DELAMO

Aleš came to what was likely the last basic-workshop in this year. He has some experience that he gathered himself, with the help of the internet and books. But already after a few minutes of attending the workshop he concluded that nothing can outweigh mere one hour of practical work under the right leadership. We worked on the silver spruce (Picea glehnii) and within a few hours Aleš created his first bonsai.  Material like this is still in stock, so welcome at the beginner's courses!

Na verjetno zadnjem tečaju v tem koledarskem letu se je oglasil Aleš. Že z nekaj izkušnjami, ki jih je nabiral sam, s pomočjo interneta in knjig. A je že po nekaj minutah druženja ugotovil, da nič ne more odtehtati že zgolj ene ure praktičnega dela pod pravim vodstvom. Delala sva na srebrni smreki (Picea glehnii) in v nekaj urah je Aleš ustvaril svoj prvi bonsaj. Nekaj podobnega materijala je še na zalogi, tako da ste vsi znanja željni vabljeni na začetne tečaje! 

After the basic-workshop you can join the Tora group in year-round intensive program. We meet once a week. At the last meeting this year Janez and Miha studied red pine, Roland was working on juniper. He finally decided how to create crown, the first branch is wired, the contours of the crown is already visible. The first workshop in the new year will be as early as 2 January!

Ko bo tečaj za vami, se lahko pridružite skupini Tora in celoletnemu intenzivnemu programu. Srečujemo se enkrat na teden. Na verjetno zadnjem srečanju v tem letu sta Janez in Miha študirala rdeči bor, Roland pa je delal na brinu. Dokončno se je odločil, kako bo oblikoval krošnjo, prva veja je ožičena, obrise krošnje se zlahka sluti. Prva delavnica v novem letu bo že 2. januarja!

P.S.: When you run out of words ... Raje, be strong!

P.S.: Ko zmanjka besed ... Raje drži se!

ANDREJ

Andrej came to workshop with a Chinese juniper which has a good potential, but unfortunately it has fungus that can destroy all the work. Andrej know it now, but will try to fight disease in the tree, he will use the juniper, if nothing else to learn. Therefore we planed the work, how to get from material to the bonsai in a suitable pot in three years. Today we took the first step. Andrej will be learning all necessary  techniques.

 

Andrej je na nadaljevalni tečaj prišel s kitajskim brinom, ki ima dober potencial, a žal v sebi tudi gobe, ki lahko uničijo vse delo. Andrej to zdaj ve, a se bo trudil bolezen v drevesu zavreti, brin pa uporabiti, če ne drugega za učenje. Napravila sva torej načrt dela, kako iz materijala v treh letih priti do bonsaja v primerni posodi. Danes sva napravila prvi korak. Andrej se bo ob tem učil vseh potrebnih tehnik.

 

 

The starting material is juniper, which was saved from Andrej friend's garden. Under the hard outfit the soft soul is hidden :-) We created the line around which the crown will be build.

 

Začetni materijal je brin, ki ga je Andrej rešil s prijateljičinega vrta. Pod trdo zunanjosto se skriva mehka duša :-) Izpostavila sva linijo, okrog katere bova v nadaljevanju gradila krošnjo.

 

 

We cut some branches, bended the trunk and worked on dead wood. In the future the live veins will be highlighted also, trunk offers more options. While at the photos Andrej is working with power tool, most of the work was done by hand, because the results on the raw wood is so much better.

 

Porezala sva nekaj vej, skrivila deblo in delala na mrtvem lesu. V prihodnosti bodo poudarjene tudi žive vene, deblo ponuja več možnosti. Čeprav na spodnjih fotografijah Andrej dela z rezkarjem, je bilo večino dela opravljenega na roke, saj so rezultati na surovem lesu tako veliko boljši.

 

 

After the first step the difference is already visible. Because this is a school, we'll work step by step. Green mass is compacted on the right side of the trunk, there will be the main part of the crown which will balanced composition. Our goal, quite plausible, is illustrated. Of course, if the tree will cooperate and the fungus will not kill too many branches ...

