]

i like it.
luke

[craigw60]

Hi Leigh, The pot is beautiful. How big is it ?. As for the moss I reckon it should be removed your trees bark is good and should be shown off, not covered.
Craig

[Bretts]

It's nice Leigh but my first thought was I want to shove it down in the pot some more. Might be the exposed roots or maybe just the mood I am in after weeding my pots. The deeper the tree the more brutal I could be getting the weeds roots

[Will_IslandBonsai]

Hi Leigh. You could poke a dash of moss amongst the two thinner rots on the left, then add a larger dollup on the surface over to the right, which would give a nice balance of the green....otherwise, yes, take it all off!

Reminds me off a happy Buddha, ensconsed on a red throne!

[Pat K]

For the life of me I can't see what the fuss is about the moss on the trunk.
I like it! It adds interest! Without it there is a danger of the whole image becoming too symetrical. Look at it as a birthmark lending character to an otherwise plain face.

Pat

[Leigh Taafe]

That's the "artiste" coming out of us Pat !

[Leigh Taafe]

Hey Pat - off the top of your head, can you tell Craig how big the pot is? Its dark out and I dont know where my measuring tape is!

[Pat K]

Maaate! They're all different but roughly 150x120x40mm.

[Mojo Moyogi]

Pat, I love the colours of this pot. Excuse my ignorance in regards to ceramics but is it possible to achieve this glaze colour in a matt or low gloss finish?

Cheers
Mojo Moyogi

[NathanM]

Wow, I must say I REALLY like that pot And the olive looks great in it.
Personally I'm not a huge fan of the moss, but it doesn't draw too much away from the tree anyway.

[Pat K]

Mojo Moyogi,
The glaze is a 'copper red' which can vary greatly in colour and intensity but not, as far as I know, in surface sheen. It's a lovely glaze going back to the Ming dynasty but is considered difficult and consistent results are rare. I love it but I'm not often satisfied with my results!

Pat

[Kunzea]

Great little tree Leigh. Relax about the moss. It looks good. It could, but doesn't need to extend onto the 'soil surface'. Some figs grow by the river (your gravel reminds me of the edge of a river after the storm flood has subsided. Being on the trunk alone is OK. It tells of a damp environment. Covering part of the trunk is good too. Those who want to see all of it in one quick go might just need to wait, or use their imaginations abit. Seduction is often best when all is not revealed at once! The way you have it enlivens the mind rather than laying it all out like an engineers planning diagram.

I'm delighted to see Pat responding here. When I saw that beautiful copper red, I was reminded of the story that goes with it. The first creator of this glaze was so distraught because the emperor wanted something he didn't think he could produce, he jumped into his kiln when at full temperature. Didn't do him a lot of good for a long life, but when they opened the kiln, the pot was a stunning 'copper red' because his burning body produced the right 'reducing atmosphere' for this glaze to work. They are one of the more difficult glazes to produce, as Pat says. The colour comes from special interaction between the copper atoms and light, not from a surface 'colour' as such. Producing them in a matt or semi-gloss won't work as the atoms will not be seen from below the surface (I think it about refractin versus reflection).

Keep them coming Pat!

K