DVA BRINA

The vision, the visualization of ultimate goal is very important in bonsai. Many times one must have a lot of imagination to see what can be done from particular material. First there is just a line and often nothing else. With time one can build the crown around this line and with more time everything can mature and create a pleasant sight: bonsai. This is a story about two junipers: both still developing, both urban yamadoris. Lets talk first about Juniperus pfitzeriana from Tomažž R's collection.

 

Vizija, vizualizacija končnega cilja je pri bonsaju zelo pomembna. Velikokrat človek potrebuje močno domišljijo, da si predstavlja, kaj se iz določenega materijal da napraviti. Najprej je tu zgolj linija in ničesar drugega. S časom se da okrog linije zgraditi krošnjo in s še več časa vse skupaj dozori in je celo lepo na pogled: bonsaj. To je zgodba o dveh brinih: oba sta še v razvoju, oba urbana jamadorija. Najprej se posvetimo brinu vrste pfitzeriana iz zbirke Tomaža R.

 

I met this tree for the first time in 2011 when we did some work on it, but mostly we concentrated on choosing the right line.

 

To drevo sem prvič srečal leta 2011, ko smo na njem napravili nekaj dela, toda največ časa smo posvetili izboru prave linije.

 

Juniperus pfitzeriana, 2011

 

After three years tree came in TORA atelier for styling. The top was very weak, so I decided to go only with bottom branch and also to turn the tree around and not use the planned front.

 

Po treh letih je drevo prišlo v TORA atelje na oblikovanje. Vrh je bil zelo šibak, zato sem se odločil le za spodnjo vejo, drevo sem obrnil in za prednjo stran nisem uporabil prvotno planirane.

Juiperus pfitzeriana, spring 2014

Juniperus pfitzeriana, after styling, spring 2014

 

After one growing season Juniper was re-potted right in to bonsai pot from Certre bonsai. The pot suits it well and may be even the final one.

 

Po eni rastni sezoni je bil presajen neposredno v bonsajsko posodo iz Certre bonsai. Posoda mu pristoji in bo mogoče celo končna.

 

Juniperus pfitzeriana in first bonsai-pot, spring 2015

 

Tree reacted nice and just after three months it was ready for second wiring and some additional work on dead-wood. The wiring was done by Gašper, apprentice of TORA international bonsai school. He did a great job and he pushed the Juniper a step further. Now the tree is ready to be returned to the owner. I hope he'll take good care of it and it will return to atelier for refinement in good condition.

 

Drevo je dobro reagiralo in samo tri mesece kasneje je bilo pripravljeno na drugo žičenje in nekaj dodatnega dela na suhem lesu. Žičenje je opravil Gašper, študent šole TORA. Napravil je odlično delo in brin je napravil še korak naprej. Zdaj je brin pripravljen, da ga vrnemo njegovemu lastniku. Upam, da bo zanj dobro poskrbljeno in da se bo na naslednje žičenje v atelje vrnil v dobri formi.

Gašper adjusting the tree for final photo-shooting

Juniperus pfitzeriana after second wiring, May 2015

The second tree is Juniper virginiana, from my collection. Collected by Tomaž R it found it's way in to my garden in 2012. In the winter of the same year I created interesting line and put tree to rest.

 

Drugo drevo je brin vrste virginiana iz moje zbirke. Izkopal ga je Tomaž R, v moj vrt je prišel leta 2012. Zimo istega leta sem oblikoval zanimivo linijo in drevo pustil počivati.

 

Juniperus virginiana, January 2013, ready for bending

 

The interesting line is created

 

In January 2014 it was styled for the first time, and put to rest once again.

 

Januarja 2014 je bil prvič oblikovan in spet sem ga potem pustil počivati.

 

Juniperus virginiana, ready for first wiring, January 2014

After first styling, January 2014

It reacted extremely well, so in October 2014 It was wired for the second time with help of Gašper.

 

Reagiral je zelo dobro, tako da je bil oktobra 2014 drugič ožičen, tokrat s pomočjo Gašperja.

 

Juniperus virginiana, rady for second wiring, October 2014

Gašper working

 Juniperus virginiana, after second wiring, October 2014

 

The crown was suddenly too big, but I let it on the tree knowing that I'll re-pot the tree in spring. This spring the tree was re-potted in to first bonsai pot, which is not good one and will be changed next year. Now, three months after re-potting it was time to reduce the crown. Tree is now approaching the desired silhouette, but still need a lot of work. In Autumn it will be wired in detail again.

 

Krošnja je bila nenadoma prevelika, toda z mislijo na spomladansko presaditev, sem jo pustil na drevesu. To pomlad je bilo drevo presajeno v prvo bonsajsko posodo, ki ni dobra in bo naslednje leto zamenjana. Zdaj, tri mesece po presajanju, je bil čas za manjšanje krošnje. Drevo se zdaj približuje zamišljeni obliki, vendar še potrebuje veliko dela. Jeseni bo ponovno podrobno ožičen.

Juniperus virginiana in first bonsai pot, May 2015

Juniperus virginiana after the cut of right branch

Juniperus virginiana, May 2015

Bonsai is constantly changing and needs constant work - but with clear vision!

