PRVE NE POZABIŠ

This is one of my first trees in my collection. Far from good, even further form perfection, but on this Prunus mahaleb I am working for full 12 years! Despite of all mistakes I've done to it, it is one of my favorites. We have done a long way and we are far from finish. In a months or so It will get a great pot by my friend Tom Benda. It deserves that pot!

Tole je eno prvih dreves v moji zbirki. Daleč od tega, da bi bila dobra, kaj šele popolna, toda na tej rešeliki delam že polnih 12 let. (Za vse, ki čakate, da se bo vaš bonsaj odebelil ;-) ) Kljub vsem napakam, ki jih je pretrpela, ostaja ena najljubših. Prehodila sva dolgo pot a še zdaleč nisva na cilju. Čez kak mesec bo dobila vrhunsko posodo prijatelja Toma Bende. Si jo zasluži!

Prunus mahaleb, 1999 - starting material

Prunus mahaleb, 2012 - before

Prunus mahaleb, 2012 - after wiring

Prunus mahaleb, 2012 - with pot by Tom Benda

KORAK NAZAJ?

Often it happens that at first glance the tree has to move back for one step into it's bonsai development, so that it may then do three steps forward. For good base one must sacrifice a branch more and above all much more time. And the vision is very important! This is the main lesson I learned again at this time session of PF branch led by Enrico Savini. The theme of this time's workshop was dead wood and live veins. Material: all exceptional trees. Group of students is developing quickly and this is noticed also in material. Bonsai art is a sculpture in a living material. Work on dead wood empahsizes this feeling even more!

Velikokrat se zgodi, da na prvi pogled drevo naredi korak nazaj v svojem bonsajskem razvoju, zato, da lahko potem napravi tri korake naprej. Za dobro osnovo, je treba žrtvovati kakšno vejo več in predvsem nekaj več časa. Pa vizija je pomembna! To je glavna lekcija, ki sem jo ponovno dobil na tokratni seansi podružnice Savinijeve PF. Tema tokratne delavnice je bil suh les in žive vene. Materijal pa: izjemna drevesa. Skupina študentov se razvija z velikimi koraki in to se vidi tudi pri izboru materijala. Bonsajizem je kiparstvo v živem materijalu, delo na suhem lesu pa občutek kiparjenja še bolj poudari!

The feelings when one create an art from the ordinary piece of wood are great. Getting familiar with new techniques with help of one of the best artists in the world, is great too. When every details count!

Ko iz navadnih odrezanih štrcljev nastajajo umetnine, je občutek izjemen. Spoznavanje novih tehnik pod vodstvom enega najboljših bonsajistov na svetu, tudi. Ko šteje vsaka podrobnost!

About consequences ... Well, some other time :-) !

Posledice pa ... O tem kdaj drugič :-) !

DVA BORA

Another great evening in TORA school! Jan joined the group for the first time, he studied his Japanese black pine and learned about the environment in workshop ;-) .

Še en zanimiv večer šoli TORA! Jan je se je pridružil ekipi in študiral svoj japonski črni bor, ter se spoznaval z okoljem ;-) .

Jan studyng his JBP

Also Matej in Tomaž were here, Miha finished his pine. Let's look in more detail: this is a young, little Pinus sylvestris, with no character, only in lower part of the trunk it has some movement. Miha planted it in narrow pot, which could be final. At last workshop we continued the rhythm from lower part towards the top and from uninteresting thin trunk we created interesting line. Miha then wired all branches. Last night He finished the work. Then, in just few minutes, a nice literati was created. Now It is just one growing season from perfection. In the right side the crown must fill up a little. From uninteresting young tree a nice bonsai was created.  

Tu je bil tudi Matej, pa Tomaž, Miha je najprej dokončal svoj bor. Polejmo podrobneje: gre za mlad rdeči borček, z malo karakterja, le spodnji del debla je imel nekaj gibanja. Miha ga je že posadil v primerno nizko posodo, ki je lahko že končna. Na prejšnji delavnici sva ritem v spodnjem delu debla nadaljevala proti vrhu, ter tako iz ravnega, nezanimivega tankega debla, ustvarila zanimivo linijo. Miha je potem požičil vse veje in vejice. Delo je dokončal sinoči. Nato je v nekaj minutah nastal simpatičen literati, ki mu do popolnosti manjka le še na rastna sezona, da se krošnja na desni strani nekoliko popolni. Iz nezanimivega mladega dreveščka je nastal lep bonsaj.

