Literati Contest Recycle bin

[Watto]

This is great looking stock and will make a fine bonsai. I have seen a few peach bonsai, and as long as they are big enough, they are very effective. As mentioned, Ray Nesci has one, and Clinton Nesci also had one, and both were/are fine looking bonsai (havn't seen Clinton's for a while). The important thing is to work on this tree with love and gutso, and one day enjoy eating the fruit from your own bonsai.
Good luck
Watto

[Jamie]

Nice sketches and good vision again jamie. However, I think a lone tree standing on the edge of a cliff often bends more and have broader foliage distribution. Your design reflects more of a tree in a dense forest strungling to reach sun light. It actually telling a its story there.

this is possible, but heres the imagination kicking in... you think of the mountain/cliff with a dense forestry right to the edge, over the ages the trees around it start dying off, one by one, or more, till one day the only tree left is this one, right by itself, there on the cliff, maybe i should say plateau. this might make my thoughts more understandable.

the sketches have been taken from pictures found (landscape shots) on google and literati paintings and the likes of that
i searched for about three hours taking mental images and saving some of the best ones to use as reference to work these sketches out last night.
the landscape shots and paintings showed trees much like this.
these are what have been my inspiration, now the hard part begins this weekend trying to develop a shrub like i have into my vision!

i will do it

like i said before this is a challenge to me and i hope it gives some inspiration and information to those who are watching the thread!


jamie

[anttal63]

just an idea jamie. watch your line character. hard to find a juniper in a hrsh condition with branches exiting up.

jamie 2.JPG

[NathanM]

Ant, thank you very much for that. That is a REALLY good way to work it out and help find a design!!
I'll get a better photgraph on the weekend to make it easier to trace the outline.
That really is a good idea ^_^
Then I still need to hope my skills/creativity is enough lol.

[anttal63]

no prob you dig and i'll help.

Tagged for removal

[Jamie]

just an idea jamie. watch your line character. hard to find a juniper in a hrsh condition with branches exiting up.

jamie 2.JPG

thanks mate, i probably should of stated in my ramblings that even though this is juniper, it is going to bee styled like a pine... as such
a lot of my inspiration for the lines and foliage is from pines and this is where i guess i am heading with it

on another note, got the day off from work tomorrow so this puppy is getting a major over haul!!!

[kvan64]

Thank you watto. The problem with this is it buds very slowly. Any suggestion with the feeding program to improve foliage?

[Jamie]

hey people!

i finally got around to doing an initial styling, i cant beleive how much i actually took off, i should of took a pic of that too

any ways here is a bit of a break down, with so much foliage and branching removed going through it all was quite hectic, i used some off cuts of wire to mark which ones i wasnt going to be removing, just incase i did take one of the branches of i would be needing by accident.

some pics of the tree after most of the excess was removed.

bunjin comp 013.jpg

bunjin comp 014.jpg

bunjin comp 015.jpg

at this point i could see some potential, the top section of the tree was just too long for the overall design so it had to go, working with what i had left a started from the bottom of the tree up. wiring each branch first, then shaping from the lowest branch right to the top.

bunjin comp 016.jpg

bunjin comp 017.jpg

bunjin comp 018.jpg

now you might notice in these pics that the top seems even shorter than in the first excess removal shots.... well thats because it is while bringing the top down and creating some movement... i snapped the bit i wanted.. i even double wired to try and stop this because this was a fear.. oh well.
from there i had to make do with what i had, so it was off to the nursery to get some thin wire. 1mm. honestly i should of taken it off another tree but just thought better than that.
as you can see the stake is still in the shots, if it wasnt there i wouldnt be getting the angle i am after, that will not be there in the final shots, it might be guy wired but no stake, so you will have to excuse that for now.

from here i will feed well, plenty of sunlight and get som growth happening. the grow pot it is in is fine as it was just lip potted when i bought it so thats not a prob plenty of room for new roots

if i have forgotten anything please feel free to ask, that includes the judges, instructors, guides etc. and the other contestants or even just the on lookers cheers!

jamie

[dayne]

hi great start to the tree the only thing i can notice is that it looks very right sided have you toyed with dropping just a couple of short branches back and down to the left maybe the 3rd and 5th or 6th just a thought or just tell me to jump
like i said tho great start very aged look for its actual age

[stymie]

I think that it is going to need some movement put into the trunk where the branches are being removed.

[Jamie]

I think that it is going to need some movement put into the trunk where the branches are being removed.

i am not quite sure what you mean mate the branching that is left i was intending on keeping...
my plans were to develop the foliage then wire out to create a sparseness.

could you please elaborate on your thoughts don? thanks.

i do understand the trunk is rather straight at this point, i have to work out where to get vet tape, raffia or the likes to be able to put movement into that straight section, is this what you are talking about?

jamie

[Pup]

I think that it is going to need some movement put into the trunk where the branches are being removed.

i am not quite sure what you mean mate the branching that is left i was intending on keeping...
my plans were to develop the foliage then wire out to create a sparseness.

could you please elaborate on your thoughts don? thanks.

i do understand the trunk is rather straight at this point, i have to work out where to get vet tape, raffia or the likes to be able to put movement into that straight section, is this what you are talking about?

jamie

Jamie your wife might be able to help when it come to raffia or vetwrap what he says. Ask her to get you some 2cm biase binding. They use it in dress and curtain making it is cotton. It works I have used it. It is much like the stuff I used on OH! bugger. Which is furniture webbing.

I think what Don means if you have some movement. Keep it going so you have subtle movement all the along the trunk line.

[kvan64]

I think you might need something like this. This is my $5 trunk bender. If you already have a piece of straight steel bar, you only need to spend $1 on the nuts and bolts. I stealed the idea from Bretts (Thanks Bretts) but don't have a welder and this modification would be better in the way you could adjust the bending angles. Works well for me.

[Jamie]

ahhhhhhh,

so a subtle curvature in a "straight" section of trunk will help in the overall appeal to the tree itself? i take it this is what you are getting at
and my wife may not be able to help with the stuff for curtain or dress making but a mate of mine, his missus does that sort of thing, so i will have to look into it

kvan- thats a very effective and cheap way of making a branch/trunk bender, i do have a welder and the materials and was gonna do one like brets, but it is a good way for people that dont have that sort of machinery thanks for the tip mate

i will have to go over the tree and see where subtle bends and curves can be made

jamie

[stymie]

Perhaps if I had said 'where the branches have been removed it would have been less confusing.