 

Po prvem koraku je razlika že vidna. Ker gre za šolo, bova delala korak za korakom. Zelenje je skompaktirano na desni strani debla, tam bo večina krošnje s katero bo kompozicija uravnovešena. Cilj, povsem uresničljiv, je na spodnji skici. Če bo drevo sodelovalo in zaradi gobavosti ne bo odmrlo preveč vej seveda ...

 

 

CESAR

Last night Tomaž and Miha came to atelier. Tomaž has started another step on his Chamaecyparis in broom style, first comes the detailed wiring, Miha has refined the dead wood on olive. If I would not tell, you would not know that the lower part of shari is added later, so that is tanuki! Miha has masterfully embedded it in a hollow tree.

 

Sinoči sta se v ateljeju oglasila Tomaž in Miha. Tomaž je začel drugi korak na svoji metlasti pacipresi, najprej je na vrsti podrobno žičenje, Miha pa je dodelal suh les na oljki. Če bi vam ne povedal, gotovo ne bi vedeli, da je spodnji del šarija dodan kasneje, da je tanuki! Miha ga je mojstrsko vdelal v votlo drevo.

 

 

On Tuesday,  at the reception organized by the Japanese Embassy in occasion of the emperor birthday, my Juniper was the king at the podium ...

 

V torek je na govorniškem odru ob sprejemu, ki ga ob cesarjevem rojstnem dnevu organizira japonsko veleposlaništvo, kraljev moj brin ...

 

 

(Foto: Roland Petek)

 

SLON

Miha collected this Pinus sylvestris in March 2009. Apparently he needed only three minutes to collect! The lower part is very interesting, twisted, there obviously something happened in the past, but the upper level is straight - in the last few years pine was growing unconstrained, branches are elongated, green is far from the tree.

 

Miha je tale rdeči bor izkopal marca 2009. Menda je potreboval le tri minute, pa je bilo drevo zunaj. Spodnji del je nadvse zanimiv, zvit, tam se je v preteklosti očitno nekaj dogajalo, zgornji pa je raven - v zadnjih nekaj letih je bor neovirano rastel, veje so razpotegnjene, zelenje je daleč od debla.

 

 

When Miha first brought pine to the studio in early spring 2012, we immediately named it The elephant. With wholesale leg and long trunk it was clearly like an African elephant. If the name setting was easy part of the task, the work plan was anything but easy: the position in the container is weird, but because it was growing on a strange angle in the wild, it could not be planted otherwise. Apart from an interesting lower part the pine was not promising nothing - so we had a difficult task to deal with.

 

Ko je Miha zgodaj spomladi 2012 bor prvič prinesel v atelje, smo ga takoj krstili za Slona. Z debelo nogo in dolgim rilcem je spominjal na afriškega debelokožca. Če je bilo določanje imena lahek del naloge, pa je bil načrt dela vse prej kot enostaven: položaj v posodi je čuden, ampak ker je v naravi rastel pod čudnim kotom, ga drugače ni bilo mogoče posaditi. Razen zanimivega spodnjega dela bor ni obljubljal nič drugega - skratka pred nami je bila težka naloga.

 

 

The first task was to bring green closer to the tree and to made the whole tree compact. This was done at the first session, hard bending was the only intervention before the new growing season. One of the two bended branches (circled in red) later did not survive.

 

Prva naloga je bila zelenje približati deblu in skompaktirati celo drevo. To smo naredili že na prvi seansi; močno krivljenje je bil tudi edini poseg pred novo rastno sezono. Ena od obeh močno krivljenih vej (obkrožena z rdečo) kasneje ni preživela.

 

Miha returned to the studio with Elephnant three weeks ago. In summer he fed it strongly and with a lot of sun the remaining branch reacted with a lot of new buds. Branch already stood in a new position, the tree is strong and healthy. Time to continue the story. Detailed analysis showed that the tree must be even more compact, we must create only a minimal crown to emphasizes the interesting curve. Miha was set to work - he choose the most suitable side branch, cut last year's needles and wrapped it with raffia.