After wiring and before styling

Miha preparing PS for photo-shooting

Pinus sylvestris literati after work

Miha also started a new project - he started to work on great little Fagus. I'll write more about this tree after next workshops.  

Miha je sinoči začel še en projekt - začel je z delom na izjemni mali bukvi. Več o tem drevesu po naslednjih delavnicah.

Miha working on great FS

Janez worked on much bigger pine then Miha. But in the end the character and expression of those two trees will be very similar. Only that Janez's pine will be mightier. This is also the red pine, Pinus sylvestris, it was prepared in first year of PF when the interesting curve in upper part was created. Now the time for styling the crown has arrived. Janez put rafia on all thicker branches and prepared them for bending. Because in TORA we stick with the philosophy to use as much branches as possible there was a lot of wiring. We couldn't finish the work in one evening. One must not hurry with work on bonsai. Never. The work must be done concentrated and with respect to the tree. So, we'll continued to wire and to fine-positioning of the branches at next workshop. But, how attractive the final shape will be, is already visible ...

Janez je delal na nekaj številk večjem boru kot Miha, čeprav bosta karakter in izpovednost obeh dreves na koncu zelo podobni. Le Janezov bor bo seveda veliko bolj mogočen. Tudi tu gre za rdeči bor, ki je pripravo doživel že v prvem letniku PF, ko je v zgornjem delu prej dokaj ravnega debla dobil zanimivo krivino. Zdaj je prišel čas za oblikovanje krošnje. Janez je vse debelejše veje v krošnji najprej ovil z rafijo in jih tako pripravil na krivljenje. Ker se v TORA držimo filozofije, da pri oblikovanju krošnje uporabimo čim več obstoječih vej, je žičenja veliko, in sinoči dela ni bilo mogoče končati. Z delom na bonsaju se nikdar ne sme muditi. Delo mora biti zbrano, s spoštovanjem do drevesa. Zato bomo žičenje zadnje tretjine vej in fino oblikovanje opravili na naslednji seansi. A kako atraktivna bo končna oblika, je mogoče slutiti že zdaj ...

Janez working on PS

Rafia on main branches

PS before

PS after first evening. To be continued ...

P.S.: This weekend the second year of PF under Enrico Savini will meet again. I'll report, of course!

P.S.: Konec tedna se bo na drugi delavnici drugega letnika pod vodstvom Enrica Savinija srečala skupina PF. Poročilo seveda sledi!

SMREKA K

This is intensive beginning of new season, but finally I could worked on my own tree, I styled the spruce. Picea abies found it's way in to my garden four years ago; it is yamadori from mountain pasture, you can find a lot of such trees in Slovenia: dense crown, good tapering, but just a little movement. Because this tree was not good for demonstration (too much wiring), it was growing peacefully in pot and gain power for future. 

Intenziven uvod v sezono mi ni dal dihati, a končno sem našel čas tudi za delo na svojem drevesu in oblikovanje smreke. Smreka je pot v moj vrt našla pred štirimi leti; gre za jamadori, kakršnih je na naših visokogorskih pašnikih na pretek: gosta, nabita, z dobrim ožanjem a le malo gibanja. Ker za demonstracijo zaradi preveč potrebnega žičenja ni bila primerna, je kar nekaj časa v miru rastla v posodi in nabirala moči.

The problem with such a material is dense growth which don't allow the sun to penetrate into crown, meaning that inside of the crown is more or less without needles. So, the selection of branches is very important. My philosophy is to maintain as much of green mass as I can. I did select the branches, in the bottom thicker, at the top thinner. At the top the green mass was relatively close to the trunk. I shaped some jins (I will deal with details at second styling) and after preparation of branches the tree was ready for wiring. 

Težava pri tovrstnih smrekah je gosta rast, ki svetlobi onemogoča prodiranje proti deblu, to pa pomeni, da je notranjost krošnje bolj ali manj gola. Zato je izbor vej zelo pomemben. Moja filozofija oblikovanja zahteva, da na drevesu ohranim čim več zelenja. Izbral sem veje, spodaj debelejše, proti vrhu pa tanjše in tanjše; v vrhu so veje imele zelenje dokaj blizu debla. Še nekaj džinov (s podrobnostmi se bom na drevesu ukvarjal ob naslednejm oblikovanju) in drevo je bilo po predhodni pripravi vej pripravljeno na žičenje.

