Shibui Twisted shimpaku

[Shibui]

Mixed up some Lime sulphur to treat deadwood that's starting to go green.
When I got to these little Junipers I realized it's been a few years since I worked on the shari so, with some time not fully allocated today I worked a couple of these.




This one still needs plenty of wiring and shaping but is coming along OK


These did not need any dead wood work but the I cleaned the trunk in preparation for show season coming up. One, or both, might fill a spot in a shohin display at one of the Spring shows.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

I very much like the semi-cascade. The foliage looks nice and robust. Are you planning to wire and create "shelves"? It is set up nicely for it for sure Nice carving also

 

[Shibui]

They all need some wire and shaping branches.
The semi-cascade branch curves up strongly at the end. It needs to come down substantially to follow the main line of that branch/trunk. The apex is still way too strong so I think it will need substantial thinning. Not sure of shaping that upper part until I can get in there.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

They all need some wire and shaping branches.
The semi-cascade branch curves up strongly at the end. It needs to come down substantially to follow the main line of that branch/trunk. The apex is still way too strong so I think it will need substantial thinning. Not sure of shaping that upper part until I can get in there.

I was curious if you were planning to keep the current highest portion or reducing to the lower two branches and foliar clusters

 

[Shibui]

Most of the branches are in that upper section. Without any of it there will just be a big loop of trunk and a single low branch. I'll have a look at the possibility but suspect that would make it too unbalanced.
My current plan is to reduce that upper section substantially to put more emphasis on the cascade branch.
Remains to be seen what I can produce.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

Most of the branches are in that upper section. Without any of it there will just be a big loop of trunk and a single low branch. I'll have a look at the possibility but suspect that would make it too unbalanced.
My current plan is to reduce that upper section substantially to put more emphasis on the cascade branch.
Remains to be seen what I can produce.

That makes sense. Emphasis on the cascade branch is where my mind was going. Looks like you are going for plated trunk in the long term. I like how you've created lateral-ish live vein. This is inspiring to me. Have you used a dremel, or only non-electric hand tools?

Additional question:

The region indicated in the 1st photo attached to my comment; at which point would you carve into that deep corner to round it in?

I understand that digging into it to make it from a flat/sharp corner into a rounded plate feature is common, but at which point do you apply that carving technique? And does it all happen at once from one end of the deadwood to the other? (along the entire length?)


And is this the correct tool to do that like go carving?

 

[Shibui]

Have you used a dremel, or only non-electric hand tools?

I tried various knives and scissor blades but could not get into all the inside curves on this tree (and some of the others) The dremel with a small cutting burr managed to get into difficult areas.

The region indicated in the 1st photo attached to my comment; at which point would you carve into that deep corner to round it in?

I understand that digging into it to make it from a flat/sharp corner into a rounded plate feature is common, but at which point do you apply that carving technique? And does it all happen at once from one end of the deadwood to the other? (along the entire length?)

not sure what all this means.
I still have the intention to continue widening these shari strips. Be aware that the bark is relatively thick so when that section is widened it will not have anywhere the same difference in height compared to the dead wood section when the bark is removed.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

I tried various knives and scissor blades but could not get into all the inside curves on this tree (and some of the others) The dremel with a small cutting burr managed to get into difficult areas.


not sure what all this means.
I still have the intention to continue widening these shari strips. Be aware that the bark is relatively thick so when that section is widened it will not have anywhere the same difference in height compared to the dead wood section when the bark is removed.

It is hard for me to articulate, but what I am meaning to say is (in the photo of the other tree, at the top of your post) where the deadwood wall meets the deadwood floor (the deadwood from the most exterior point just under the eternal bark/tissue to the most interior point) that looks like the shape of an "L," at which point does that sharp line/corner get carved to make it curved and smooth like the letter "C" that I see in plated/ribboned trunks? Can it be smoothed out at any time? If you were to look at it from a cross-section perspective it would the shape of an L but then smoothed out at the corner to create a more ribbon/plated trunk shape like a "C." I find plenty of videos of carving but nobody has yet stated the timing of that specific carving.

 

[Bonsai Forest]

 

[SeanS]

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You don’t carve it to become like that, you gradually develop the shari over years and years and the live vein will eventually become round and tubelike and attached to the deadwood

 

[Dabbler]

You don’t carve it to become like that, you gradually develop the shari over years and years and the live vein will eventually become round and tubelike and attached to the deadwood

This

 

[Bonsai Forest]

You don’t carve it to become like that, you gradually develop the shari over years and years and the live vein will eventually become round and tubelike and attached to the deadwood

Ah! Thank you!

 

[SeanS]

Ah! Thank you!

I’m don’t want to distract from Shibui’s awesome twisty junipers too much, but here’s what 4 years of shari expansion looks like. Zero carving (I don’t even own a carving tool like the one you posted besides some cheap arts and crafts chisels which have never touched this little tree).
This is the result of slowly expanding the shari each growing season. Once the live veins are thin enough and they’ve thickened for a few years they start to “stand up” from the sharis and become a little more cylindrical.
(Excuse the actual tree setup, I’m changing the foliage over to shimpaku with a graft)

 

[Bonsai Forest]

I’m don’t want to distract from Shibui’s awesome twisty junipers too much, but here’s what 4 years of shari expansion looks like. Zero carving (I don’t even own a carving tool like the one you posted besides some cheap arts and crafts chisels which have never touched this little tree).
This is the result of slowly expanding the shari each growing season. Once the live veins are thin enough and they’ve thickened for a few years they start to “stand up” from the sharis and become a little more cylindrical.
(Excuse the actual tree setup, I’m changing the foliage over to shimpaku with a graft)

View attachment 569215View attachment 569216View attachment 569217

thanks for sharing that Sean, and it adds clarity to what I was confused about.

 

[Shibui]

Well shown and explained @SeanS