 

Miha se je v atelje s Slonom vrnil pred tremi tedni. Čez poletje ga je gnojil in izpostavil soncu, tako da je preostala veja reagirala z veliko novimi brsti, obstala v novi poziciji, drevo je močno in zdravo. Čas za nadaljevanje zgodbe. Podrobna analiza je pokazala, da bo treba drevo še bolj skompaktirati, ustvariti zgolj minimalno krošnjo in poudariti izjemno zanimivo krivino. Miha se je lotil dela - izbral je najprimernejšo stransko vejo, porezal lanske iglice in jo ovil z rafijo.

 

At the next session he wired the branch and prepared it for shaping.

 

Na naslednji seansi je vejo podrobno ožičil in pripravil na oblikovanje.

 

So, last night there was enough time for the shaping. To concentrate on the design. Here Miha is dealing with the last detail, he is painting the dead wood.

 

Sinoči je bilo tako dovolj časa za samo oblikovanje. Posvečanje dizajnu. Miha tu še ureja zadnje podrobnosti, barva mrtev les.

 

And here is the current result. From the huge tree that had crown almost two meters away from the trunk, we created a very dynamic, strong bonsai. Reserve crown is wrapped in the black bag, this green mass will be removed next summer (if all goes according to plan). Elephant now needs rest and careful hand. In the following years it will be re-potted in to appropriate pot. According to a planting angle the re-potting will probably need two additional steps.

 

In tu je trenutni rezultat. Iz ogromnega drevesa, ki je imelo krošnjo skoraj dva metra stran od debla, je nastal izjemno dinamičen, močan bonsaj. V črni vrečki je še zavita rezervna krošnja, ki pa bo naslednje poletje (če bo vse potekalo po načrtu) odstranjena. Slon zdaj rabi počitek in skrbno roko. V naslednjih letih pa še presajanje v primerno bonsajsko posodo. Glede na kot posaditve bo presaditev verjetno potrebovala dva dodatna koraka.

 

Something like that the tree will look in the pot. Two years more and Miha will live the result of his work. Than will be already 5 years from collecting!

 

Tako nekako bo drevo zgledalo v bonsajski posodi. Še dve leti in Miha bo dočakal rezultat svojega dela. Od izkopa pa bo takrat minilo že 5 let!

GREGA

Grega is one of my students, who did not yet taken bonsai as the way of life, at least for now. He doesn't work on trees every day, his collection is not large, but he really enjoys to work on bonsai. We meet several times a year to shape a tree or two. This time it was the Cmamaecypris, which already got it's first pot:

 

Grega je eden od mojih učencev, ki vsaj za zdaj, bonsajizma še ni vzel za način življenja. Na drevesih ne dela vsak dan, njegova zbirka ni velika, vendar pa ob delu neizmerno uživa. Nekajkrat na leto se srečava, da urediva drevo ali dve. Tokrat je bila na vrsti pacipresa, ki je spomladi že dobila prvo posodo:

 

 

Given that it is already the first snow fell outside, and that the tree will be overwintered outdoors, we didn't tightened the Chamaecyparis till the end, but we just wired the main branches that have not yet stood in the desired position and left the crown slightly more uncombed ... The tree that spent the summer more freely is  shaped again and ready for winter. Difference between bonsai Grega brought to the studio, and bonsai, which he take home after three hours of work, is obvious!

 

Glede na to, da je zunaj že padel prvi sneg, in bo drevo prezimovalo na prostem, paciprese nisva "zategovala" do konca, ampak sva ožičila le glavne veje, ki še niso obstale v željeni poziciji in krošnjo pustila nekoliko bolj frfravo ... Drevo je potem, ko je preživelo bolj svobodno poletje spet urejeno in pripravljeno na zimo. Razlika med bonsajem, ki ga je Grega prinesel v atelje, in bonsajem, ki ga je po dobrih treh urah dela odnesel domov, je kar velika!

 

 

Meanwhile outside: almost real winter ...

 

Zunaj pa, kot rečeno, skoraj prava zima ...

 

 

DUŠAN

On his third visit to my studio Dušan finished his first tree - Chamaecyparis on which is always a lot to do. Next season Dušan will concentrate on pinching and general maintenance and of course the finding of a suitable pot will also be one of the tasks.

