Played with another rmj today

[wireme]

I was watching one of those bonsai art of Japan episodes on you tube this aft. There was a Japanese artist being interviewed and he said something like" first I ask the tree, what do you want to be?". So, I went out and asked this little juniper, I may have lost something in translation for sure but this is how it ended up. It's just a rough first styling, getting foliage near where I thought it would be nice, a bit of movement in the branches ect. No attempt at nice neat pads for now. I think it's a good base to grow from now, the upper section with the double wire will either be bent more or jinned the next time around I think.
Mp

 

[tmmason10]

That's a nice piece of material and it looks to be a good start to training. Good work.

 

[edprocoat]

You bought the right plant! When I ask them they usually reply " I would like to be abused, wrapped in bonds and tortured to death." I gotta try and find less suicidal plants in the future ....

ed

 

[amkhalid]

Hi Monte,

I see the image you are going for and I like it. I see another planting angle which, to me, makes a more balanced design. However, it would probably require removing that character jin (or getting a really weird pot). Removing old deadwood like that can be very hard and almost disrespectful in some cases. But it is also something that is sometimes necessary in the name of bonsai design.

Not sure if this is the direction I would take it, but it jumped out at me. When going from pictures, nothing is certain.

Take care man.

 

[wireme]

Aaron, I went out and put a wedge under the pot to have a look at your suggested angle change. I'm pretty sure the tree agrees, it looks pretty good! As far as removing the jinn, I'd be fine with that, it is nice but it's still a young piece of deadwood, not all fissured and cracked like deadwood of great age so removal would not be sacrilegious really. Thanks for the suggestion.
Mp

 

[fore]

Nice material, but for me, having the tree go in two diff. directions is off putting. JMO

 

[Brian Underwood]

You have such great material but not quite enough experience to do it justice. A tree like this deserves time, thought and effort. Each branch should be wired and an overall image should be in your head the entire time. I have taken dozens of workshops and did a summer long apprenticeship and I still take weeks to decide what to do to a tree like this, and I'm not anywhere near as proficient as I'd like to be. I mean no disrespect, just advice for dealing with high quality collected material.

 

[tmmason10]

You have such great material but not quite enough experience to do it justice. A tree like this deserves time, thought and effort. Each branch should be wired and an overall image should be in your head the entire time. I have taken dozens of workshops and did a summer long apprenticeship and I still take weeks to decide what to do to a tree like this, and I'm not anywhere near as proficient as I'd like to be. I mean no disrespect, just advice for dealing with high quality collected material.

It's kind of a catch 22. What we have said if he chopped up a $5 bargain juniper? Get better starting material. This is great starting material, and we are saying too good. I don't think he's done anything horribly wrong to the tree and he can learn through the years on it. Though, it may have been better to work on at a workshop or with a private lesson.

By the way, this material is nicer than anything I own or have worked on so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

 

[amkhalid]

You have such great material but not quite enough experience to do it justice. A tree like this deserves time, thought and effort. Each branch should be wired and an overall image should be in your head the entire time. I have taken dozens of workshops and did a summer long apprenticeship and I still take weeks to decide what to do to a tree like this, and I'm not anywhere near as proficient as I'd like to be. I mean no disrespect, just advice for dealing with high quality collected material.

Wireme has tons of great material like this and every one that he works on is a lesson for him. I wouldn't stress about it too much since he is not really harming the tree. Not everybody can go study with masters or take workshops, especially in Canada where you can count the number of bonsai professionals on one hand.

Plus I know wireme personally, and the restraint he shows when collecting is incredible. I know for a fact he has spent years learning the skills of yamadori collecting on lesser material, leaving the masterpieces behind until he is ready to lift them. He deserves tons of respect for that.

 

[wireme]

Chris, thanks for the input, I will have a chat with the tree about that soon and keep an eye out for directional options in the future.
Brian, thanks for sharing your thoughts as well. I have to admit that regardless of my styling experience I don't actually feel that this tree was entirely ready to be styled itself. It still has a lot of very thin immature foliage that would be very difficult to wire out to all the tips. I think a better result would have been achieved by another season of selective pruning and foliage development prior to styling. I basically had a sudden desire to see if I could bring the foliage down and intertwined with the deadwood a bit and went from there, I blame it all on youtube. Anyhow no regrets, I do find it more I interesting to look at now and nothing has been removed yet so options remain for the most part open.
I do have a number of others trees around that will be approached with a different attitude. Here's one for example, probably one of my best pieces of raw material for now. This one was repotted this spring, all the dense mountain soil is now removed. All I will do with this tree for the next while is try to maintain health and vigour and promote dense foliage and interior branching. I have a few ideas for styling but I do hope to have some qualified input into this tree before I do much to it myself.
Aaron, thanks for the support and encouragement. I will be trying very hard to free up more time during collecting season next year, excited for the future of Canadian bonsai!!

 

[Poink88]

View attachment 39661

Around here is a much better front IMHO (maybe even rotate counter-clockwise a bit). The deadwood need to be reduced though. Nice tree!

 

[wireme]

Maybe, one of my favorite fronts has the planting angle changed to bring the large jinn upwards, and the straight horizontalish section pointing towards the front, can't really get a pic showing that viewpoint now though, pot rim in the way.
Mp

 

[amkhalid]

View attachment 39661View attachment 39662View attachment 39663

Nice! For sale???

 

[wireme]

Yeah, sure, I have no great attachment to it yet, it is of a reasonable size to send cross country. It is for sure a really nice tree but keep in mind, that given another year or two we can actually do a lot better.

 

[wireme]

Yeah, sure, I have no great attachment to it yet, it is of a reasonable size to send cross country. It is for sure a really nice tree but keep in mind, that given another year or two we can actually do a lot better.

 

[mc4mc44]

Yeah, sure, I have no great attachment to it yet, it is of a reasonable size to send cross country. It is for sure a really nice tree but keep in mind, that given another year or two we can actually do a lot better.

If only you could send it down to the states... I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That's a really nice tree you've got there.

 

[amkhalid]

Yeah, sure, I have no great attachment to it yet, it is of a reasonable size to send cross country. It is for sure a really nice tree but keep in mind, that given another year or two we can actually do a lot better.

Great so in a year or two I will be absolutely poor.

 

[wireme]

Ha! Looks like I could become pretty unpopular amongst the bonsai spouses of Toronto then?

 

[wireme]

If only you could send it down to the states... I'd buy it in a heartbeat. That's a really nice tree you've got there.

There seems to be lots of Canadian collected trees south of the border but I don't know how it happens.

 

[Brian Underwood]

Wow, that second juniper is great as well! I meant no disrespect, merely a suggestion, in what seems now to be a harsh manner. It's always good to start with quality material as long as the horticultural knowledge is there, which it sounds like there is plenty. I never said the tree is ruined, or is even bad, I just meant it's not living up to it's potential. Wiring skills take a lot of practice, and it helps a great deal to have someone to learn from first hand. I didn't even notice that you live in British Colombia, but maybe it would be worth the trip down to Seattle to work with a few teachers there? Good luck, you're off to a better start than the vast majority!