Spruce is hard for wiring because of number of branches and there are also needles ... It's need to be precise and this is time-consuming ...

Smreke so zahtevne za žičenje predvsem zaradi količine vej in vejic, pa še iglice so na poti ... Treba je biti natančen in to je seveda zamudno ...

After two days of work Roland helped me with wiring, we enjoyed the Saturday night when the girls were out, and until midnight we finished wiring and roughly styled the tree.

Po dveh dneh dela mi je na pomoč priskočil Roland, tako da sva izkoristila sobotni večer, ko so bile punce zunaj, in do polnoči požičila vse veje, ter na hitro oblikovala.

Next morning I worked on silhouette again and spruce started it's bonsai-journey. Now the real work on the tree only begin. This Picea is nothing special, it has no special character, it is classical upright spruce. It's quality is hidden in details: good nebari, good tapering of trunk and branches, and even some movement. In two years time It could be a nice bonsai. With good work on it of course. We'll see ...

Naslednji dan sem silhueto še malce dodelal in smreka je stopila na bonsajsko pot. Zdaj se namreč delo na drevesu šele prav začenja. Drevo ni nič posebnega, s tem mislim, da nima posebnega karakterja, je klasična pokončna smreka, njene kvalitete pa se skrivajo v podrobnostih: dober nebari, dobro ožanje debla in vej in celo nekaj gibanja. V dveh letih lahko z dobrim delom na drevesu zelo napreduje. Bomo videli ...

SAGA

We, Tomaž and me, started a new part of Juniper saga. He will not run out of material for a while; this time he brought the tree, which needed a deep analysis, but we find a solution quite soon. We used only one branch. The branch we could gave the best movement. I left Tomaž with wiring and did a plan of work on Boštjan's Larix. Boštjan came in for second workshop and he learned some new techniques and grips.

S Tomažem sva zastavila novo nadaljevanje sage o brinih. Materijala mu še lep čas ne bo zmanjkalo; tokrat je v delavnico prinesel primerek, ki je zahteval kar nekaj poglobljene analize, a vendar je bila rešitev kmalu na dlani. Uporabila bova zgolj srednjo vejo, ki ji lahko dava najboljšo linijo. Tomaža sem prepustil žičenju, potem pa sva z Boštjanom napravila načrt njegovega dela na macesnu. Boštjan je prišel na nadaljevalni tečaj in spoznal je nekaj novih tehnik in prijemov:

We, Tomaž and me, then focused on styling the Juniper. Some bending with rafia, a lot of wiring and the result after first styling is here. Well, on this photo still a little uncombed, before the fine shaping - I mean Juniper, not Tomaž :-) :

S Tomažem sva se potem posvetila oblikovanju brina. Nekaj krivljenja s pomočjo rafije, veliko žičenja in rezultat po prvem oblikovanju je tu. No, na spodnji fotografiji še nekoliko skuštran, pred finim oblikovanjem - na brin mislim, ne na Tomaža :-) :

Juniperus chinensis is with no doubt one of the best species appropriate for bonsai. It allow a lot of creativity and expression, I love this species!

Kitajski brini so brez dvoma ena najboljših vrst primernih za bonsaj. Omogočajo izjemno ustvarjalnost in izpovednost, meni ena najljubših vrst.

Before (and already after some bending)

After (not bad for first styling)

P.S.: Family Rozman, thank you for visit and nice wishes!

P.S.: Hvala družini Rozman za lepe želje in obisk!  

