Literati Tosho

Cadillactaste

Neagari Gal
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I played around with placement: setting it off-center in a round pot just looked like a mistake; and to balance the left movement with right placement made the whole composition look like a rookie error. Centering it left/right supports the visual tension of the unbalanced foliage. I did place it slightly forward to make the pot appear smaller.


Older!:p
Planting slightly forward...interesting concept there.
 

sorce

Nonsense Rascal
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I like this phase o

Me too....

Something always felt "off" with this tree to me....

The curvy and jagged sections are "difficult to take in"....?

What I like even more than the foliage...

Is how the curvy section.....
6241728160_IMG_6183.JPG

When lighter...6174615616_IMG_6235.JPG

Is much easier to make sense of...

It feels way more connected to the rest.

The subtleties of the pot thought....
The subtleties of the foliage....

I would guess there's about 100 subtleties you have to conquer to get this RIGHT THERE....

An excellent challenge of attention to minute details...

Like Vance says...

"It's in the right hands"!

I've found a new love for this tree with that one change in lighting.

This is a key lesson IMO.

Thanks for the.....

ENLIGHTENMENT!

Sorce
 

Shima

Omono
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The subtleties of the pot thought....
The subtleties of the foliage....

I would guess there's about 100 subtleties you have to conquer to get this RIGHT THERE....

An excellent challenge of attention to minute details...
YESYESYES!
 

LeonardB

Shohin
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Repotted in March, and pruned back in May when it was growing strongly:
View attachment 112341
Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?
I have a similar literati that I want Bjorn to help me with as well.
Regards,
Leonard
 

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Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
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Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?
The original apex you may be referring to was never intended to be part of the design. It was an escape branch that was allowed to grow to strengthen the tree after it was collected in Japan. Once the tree was growing strongly, I cut it back to encourage growth closer to the trunk that could be used in the final design. I never want the foliage to be higher than the ribbon deadwood feature...that is the star of the show. Here is a recent shot after I pruned it back last week.
BA8A09A6-8590-4561-985F-FBEE71B817D2.jpeg
 

LeonardB

Shohin
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The original apex you may be referring to was never intended to be part of the design. It was an escape branch that was allowed to grow to strengthen the tree after it was collected in Japan. Once the tree was growing strongly, I cut it back to encourage growth closer to the trunk that could be used in the final design. I never want the foliage to be higher than the ribbon deadwood feature...that is the star of the show. Here is a recent shot after I pruned it back last week.
View attachment 190369
Brian, That makes even more sense ( knowing your work, I knew it would ). The way the live vein meanders around, how do you trim it down to keep it from looking too rough ( I have a few areas on mine that I am afraid to trim for fear of leaving scars that could take years to clean up )?
Leonard
 

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LeonardB

Shohin
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Brian,
Just came across this thread and found it very interesting. Would be great to see its progression today.
I did have a design question about cutting off the original apex. Did you consider bending it to continue the movement, or was it just a decision to reduce the tree overall?
I have a similar literati that I want Bjorn to help me with as well.
Regards,
Leonard
Just finished spring pruning ( preparing for fall workshop with Bjorn).
 

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Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
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Just finished spring pruning ( preparing for fall workshop with Bjorn).
You will have a great time working on your tree with Bjorn. Please be sure to start a new thread so you can share it’s progress on it.
The tosho is going to show next weekend, so I’m trying to get a few trees mossed up. Rough without rain in a while.
28754669-CC21-491A-A44B-B21DB2A1637B.jpeg
 

chicago1980

Omono
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I'll always appreciate this tree, Owen has a good eye for trees. Glad it is in good hands today.
 
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