THE FIRST DEADWOOD SESSION ON ED’S OLD OLIVE.

Hi, everybody,

finally, last Thursday was a lovely Sunny day to do some bonsai work! So my eager bonsai student Ed van der Reek immediately came over to my garden to start to work on the amazing deadwood of his recently bought old Olive. For the last couple of surprisingly cold weeks, the tree stayed as a guest in my winter shelter to protect it from the elements! All through the elaborate deadwood on this tree is truly unique, but it those not make it any easier to style! A few weeks ago,  when Ed brought the tree to my garden, we discussed the future of this tree. And we both quickly came to the conclusion that we should try to incorporate the deadwood in the design! It would be a crime not to try to build the tree around this unique feature! The history of this tree is locked in all that deadwood, so it is up to us to design a believable bonsai out of it! A big exciting challenge indeed, but we both believe it is doable!

                        Here are some pictures of that first deadwood session!

                                            Above: Before the work started.

Above: This section was too rough and fat, so it had to be removed and improved!

                                                    Above: Carefully sawing.

                                           Above: That worked out nicely!

Above: Some sheltering wasp were replaced into the front garden. This little beauty can hollow out a tree in one season! I learned this the hard way!

Above: Refining and shaping the deadwood as much as possible from below. This way the beautiful old deadwood, that is in view on the top, is not harmed!

                   Above: This section, up to the yellow line,  has to go as well.

                                                  Above: Worked perfectly.

                                                Above: Looks better already.

            Above: Ed reducing and styling the top section with my power tools.

Above: The end result for now. A lot more deadwood work needs to be done, but that is for the next sunny day!

Cheers,

Hans van Meer.

Info: karamottobonsai@hotmail.com

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