One more evening of enjoyment; we worked a lot and we learned a lot :-)! I learned how different techniques have different influences on people! When Roland, Miha and I were wiring and were completely calm deeply in our thoughts, Matej and Janez were loudly, energetically and impetuously bending the pine tree. Let's see it a bit closer:  

To je bil še en večer uživancije na drevesih; veliko smo delali in se veliko naučili :-)! Recimo, jaz sem se naučil, kako različne tehnike različno vplivajo na ljudi! Med tem smo Roland, Miha in jaz žičili ter se ob tem popolnoma umirili, poglobljeni vsak v svoj svet, sta se Matej in Janez energično, glasno in vihravo ukvarjala s krivljenjem glavne linije na boru. Ampak poglejmo malce podrobneje:

Roland has concentrated on wiring and shaping primary branches on Carpinus:

Roland se je tokrat poglobil v žičenje in usmerjanje primarnih vej na gabru:

Miha was working on his literati-pine, until the strength leaves :-) :

Miha je ustvarjal na svojem boru v slogu literati, dokler ni obnemogel :-) :

Matej was working on basic line on his Carpinus orientalis and he also gave the movement to the primary branch:

Matej je na Orientalisu določil osnovno linijo in  dal gibanje primarni veji:

Meanwhile Janez has worked on interesting red pine:

Med tem se je Janez v ozadju ukvarjal z zanimivim rdečim borom:

Studying the line:

 

 

Študiranje linije:

At the end three of them were working on the tree :-) :

Na koncu so se nad bor spravili kar trije :-) :

TORA school is exciting place; also Tomaž and Nataša were here for visit. But here are the highlights of yesterday's session: Forming the crown at broad-leaves needs much more time than on conifers. The basic line is very important, we build the crown on that line. Roland's Carpinus betulus is relatively developed. It is growing in Erin's pot, which will be the final, only the position will be a litlle modified. Primary branches are positioned, they were given the movement, now one must grow the secondary and tertiary branches. All in proper ratio and narrowing from trunk toward tips of the branches and from the bottom towards the top of the tree. The tree is too high for now due to thickening of the upper part.

Dogajanje v šoli TORA je še naprej razburljivo; na obisk sta prišla tudi Tomaž in Nataša. Ampak tu je nekaj poudarkov z včerajšnje seanse: Formiranje krošnje pri listavcih zahteva veliko več časa, kot pri iglavcih. Pomembna je osnovna linija, na kateri gradimo krošnjo. Rolandov navadni gaber je v svojem razvoju že relativno daleč. Posajen je v Erinovo posodo, ki bo kar končna, le pozicijo bo treba nekoliko spremeniti. Primarne veje so pozicionirane, dobile so potrebno gibanje, zdaj pride na vrsto razvijanje sekundarnih in terciarnih vej. Vse v razmerju in s primernim ožanjem: od debla proti koncu vej in od spodnjega dela drevesa proti vrhu. Drevo je za zdaj namenoma še nekoliko previsoko zaradi debeljenja zgornjega dela.

Matej's Carpinus orientalis is a real beast. It has a great movement which needs to be supplemented with attractive crown. Compared to Roland's this Carpinus is only at the start of it's bonsai-way. Even the pot is far from final. The basic line was defined, useful branches got the movement, now it's tree's turn - to grow new branches where needed. But with this species this will be no problem. If the tree will not want to participate, we'll help it with grafting.  

 

 

Matejev Carpinus orientalis je prava mrcina. Krasno gibanje, ki ga bo treba dopolniti z atraktivno krošnjo. V primerjavi z Rolandovim je ta gaber še čisto na začetku svoje poti. Tudi posoda seveda še zdaleč ni končna. Določena je bila osnovna linija, uporabne veje so dobile potrebno gibanje, zdaj pride na vrsto drevo - da požene nove poganjke tam, kjer jih potrebujemo. Pri tej vrsti to ne bo težava. Če pa drevo ne bo hotelo sodelovati, si bomo pomagali s cepljenjem. 

Miha's literati-pine will be finished at the next session and will get almost final shape. Janez's pine just got the basic line and will wait until the end of the summer for next step.

Mihatov literati bor bomo dokončali na naslednji seansi in bo dobil že skoraj dokončno podobo, Janezov bor pa je dobil zgolj osnovno linijo in bo nadaljevanje svoje zgodbe doživel konec poletja.

P.S.: Good luck on your Way, Raje!

P.S.: Raje, srečno na Poti!

ANA IN OSTALI

14 hours of bonsaism? Why not! Instead of tiredness at the evening I felt only fulfillment and nice energy. More such days, please!

In the morning Ana came in for basic workshop. She'll get an olive tree for the present in the spring. She decided to came in school before, because she don't want to kill her gift. See, this is the right way! Bravo Ana! She got information how to grow the olive, on the red pine she learned basic techniques. I am sure that gift will survive this time!

