FIRST STYLING AND CARVING OF JUNIPERUS CHINENSIS


After a season of nice growth in a new plastic training pot I started working on this juniper on a friday morning. I considered this side as a front for a more like "bonsai" looking tree, or ...

the other one, but from this one I would see more of a "tree" bonsai, some informal upright of a sort in it.

I am very hesitant to do this kind of decisions, but in a few moments something starts me on and I cut and cut ... and then I am like - f..k, I shouldn´t have done that. :D

But once it is done it cannot be undone and I have to continue with the final decision.

So I went for the first idea.

After some cutting and making deadwood I had to go to work, but left early in the evening to continue working on a tree, casue once I start, I cannot think about anything else.

So some pics from late evening work:

 

There were 2 branches left with the foliage, the one for the main design was broken some time in the past and fixed itself and healed. And then it came to my hands. And I broke it again when I was messing with it and moving it around to see how I will position it. So I fixed it back with a glue, wrapped it in a tape and made sure it won´t be moving during the styling with few circles of a thick wire.

and then my girfriend rang the phone and asked if I am not gonna sleep tonight.

So I went to sleep, setting the alarm for early start on saturday morning, eventually waking up half an hour before it went on.

So back to work to our summer kitchen located across the yard.

I finished wiring the branches an moved them to the positions and when it was brighter and warmer outside, I came out with this:

Jins were a bit awkward but I kept them for the time being, no more cutting before I think about it for at least 24 hours is my new rule I want to go by.

What was bothering me was the long straight part and the only fix I could see because of it´s thickness would be carving it significantly to make it look more interesting at least.

So I turned the dremel on and went to give it a try.

I only carved 2 little trees so far with not a great results, but studied lot of pics on Harry Harrington´s Bonsai4me page since then, as well as other works by other artists and I tried to put in practice what I thought I got from it.

I made some hollows in the trunk and I will make more in the future, making the trunk more interesting I hope. But first I wanna make sure I see them lifelines where they are.

So after carving I used some wet ash and brushed it in the deadwood followed by applying the jin liquid just as Harry does it to not get the bright white colour on it as I don´t like it like that and consider it more natural when the shade is a bit darker.

And on sunday I did some more carving and sorted those jins out.

After the jin liquid dried in the afternoon I did a photo session and here are some resulting pics.

Please consider it "work in progress" cause much more carving will be done on the trunk in the future.

NEW LONGTERM PROJECT


I collected one interesting pine last may and ever since I wondered what shape it is gonna end up with.
It would be easy to cut most of the branches, use the lower ones that could be bent easily and make use of a relatively thick trunk by making the tree much shorter.
And create quite ordinary pine bonsai.
But even though that woudn´t be too bad and I would probably like it like that too, I prefer to get the most of every tree and use all of it´s potential and offered branches.
That´s why I started to browse the net and after quite some time I came along this beauty by the scottish loch. The dividing trunk separates from the main lower one in very similiar fashion, and although it is gonna take a long time to bring the foliage down where I need it, I think it is gonna be well worth the time and effort - cause there are not many bonsais that actually mimics large scot´s pines in the wild. And as I was living in Scotland for 6 moths some time ago, and love the country, I will make me a piece of Scotland at home with a large penjing imitating large pine by the loch.
First cuts will be done soon as the tree is growing strong and the roots are growing from the bottom of the crate into the ground as I found out today.

2nd STYLING OF A YAMADORI SPRUCE


This tree was collected in august or september 2015.
It was planted in a deep container and left alone for a year.


SK:


DRUHÉ TVAROVANIE YAMADORI SMREKA
Tento strom bol kopaný v auguste alebo septembri 2015.
Bol zasadený do hlbokého kvetináča a nechaný na pokoji po celý rok.

In summer 2016 after I saw that the tree is growing nicely after collection, I brought it to our local club meeting where it was styled by our slovakian bonsai association president Juraj Szabo.


V lete 2016, po tom čo som videl že pekne rastie som ho zobral na diskusiu na tvarovačku košického bonsai klubu, kde bol rovno aj natvarovaný prezidentom slovenskej bonsajovej asociácie Jurajom Szabom.

The tree reacted with lot of backbudding and continued to be happy.

Strom na tvarovanie zareagoval množstvom pukov a bol šťastný aj naďalej,

I watered and fertilized it heavilly and the wires started to bite in in less than 2 months.

Veľa som polieval a hnojil a neprešli ani dva mesiace a drôty sa začali zarezávať.

So I removed them and the tree started to look messier and messier...

Tak som ich odstránil a stromček vyzeral čím ďalej strapatejšie.

Spring 2017 - my girlfriend made very cool sirup from the pinched tips of new growth that is supposed to be great against cough. It tastes very good.

Jar 2017 - priateľka nám spravila zo zaštipnutých končekov noveho obrastu výborný sirup, ktorý by mal byť dobrý proti kašľu.