 

Bonsaj se nenehno spreminja in potrebuje nenehno delo - seveda z jasno vizijo!

FIKUS

Since I am living in a temperate climate, I don't work on tropic species. This tiger-bark ficus (Ficus retusa) is an exemption, is the only one I have. I work on this tree from 2007. I bought it at Crespi bonsai as material and since then constantly working on crown. I defoliate it once a year; this time Gašper did it instead of me ... :-)

Ker ne živim v tropih, se ne ukvarjam s tropskimi vrstami. Ta fikus (Ficus retusa) je izjema in edini, ki ga imam. Na drevesu delam od leta 2007, ko sem ga kupil pri Crespiju. Od takrat nenehno dlam na krošnji. Enkrat na leto ga razlistam; tokrat ga je namesto mene razlistal Gašper ... :-)

Gašper and Marko cuting leaves 

No comment ...

Ficus after defoliation

Ramification is great

Detail of right branch

This is how Ficus looked in January 2008

And this is how it looks today, after 7 yrs of work

To achieve such result in temperate climate is quite an achievement. We have only 5 months of growth, then Ficus is relocated inside, where trough winter it suffers luck of sun and moister. But with a lot of care and proper work one can enjoy the tropical tree also in our climate!

Takšen rezultat v naši klimi je odličen dosežek. Imamo le 5 mesecev rastne sezone, potem je fikus prenešen noter, kjer čez zimo trpi pomanjkanje sonca in vlage. Toda z veliko skrbi in pravim delom se tudi v naši klimi da uživati v tropskem drevesu!

DEMO ARCO

I spent this Saturday in ancient city of Arco, near Garda Lake, Italy. We were invited there to do a demo as part of Trofeo Arco Bonsai. I love the city and beautiful surroundings, also the exhibition is nice, so I was happy to come back to this event.

To soboto sem preživel v starodavnem mestu Arco ob Gardskem jezeru. Tja smo bili povabljeni, da bi kot del prireditve Trofeo Arco Bonsai, opravili demonstracijo. Mesto in okolica mi je zelo všeč, tudi razstava je vedno dobra, tako da sem se z veseljem vrnil na ta dogodek.

(Photo: Evelina)

(Photo: Evelina)

For the demo I choose the old Pinus sylvestris from Miha's collection. Pine was already well prepared before the demo. I closely studied the tree in the atelier, and then made the sketch. Because the tree has only one long branch with green mass far from old trunk, there were not many solutions. I decided to bring the green mass above the nebari and compact the tree.

Za demonstracijo sem izbral star rdeči bor (Pinus sylvestris) iz Mihatove zbrike. Že pred demotom je bilo drevo dobro pripravljeno. V ateljeju sem drevo dodobra preštudiral in nato narisal skico. Ker ima bor samo eno dolgo vejo z zeleno maso daleč stran od starega debla, rešitev ni bilo ravno veliko. Odločil sem se, da zeleno maso pripeljem nad nebari in skompaktiram drevo.

Pinus sylvestris, before the demo - possible front

Pinus sylvetsris, before the demo - slightly different angle 

The sketch

So I took the tree to the Arco and start the work. Gaššper from TORA International bonsai school was my assistant, Nik Rozman from Nik Art also joined us, and together we made a nice demo and spent some great time together!

Drevo sem torej odpeljal v Arco in delo se je začelo. Gašper iz šole TORA je bil moj pomočnik, pridružil se nama je tudi Nik in skupaj smo naredili dober demo in preživeli krasen dan skupaj!

This is how the pine looked at the start of the demo (Photo: Evelina)

Making a precise plan! (Photo: Evelina)

First, after applying the raffia, we bring the long branch up and above the nebari. We used some special tools, and everything went smooth.

Najprej, potem ko smo navili rafijo, smo dolgo vejo zvili navzgor in nad nebari. Uporabili smo nekaj posebnega orodja in vse je šlo kot po maslu.

Applaying raffia (Photo: Peter Rozman)

Bringing the branch up with special tool (Photo: Evelina)

Close-up (Photo: Evelina)

In next phase we bend the branch down, to bring the green mass lower. Then was just a matter of time to compact the tree and style a nice crown.

V naslednji fazi smo vejo zvili navzdol, da smo zeleno maso pripeljali nižje. Potem je bilo samo še vprašanje časa, kdaj bomo drevo skompaktirali in oblikovali lepo krošnjo.

In this phase we bend the branch down (Photo: Evelina)

The result was exactly as expected, incredibly similar to sketch. This is not often the case, because trees can surprised and many times one must adjust the plan. But not this time!

Rezultat je bil natančno tak, kot sem pričakoval, neverjetno podoben skici. To ni tako pogosto, saj znajo drevesa večkrat presenetiti in velikokrat je treba načrt prilagajati. Toda ne tokrat! 

Result after the demo

 Tree has a fantastic turtle-like old bark

Again - pine before ...

... and after the demo. The final result for now!

The make-over, the first styling is great, now the tree has a bright future!

Preobrazba, prvo oblikovanje je dobro uspelo, drevo ima zdaj svetlo prihodnost!