my 1st attempt.. carved bougie

[krittas]

some pics of my 1st attempt of carving a bougie that i dug up..im only new to bonsai so am "all ears " when it comes to advise..
Have been thinking of cutting all the branches off and hopeing they will grow back where i want them..(yeah right)
thought it was a good place to start

the start,tree had some major pruning done when it was collected but didnt really have much gowing for it..


after abit of carving

where i stopped..still needs abit of refining work

the depth of the carving

[lennard]

I can really feel the tree's pain .

It would be better to remove the thick left hand side growth and build the trunkline to the right. You will gain a lot of taper and cut out the straight part.

It would also make the carving look more believable.

When doing drastic carving like that I use a good sealer - especially close to the living part of the cambium to keep the growth from drying out. It can be removed later on or can be left - the cambium will roll over.

Lennard

[krittas]

yep lennard thanks for the reply, i see what you are saying i was going to get rid of the left trunk but because it was pretty much dead thought i would have a play.only way to learn is have a go..this tree had alot of dead bits when i dug it up as it had been left to survive on its own merit..so it has come back quite alot..
was actually thinking of maybe halving that trunk (hieght and width) and making it alot less intrusive...
i have some of "earls wood hardner" which alot of people talk about on this site for sealing ..
What do you think

[alpineart]

Hi krittas , i have to agree with lennard , nice movement and good taper on the right side branch .Also have to agree with you as well , got to give things ago for the pure experience thats for sure .Keep us updated on your Bougie . Cheers Alpineart

[kcpoole]

Carving is good fun eh!
you certainly gave it a hiding. What tools did you use?


I agree the branch on the right should be the future trunkline, but no rush yet.
Have no fear in cutting all the branches off and starting from scratch as Bougie will grow back from nothing

Ken

[krittas]

alpineart, i have a broken ankle so boredom got to me abit to much..lol..got to give it ago sometime...

Ken, ive decided to leave the tree alone for now and see what other growth appears..perhaps with abit more folliage in the right spots it will open up some more options..As i said the tree was practically dead when i dug it up so ive got it shooting thus far so who knows what will happen..i used a dremmel and my bro in law made me a bit at work on a lave (boiler maker) to see if it would work...maybe worked abit to much..oops

[kcpoole]

Never an oops mate. Every mistak is just another opportunity

Ken