[Thymetraveller] Thuja Occidentalis smaragd

[kcpoole]

this one is coming along very nicely,
Well done

ken

[Thymetraveller]

Update:

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I have decided to shorten the tallest dead trunk, in order to let the branxh above drape downwards at a more natural angle. A bit of wire went on, too.
I have also painted the dead wood with Lime Sulphur. It is now orange, and smells revolting!
I am very much hoping that it bleaches dramatically in the next few days!
Here's the after shot, with its intended pot...

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[Thymetraveller]

Well, that was dramatic!

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This stuff is powerful!

[Watto]

That is a good pot and will make a difference in a positive fashion. If I could suggest, the jins look "man made" and need some roughness to naturalise them.

[Thymetraveller]

Thanks Watto!
I plan to do some roughing up of the jins later on....they look a bit like pencils at the moment!

[Pearcy001]

The new pot looks great, is there a potter's name associated to it?

Im not sure if this info will be useful for you or not but I'll share it anyway.

Re the roughing of the Jin - I was shown once to preform a small knick in the end of the Jin with something sharp. You then grab the small somewhat lifted knick with a pair of needle nose pliers and start twisting so the removed Jin wraps around and around the end of the pliers as it travels further down the length of the Jin. It will naturally hit a point where it gets thinner and thinner before stopping somewhere down the Jin. Just make sure the portion of Jin that you grab with the tweezers isn't too large it you may remove too deep of a section, you can always start small and go bigger if you haven't done it before.

Note that this is done while the Jin is still soft/fresh. If you Jin has hardened then this will not work I don't believe, I'm guessing it will just splinter.

I hope this makes sense.

Cheers,
Pearcy.


Sent from my SM-G920I using Tapatalk

[Thymetraveller]

Hi Pearcey,
Thanks for the jin technique info!
These jins are well and truly dead...I am planning to use some little wood carving tools to get a more natural look.
The pot is by Tracey Francis at Murrumbung Studio Ceramics. I thought I had already shown it on this thread, but it seems not!
I have several of Tracy's pots and they are all wonderful - they feature in many of my other posts.
Here's her website. Well worth a look!
https://www.murrumbungstudioceramics.co ... tery/c18pm
We really are lucky to have so many great potters in Australia!!!

[Thymetraveller]

Time for this section's update...

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I bought some little carving tools to help make the jin branches look more natural.
I think they came up quite nicely!

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[Max]

are you going to use the blow torch ? the little ciggy gas blow torch lighters would be perfect it would get rid of the fraying and the scorching give you shadow

[Thymetraveller]

[Update: Into The Pot
Right back at the beginning of this competition I had intended to fit the tree into a gorgeous, but tiny, Japanese pot:

compentry5.jpg

Along the way, as the tree began to take shape, I realised that the pot was both much too small, and thematically unsuited to what I was creating.
Thankfully, my burgeoning interest in Aussie potters led me to this wild, rugged container by Tracey Francis at Murrumbung Studio Ceramics.
Today was the day to bring tree and pot together.

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Now the tree needs to settle in, and I need to keep an eye on the spring growth to bring everything up to speed for the end of the competition.
This has been fun!!!

[Ryceman3]

I'm thinking that is a better pot choice.
Great work over the last 12 or more months... Geez it's gone quick the timeline for this comp!

[Sno]

Yep .

[Sno]

Sorry ,what I ment to say ,was this is coming together nicely.

[Thymetraveller]

Thank you Ryceman3 and Sno for the comments!
It certainly is going quickly!
It's been a great way to focus my bonsai work, take some risks and learn a load on the way.

[Thymetraveller]

Never having worked with this species, I was nervous about whether it would survive repotting.
I was so relieved to see the yellow flashes of new growth appear at the branch tips!

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Survive it has, and it seemed happy enough today for a light trim, some more wire, and a slight refinement to the deadwood.