14 ur bonsajizma? Zakaj pa ne! In namesto utrujenosti sem zvečer čutil zgolj izpolnjenost in prijetno energijo. Še več takih dni, prosim!

Dopoldne je na začetni tečaj prišla Ana. Spomladi bo za darilo dobila oljko; ko je zvedela za to, se je takoj odločila za šolanje, saj noče, da bi ji darilo neslavno propadlo. Vidite, tako se dela! Bravo Ana! Dobila je napotke o vzgoji oljke, na rdečem boru pa je spoznala osnovne tehnike oblikovanja. Prepričan sem, da bo darilo tokrat preživelo!

In the afternoon the TORA group of students who are included in to intensive school gathered at regular weekly workshop. Miha did a step forward with his Fagus. It is a non-classical bonsai, full of character, slowly getting its form. Because forming of the crown at broadleaved tress is slower then at conifers, Fagus needs some more years to fully developed stage, but it did a great step forward since the first shaping two years ago. The time runs slowly at broadleaved trees. With Miha we focused at right wiring technique. One must be careful wiring the Fagus, because its buds can easily be opened by touching them. And because Fragus starts its buds just once in the year this can be even fatal for the tree.

Popoldne se je na svoji redni tedenski seansi v delavnici spet zbrala ožja TORA skupina študentov, ki so vključeni v intenzivni program šolanja. Miha je napravil korak naprej pri razvoju svoje bukve. Gre za neklasičen bonsaj, poln karakterja, ki počasi dobiva zaželjeno formo. Ker pri listavcih graditev krošnje traja veliko dlje, kot pri iglavcih, ji do končne podobe sicer manjka še nekaj let, toda od prvega oblikovanja, ki ga je bukev prav tako doživela v Tori pred dvema letoma, je napravila lep korak naprej. Ampak to je še en dokaz, kako pri listavcih čas teče počasi. Z Mihom sva dala poudarek na pravilni tehniki žičenja; pri bukvi je potrebno biti zelo previden, saj se brsi ob dotiku kaj hitro razprejo in zaradi izsušitve lahko propadejo. Ker pa bukev brste nastavlja samo enkrat, je to lahko za drevo tudi usodno.

Fagus after first shaping in december 2009

Yesterday before starting the work

After the work

Slovenian new talent Roland, who is preparing in Tora for NTC, finaly finished his cascade Juniper after three workshops. Last time we ended at forming the basic line, this time Roland worked at crown-forming. Matej helped him with wiring. Roland was very concentrated, some minor corrections (we can not forget the negative space, can we Roland) and new cascade beauty is born. There is no doubt that Roland will developed this beauty in to nice bonsai. Now is time for very important second stage: pinching, dealing with details and maintenance. The current result is just a good starting point for a serious work on the tree.

Slovenski novi talent Roland, ki se v Tori pripravlja na nastop na NTC, je po treh delavnicah dokončal svoj kaskadni brin. Zadnjič smo končali pri oblikovanju osnovne linije, tokrat je Roland delal na oblikovanju krošnje. Pri žičenju mu je pomagal Matej. Roland je delo opravil z veliko zbranostjo, sledilo je še nekaj popravkov (na prazen prostor nikakor ne smemo pozabiti, a ne Roland) in nova kskadna lepotica je tu. Nobenega dvoma ni, da jo bo Roland s svojo predanostjo znal razviti v lep bonsaj. Zdaj namreč pride na vrsto zelo pomembna druga faza: vršičkanje, ukvarjanje s podrobnostmi in vzdrževanje. Zdajšnji rezultat je zgolj dobro izhodišče za začetek resnega dela na drevesu.

PAR

New students are arriving, knowledge about bonsai is spreading. This is one of the basic missions of every bonsai-artist. This time Tatjana in Tomaž came in. Tatjana met the classical bonsai for the first time. She has one or two Ficus trees at home, but now she wanted to meet the "real" bonsai-art and to learn the basic techniques. Tatjana showed a great talent for wiring, she quickly learned the basic principles of wiring and she done her work excellently.