Dušan je na svojem tretjem obisku mojega ateljeja dokončal svoje prvo drevo - hvaležno pacipreso, s katero je vedno veliko dela. Naslednjo sezono bo v ospredju vršičkanje in splošno vzdrževanje ter seveda iskanje primerne posode.

TORA School announces dates of workshops for beginners and intermediate courses. In December we recognize 10% discount on all courses, so do not miss out! Workshops for beginners are scheduled for 8th and 22nd December (Saturdays), the intermediate courses will be at 9th and 23d December (Sundays). Applications and additional information on: tora.bonsai@gmail.com

or call +38641 241224. WELCOME!

Šola TORA razpisuje termine za začetne in nadaljevalne tečaje. V decembru priznavamo 10% popust na redne cene tečajev, zato ne zamudite! Termina začetnih tečajev sta 8. in 22. december (sobota), termina nadaljevalnih pa 9. in 23. december (nedelja). Prijave in vse dodatne informacije na: tora.bonsai@gmail.com ali pokličite 041 241224. VABLJENI!!!

BRIN IN BOR

Last night's meeting of the Tora group was very busy again. And Valter came to see us, he bring me the perfectly carved stone for base of supporting pillar, but that's another story ...

Sinočnje srečanje skupine Tora je bilo spet zelo delavno. Pa še Valter nas je prišel pogledat; pripeljal mi je odlično obdelan kamen za vznožje podpornega stebra, ampak to je že druga zgodba ...

Janez burned his mugo pine, we almost evacuated studio due to smoke ...

Janez je kuril svoje ruševje, da smo zaradi dima skoraj evakuirali atelje ...

With what a beast was Janez dealing is clearly visible in the picture below ...

S kakšno mrcino se je Janez ukvarjal je dobro vidno na spodnji sliki ...

While Tomaž was wiring the pine we started  in Sunday,  Raje was finshing his almost two months of work on the juniper. First he made a before photo for documentation:

Med tem, ko je Tomaž v ozadju žičil v nedeljo začeti bor, je Raje po skoraj dveh mesecih dela na brinu, končeval svoj projekt. Najprej fotka za dokumentacijo pred oblikovanjem:

Then he take a deep breath and started to concentrate infront of the wired tree:

Potem globok vdih in koncentracija pred ožičenim drevesom:

And this is the current result after shaping. As I know Raje, juniper will see many changes before it wil received its final form. This is only the beginning of a long journey!

In trenutni rezultat po oblikovanju. Kot poznam Rajeta, bo brin doživel še veliko predelav in sprememb, preden bo dobil končno obliko. To je zgolj začetek dolge poti!

And the result of Tomaž's work. As you can read in the previous article, he came in for an individual workshop. We planed work on pine, on which he did not know what to do next. This is the usual material from the nursery, which has made ​​a step forward. Below are the before and after pictures:

In še rezultat Tomaževega dela. Kot ste lahko prebrali v prejšnjem prispevku, se je v nedeljo oglail na individualni delavnici. Napravila sva načrt dela na boru, na katerem ni vedel več kako naprej. Gre za običajen materijal iz drevesnice, ki je napravil korak naprej. Spodaj sta sliki prej in potem:

A step forward is made​​, and this was also the most important for Tomaž. Now the intensive work on the tree comes, this pine is more than adequate for learning. And then, when everyone else already put away their tools, Roland and Valter were still discussing the possibilities on Roland's juniper ...

Korak naprej je storjen in to je bilo tudi za Tomaža najpomembnejše. Zdaj pride na vrsto intenzivno delo na drevesu, ta bor je za učenje več kot primeren. In potem, ko so vsi drugi že pospravili orodje, sta Roland in Valter še dolgo debatirala o možnostih, ki jih ponuja Rolandov brin ...

TOMAŽ

I think I already wrote once that for me working on trees that are already a step or two away from the first design is a great pleasure. When details matters - details that can distinguish good from bad bonsai. When Tomaž called me, we quickly agreed for a session in the atelier: he brought three trees, on which he is kind of stucked and now need advice on how to proceed. We analyze all three, but most of the time we devoted to work on red pine, which will complete the transformation already this Wednesday.

