Visit to Tomas Gramming Bonsai and Ceramics

During May 2019, a small group of us had the great pleasure of visiting the home of bonsai potter Tomas Gramming in Gothenburg, Sweden. Tomas has become well-known for his incredibly detailed clay-work when making bonsai pots, and he also has a very good eye for bonsai.

More of Tomas’ work can be see here on Instagram

One of the first trees that grabbed my attention as we walked into the garden of Tomas was this, as yet unstyled, Norway Spruce yamadori, Picea abies.

Quercus robur/English Oak bonsai.

Carpinus/Hornbeam raft bonsai, currently in a wooden training box.

Tomas showing Samuel Brierley his Potentilla raft bonsai

As with the majority of his trees, Tomas originally started this Thuja/Cedar bonsai from humble beginnings.

Hornbeam raft bonsai, created as an airlayer.

Acer campestre/ Field Maple bonsai over rock.

Both Sam and I commented that the rock the bonsai was sitting on seemed a great fit. Tomas explained that he had constructed it from pieces of granite and cement that he had then stained. Even on close inspection it was difficult to tell that the rock was not ‘real’.

Berberis shohin bonsai in a Japanese painted pot.

Superb Weigela semi-cascade bonsai.

After our tour of Tomas’ garden, we then visited his pottery studio. Tomas has a very precise, geometric style of pot-making, a perfect example is this ‘fish-scale’ bonsai pot.

We were in awe of this amazing sculptural bonsai pot; a pot within a pot. Tomas had hand-carved the piece in great detail. At this stage the pot had been ‘bisque-fired’ at a relatively low temperature prior to glazing.

More pots at the ‘bisque-fired’ stage of the pot-making process, each and every one featuring strong hnad-made geometric shapes.

Tomas Gramming showing my fellow visitors one of his bonsai pots.