Novi učenci prihajajo, znanje o bonsaju se širi. To je eno od osnovnih poslanstev vsakega bonsajista. Tokrat sta na začetni tečaj prišla Tatjana in Tomaž. Tatjana se je s klasičnim bonsajem srečala prvič; doma ima sicer nekaj fikusov, toda zdaj si je zaželela spoznati "pravi" bonsajizem in spoznati osnovne tehnike. Tatjana je pokazala izjemen talent za žičenje, saj je princip žičenja kmalu dojela in delo opravila z odliko.

Tomaž has one Larix at home before, but because he didn't have enough knowledge the tree died. Now he takes the right way: first knowledge and then he will try to do it by himself. Because of lack of space he decided to work only with shohin bonsai. Nice - in Slovenia we don't have yet the specialist who will grow only the small trees. I had the right Larix for him - compact crown, a lot of dead wood. When working on bonsai you can not hurry. So, Tomaž came back to workshop at the evening. He realized that the tree is the boss. If the tree doesn't allow something, then it is so. We must adjust our plans with it!

Tomaž je doma že imel macesen, a mu je zaradi premalo znanja propadel. Zdaj se je odločil za pravilno pot: najprej nabiranje znanja, potem pa samostojni poskusi. Zaradi pomanjkanja prostora se je že vnaprej odločil, da se bo ukvarjal z šohini. Odlično - v Sloveniji še nimamo specialista, ki bi se ukvarjal samo z majhnimi derevsci. Na zalogi sem imel ravno pravšnji macesen - kompaktna krošnja, veliko suhega lesa. Ker se pri ukvarjanju z drevesom nikoli ne sme muditi, se je Tomaž v delavnico vrnil zvečer. Spoznal je, da ima drevo vedno zadnjo besedo. Če nečesa ne dovoli, pač ne dovoli. In naše načrte z njim je treba prilagoditi!

P.S.: If you want to book the lesion in TORA (basic or advanced workshop, long-term school) just call, also afternoon or evening lesions are available!

P.S.: Za rezerviranje terminov v šoli TORA (začetni in nadaljevalni tečaji, večmesečno šolanje) pokličite, možni so tudi popoldanski in večerni termini! 

KARAVANA GRE DALJE

Obviously, Wednesdays will become traditional days for sessions of TORA students. Last night we concentrated at two trees - Roland's juniper, his training material for NTC got nice basic line (cascade again :-) ), Miha worked on shari at his Chamaecyparis. 

Srede bodo očitno postale tradicionalni termin za srečanja skupine študentov v TORA. Sinoči smo se posvetili dvem drevesom - Rolandov brin, ki je trening materijal za pripravo na NTC, je dobil lepo osnovno linijo (ja, spet kaskada :-) ), Miha pa se je posvetil obdelavi šarija na pacipresi.

Roland's juniper has developed from bush to promising cascade material in just two sessions. As Roland pointed out: searching for and creating the basic line on the tree is the most important and needs time. From here shaping bonsai is just routine.  

Rolandov brin je po dveh delavnicah iz neuglednega grma napredoval v materijal, ki že kaže, da lahko iz njega nastane lepa kaskada. Kot je ugotovil Roland sam: iskanju in kreiranju osnovne linije na drevesu se splača posvetiti veliko časa. Od tu naprej je formiranje bonsaja zgolj rutina.

The basic line is set. From now on shaping is just a routine

Miha created a nice shari on his Chamaecyparis. He used the "shadow" technique. He was on fire! :-) Tomaž came in for inspection and he was obviously satisfied with result. Chamaecyparis will be wired and shaped in next sessions, and then it will be ready for exhibition.

Miha je s t.i. tehniko senc izdelal prepričljiv šari na svoji pacipresi. Tako zavzeto je delal, da se je kar kadilo! :-) V inšpekcijo je prišel tudi Tomaž in bil z rezultatom očitno zadovoljen! Pacipreso zdaj čaka podrobno žičenje in oblikovanje in pripravljena bo na razstavljanje.

He was on fire ...

 

P.S.: Used techniques: heavy bending with rafia and lever, fixing on extra rod, machine work on shari using "shadow technique.

P.S.: Uporabljene tehnike: močno krivljenje s pomočjo rafije in pomožnega vzvoda, fiksiranje na pomožno palico, strojno obdelovanje šarija s tehniko senc.