Mislim, da sem enkrat že zapisal, da mi je v vedno večje veselje delati na drevesih, ki so že korak ali dva oddaljena od prvega oblikovanja. Ko pridejo na vrsto podrobnosti, ki lahko ločijo dober bonsaj od slabega. Ko me je poklical Tomaž, sva se hitro dogovorila za termin v ateljeju: prinesel je tri drevesa, na katerih je nekako obstal in zdaj je potreboval nasvete, kako naprej. Preanalizirala sva vse tri, največ časa pa posvetila rdečemu boru, ki bo dokončno preobrazbo najverjetneje doživel že to sredo.

 

 

If you have a bonsai at home that you brought him up to a certain level, but you do not know what to do next, you are invited to the studio. Together we will find solutions that will get the most from the tree!

 

Če imate torej doma bonsaj, ki ste ga pripeljali do določenega nivoja, ne veste pa, kako naprej, ste vabljeni v atelje. Skupaj bomo našli rešitve, ki bodo iz drevesa izvlekle največ!

ŽIVE ŽILE

Last night was much more peaceful in the Tora atelier than last Wednesday :-) , but the atmosphere more busy! Marija and Miha have found out that even one small branch can mean a lot of work with wiring:

 

Sinoči je bilo v ateljeju Tora veliko bolj mirno, kot prejšnjo sredo :-) , vzdušje pa bolj delavno! Marija in Miha sta ugotovila, da tudi ena majhna veja lahko pomeni veliko dela pri žičenju:

 

 

Roland was discovering live veins on his juniper, the tree will regained its form in following sessions. As an archaeologist he has discovered the treasures of living veins under dead bark; live veins give the tree a unique charm. Contrast between dead and living wood will be really remarkable on this juniper.

 

Roland pa je na svojem brinu, ki bo v naslednjih seansah spet dobil formo, odkrival žive vene. Kot arheolog je pod odmrlo skorjo odkrival zaklade živih ven, ki drevesu dajejo svojevrstno draž. Kontrast mrtvega in živega lesa bo na tem brinu res izjemen. 

 

 

OBISK

Last night was the most crowded in the studio so far. This does not mean that we did a lot of work on trees, but this was a pleasant evening nevertheless. Beside the regular participants of the Tora workshops we have visitors from Savinja Valley (Modri and Vid, it is great that you come), there was also a Dr. Tomaž, Maurizio from Trieste ... As said, there was more talking than working, but also such evenings are good!

 

Sinoči je bilo v ateljeju najbolj živahno doslej. To sicer ne pomeni, da smo veliko delali na drevesih, a prijetno je bilo vseeno :-) . Ob rednih udeležencih sredinih delavnic smo tokrat dočakali obisk iz Savinjske doline (Modri in Vid, super, da sta prišla), tu je bil tudi dr. Tomaž, pa Maurizio iz Trsta ... Kot rečeno se je več pogovarjalo, kot delalo, a nič zato, tudi takšni večeri morajo biti!

 

 

But Miha was a good boy, working in the background on spruce. He already wired it at the SBK workshop in Solkan, this time it was only formed in high elegant lady, who now needs only convenient shoes (pot) and of course, regular maintenance:

 

Je bil pa toliko bolj priden Miha, ki je v ozadju delal na smreki. Ožičil jo je že na klubski delavnici v Solkanu, tokrat jo je le oblikoval v visoko elegantno gospo, ki zdaj potrebuje le še pripravne čevlje (beri: posodo) in seveda redno vzdrževanje:

 

 

Miha has also brought a nice suiseki, the stone is from Liguria. He maid a daiza ​from pear wood. A few correction and finishing and suiseki will be ready for exhibition.

 

Miha je prinesel tudi lep suiseki, izvira iz Ligurije, ki mu je izdelal daizo iz hruškovega lesa. Še nekaj popravkov in dodelav in tudi suiseki bo pripravljen na razstavo.