I was waiting for the right time to style it that should be when the temperatures are going down in september. So yesterday before the styling began the tree looked like this:

Čakkal som na správny čas na tvarovanie, čo by malo byť v septembri keď teploty začnú klesať a včera, keď prišiel ten čas, vyzeral stromček takto:

As the first styling was done regarding relatively recent collection the previous year, I was looking forward to do it properly and cut back hard to be able to start building ramification. So after a few hours of work on a cool september evening it was done. And here are final pics of a styled tree.

I didn´t wire it completelly as I don´t see the point at this stage and more wiring will be done as time passes by and the ramification builds up.

Keďže prvé tvarovanie bolo robené s ohľadom na nedávne vykopanie rok predtým, tešil som sa na toto druhé, lebo konečne som to mohol spraviť poriadne a strihať až k prvým pukom na začiatku vetiev, kvôli budovaniu správneho vetvenia bližšie pri kmeni. Tak po pár hodinách počas chladného septembrového večera bola úloha splnená a tu sú fotky po tvarovaní. Nebol kompletne nadrôtovaný pretože na to teraz ešte nevidím dôvod a keďže je to smrek, bude ešte neraz predrôtovávaný kvôli svojím pružným konárom, a detailnejšie až keď sa vytvorí trošku vetvenia.

Next step is to plant it on a piece of rock or a slab.

Ďalší krok je presadenia na skalu alebo kamenný plát.



POSING WITH MY LITERATI PINE

I moved it on a new stand to have it closer to me because it was in the very far corner in front of the house, and I had to lean against the wall to see it properly.
Now it is in the middle of my new display and I cannot imagine better tree for that place :)


SK:


PÓZUJEM S MOJOU LITERATI BOROVICOU
Premiestnil som ju na nové miesto aby som ju k sebe mal bližšie, pretože bola pred domom úplne v rohu a musel som sa oprieť o stenu aby som ju videl zo správneho uhla.
Teraz je v strede môjho nového "displeja" a neviem si na to miesto predstaviť lepší strom :)

SOME PICS OF WEEKEND "WORK"


Finally I got to styling small juniper on a rock landscape and adjusting and partially rewiring my 2 literati pines. And the third wisteria airlayer is in bloom too :)


SK:


Pár foto z víkendovej "roboty"


Konečne som sa dostal k tvarovaniu malej borievky na skale a úprave a čiastočnému predrôtovaniu mojích dvoch literati borovíc. A tretí potopenec wistérie tiež zakvitol :)

KILLED TREE


I sold this penjing this spring with clear statements that this is an exterior tree, both in an advert and then in emails with the person who bought it.

I gave him clear instructions as to feeding and watering.
Now he got back to me after few months with the pics and a question if the tree is OK.

He admitted he never fed it and kept it indoors in his office.

But blamed me because he supposedly wrote to me that he wanted it for his office.
That is a lie as I have full email conversation saved and I explained to him in two earlier messages that I only recommend ficuses for indoor environment and everything else will sooner or later die indoors.
Some people really suck.....

PS: I made another penjing with berberises few days later as this one, I still have it although it is up for sale and it is just thriving. Needless to write - I do not keep it in my office.
I need cash badly to be able to cover all my bills so I need to sell something from time to time and that helps me a lot - but if it is gonna continue like this and buyers will just kill the trees - I will rather keep them for myself cause it makes me sad to see my work ending up like that.
Hopefully this scenario won´t repeat itself.


SK:


ZABITÝ STROM


Tento penjing som predal na jar s jasnými inštrukciami že je to exterierovka tak v inzeráte aj potom niekoľkokrát v správach vymenených s kupcom.
Tiež som mu dal presné inštrukcie ohľadom hnojenia a polievania.
Teraz sa mi po niekoľkých mesiacoch ozval že či je stromček v poriadku a poslal fotky.
Priznal že ho mal v kancelárii a nikdy ho nehnojil.
No obvinil mňa, pretože mi vraj písal že to chcel do kancelárie.
To je lož - mám odloženú celú našu konverzáciu, a keď sa po dodaní stromčeka pýtal že či mu viem spraviť niečo do interiéru, písal som mu v dvoch správach opakovane že dnu okrem fikusov neodporúčam nič a všetko ostatné časom odíjde.
Niektorí ľudia za veľa nestoja....
PS:
O pár dni po tomto penjingu som spravil ďalší s berberismi, stále ho mám aj keď je na predaj a darí sa mu skvelo a má výrazné prírastky. Samozrejme ho nemám v kancli.
Potrebujem si časom privyrobiť predajom nejakého penjingu aby som vykryl všetky moje účty a to mi dosť pomôže - ale ak to takto bude pokračovať a kupci budú nerešpektovať inštrukcie a zabíjať stromčeky, tak neviem či mi to za to stojí.
Je mi z toho smutno keď vidím ako dopadla moja robota.
Dúfam že sa tento scenár už nebude opakovať.