Put up or Shut up

Vin said:

You know, I've lived here (Panama City) for 26 years. One of these days I'm going to consider the fact that we're not only in a different time zone but we're really more like south Alabama than Florida when it comes to Hardiness Zones...

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This is true...
You would be better working with junipers, maples, and azeala, bald cypress, oak, elm, etc.

sawgrass said:

March 31,2014
Here is another Buttonwood that I styled. After styling, it was slip-potted into it's new
pot. I did retain a lot of the original non-bonsai soil with it, mainly because from my
experience with B-woods this really is best
The last couple of pics were taken a week and a half ago, just before it went up for
auction at classifieds... Didn't sell, but no worries, I don't need to give my trees away
for free.
View attachment 55821View attachment 55822View attachment 55823View attachment 55824View attachment 55825

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This is my personal favorite of all the trees you've posted. I like them all though. At one just speaks to me. The long jin is very cool. Got any big plans for it or just refinement?

Stacey,
Nice to see you posting. Thanks for sharing your trees, good progressions are always interesting to see. Do you have an update on the bwood from last summers workshop at Wigerts? Mine went into a slightly larger pot this year, I still need to get new bits for my dremel to carve it.

KennedyMarx said:

This is my personal favorite of all the trees you've posted. I like them all though. At one just speaks to me. The long jin is very cool. Got any big plans for it or just refinement?

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No big plans... I think this little tree pretty much is where it should be.
I don't see any reason for taking it in a different direction, so I think it
is all about just refinement. Thanks for asking.

evmibo said:

Stacey,
Nice to see you posting. Thanks for sharing your trees, good progressions are always interesting to see. Do you have an update on the bwood from last summers workshop at Wigerts? Mine went into a slightly larger pot this year, I still need to get new bits for my dremel to carve it.

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Actually I gave it to a buddy who, wanted a B-wood.
I wasn't that thrilled with it in the first place...
And felt hey, perfect solution to the prob.
Good to hear from you and hope you are keeping
busy doing Bonsai !

A little Arizona Cypress I have had since I started doing Bonsai. Nothing special,
But this little tree has been here all along my journey and has taught me quite a few
things... One of the biggest, but smallest of details, is that when carving and trying
to imitate very old wood of a tree out west is to not forget that often some of the
deadwood will actually start pealing off into individual strips of deadwood.

So, when you are carving those vertical line in the trunk, don't forget to add here and
there some small horizontal lines, or notches as in the case here... They are very small,
and mostly unnoticeable, but if you look close, at the pics, you will see them.

I recently removed the other braches and foliage, for the size of the trunk, I felt it was
to heavy. I have brought the lower branch really in tight. And when I get around to it, I
need to rework the foliage and fine branches of the whole tree. Just thought I would throw
this one up, for even a crappy tree from home depot, can teach you a lot, and be made
to tell a story...

Nice pot! Did you paint it?

Hey saw. You forgot about my pm?: )

A Green Island Ficus, that I have struggled to come up with a nice solution too...
It obviously has a very straight trunk, which at one point I had tilted, but it just
kinda looked to contrived... So, straight it is... It has got a long way to go, but
I am narrowing in on where I want it to be. As with a lot of my styling, I lean towards
a Chinese feel, for I personally feel they have way more character, and their trees
actually tell a story. They are not just a nicely manicured tree.

With that said, this tree had a big ariel root that was attached way up the trunk...
it has been removed, which it ,much needed. As well as some other weird or dead roots.
These will never heal over good, and rather than destroying the nice qualities of the tree
to cut it all flush... I decided instead to turn these into some really cool uros. Which is
usually not really done with ficus... but happens in nature quite a bit. These obviously
are not finished... and will need a lot more attention, but there you go. Also, wanted to
add that I "V" notched the apex trunk and brought it more up and down, seeing that it
was originally, pointing right at the viewer.

PaulH said:

Nice pot! Did you paint it?

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I did... unfortunately though it has mostly come off.
I have tried to work with some potters to see about hand
painting some pots, and then refiring them with a glaze, which
would then seal the painting in... but I have gotten a lot of yeah,
I will help you... and sadly no follow-ups ? Kind of a shame really,
because I personally feel there would be a major market for them,
especially seeing that a lot of folks here in the US are going with
a more native theme. This pot was painted to resemble the Navaho,
and Hopi Indian pots of that region...

Kodama16 said:

Hey saw. You forgot about my pm?: )

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Sorry, I did... I have way to many things going on at the moment.
I replied to your PM. Thanks for reminding me !!!

Another juniper that I thought I would post an update of, seeing
that it is starting to fill in nicely. This tree originated as a bottom
branch of a dying shrub from my yard. I literally broke the trunk in
two separate spots to create the drastic bends. It was then wired to
hold this position, and has been left to heal for the last 4 years...
I figured I would leave the wires on till the tree is ready to show.

A little Home Depot Fukien Tea, I received as a gift that I have been working...
Well, when I say gift... It was a tree that a friend had that was virtually dead,
that I inherited. So, first got it back into shape, then started shaping it. Has
some growing in still... pot is one of Paul Bellota's . Who is a member of B-Nut.
He, has some awesome pots, and does good work.

Another B-wood that I have. This received it's first styling and was repotted earlier
this year... Just been working foliage, and continually compacting. It will eventually
go into a smaller pot, perhaps more like a bujin pot.

This is a Wild Tamarind that I have had for a while... Last year I reduced the tree, because I
wasn't happy with where it was going and actually thought it would be really cool if I were
to style this more like the Taiwanese are doing, with a lot of branching coming off of the trunk.
This is a compound leaf tree, and is probably the most stubborn and difficult tree I have ever
had to work with !!! It seems as though what ever I have planned for it, it wants to do the
complete opposite... So, I have done quite a bit of work to get it here. I truly think that in
the end... all of the hard work will pay off... so, yes, this tree has years before it will be ready,
but, thought I would post it up none the less.

Please PM me your address. I'm going to send you some sand. Will you touch it so it will turn to gold then mail it back?

Vin said:

Please PM me your address. I'm going to send you some sand. Will you touch it so it will turn to gold then mail it back?

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Man !!! Now you are putting in a very tall order !!!

Yet again, another Buttonwood... as is probably evident by now, I like them.
They really are the best of both worlds ! They have awesome deadwood, that is
very hard like a juniper, have a very rugged appearance, and yet are like a ficus
when it comes to foliage. This tree was recently repotted, then sulked... it was put
in the shade for a period of time and in a tub of water. It has sense come back like
crazy, but the foliage is not use to the harsh sunlight as of yet, this is why a little droopy.
Just rewired this, and removed all but one leader on the lower right hand side, that I
am now growing out, to thicken up it's trunk. The deadwood is entirely natural and
really is nice.

Newly acquired B-wood... I will just let this one speak for itself.

More pics of it's deadwood...