 

ŠENIMAIMENA

The story of juniper that I represent this time, started in autumn 2010 and it is an example of how projects are taking place in the Tora school. Tomaž was lucky then, he got permission to collect a large amounts of urban yamadoris. At the time, he collected some excellent junipers, many of them are still waiting for treatment. This one is a good subspecies, cultivar with needles very similar to  appreciated Itoigawa.

 

Zgodba brina, ki jo predstavljam tokrat, se je začela jeseni leta 2010 in je primer, kako potekajo projekti v šoli Tora. Tomaž je takrat zadel tombolo, kakor se reče, in dobil dovoljenje za izkop večje količine urbanih jamadorijev. Takrat je izkopal kar nekaj izvrstnih brinov, mnogi še čakajo na obdelavo. Dotični je dobre podvrste, kultivar z iglicami zelo podobnimi cenjeni Itoigawi.

 

2010 - a lot of new material!

 

Because the juniper respond with new growth and was already well-rooted, we planned a development of the tree - at the first workshop we cut one redundant branch, decided about design, gave three major curves to the branch, from which the crown will be styled. More than enough interventions for once, the Juniper rested again for one year.

 

Ker se je že v letu dni dobro ukoreninil in odzival z bujno rastjo, sva napravila načrt razvoja - na prvi delavnici sva odrezala eno odvečno vejo, se odločila za dizjan in veji, iz katere bo v nadaljevanju nastala krošnja, dala tri večje krivine. Več kot dovolj posegov za enkrat; brin je leto dni spet počival.

 

2011 - starting material

the work beggin

 

This autumn the time to perform the next step has arrived. The branch that we bended reacted well and after removing raffia stood in the desired position. We bended it in point 1 - down in point 2 - back and up and at point 3 - across the basic branch and down. Curves complement the trunk and form a base line of tree.

 

Letos jeseni je nastopil trenutek za naslednji korak. Veja, ki sva jo krivila je lepo odreagirala, po odstranitvi rafije je obstala v željenem položaju. Skrivljena je bila v točki 1. - navzdol, v točki 2. - nazaj in navzgor, v točki 3. naprej, preko osnovne veje in navzdol. Krivine dopolnjujejo deblo in tvorijo osnovno linijo drevesa.

 

Basic line

 

Last redundant branch, with the assistance of another Tomaž lost green and bark and was turned into attractive jin, which will be an important part of the overall composition.

 

Zadnja odvečna veja je ob pomoči drugega Tomaža izgubila zelenje in skorjo in se spremenila v atraktiven džin, ki bo pomemben del celotne kompozicije.

 

 

This was followed by cleaning and wiring all the other branches, which lasted a few days.

 

Sledilo je čiščenje in žičenje vseh preostalih vej, ki je trajalo nekaj dni.

 

after wiring

 

After wiring and allocation of branches the form was already visible, now the time for the best came: design and definition of the crown. It started with bending jin and then all the other branches.

 

Po končanem žičenju in sprotnem grobem razporejanju vej se je oblika že nakazovala, zdaj je prišlo na vrsto tisto najslajše: oblikovanje in definiranje krošnje. Začelo se je s cepljenjem in krivljenjem džina, potem pa še z vsemi ostalimi vejami.

 

Result for the time beeing

 

Juniper now again needs a year of rest, then it will be transplanted in to first pot. In the meantime we'll work on the dead wood and details. We left also another branch of the reserve, which is covered with black cloth on photograph and will be removed next summer.

 

Zdaj brin spet potrebuje leto dni počitka, potem pa bo že na vrsti presajanje v bonsajsko posodo. Vmes še delo na suhem lesu, ukvarjanje s podrobnostmi. Na drevesu je tudi še ena rezervna veja, ki je na fotografiji prekrita s črno tkanino in bo odstranjena naslednje poletje.

 

Work on such a tree is pure pleasure. It allows creative expression and an excellent result. I can not wait to see it in bonsai pot!

 

Delo na takšnem drevesu je ćisti užitek. Omogoča ustvarjalno izražanje in odličen rezultat. Komaj čakam, da ga vidim v bonsajski posodi!