strange

Don , I think you see and realize that that is from a photo shop contest. To answer your question, the answer is yes, but mostly not in the form shown, you can spend a lot of time developing credible deadwood. Cheng Cheng Kung is an exqample as is Dan Roninson, Bonsai Basho recently /currently is bringing us Kevin Wilson, and you have Grahm Potter, and Michele Andolfo, who all put in a tremendous effort to create dead wood. I have one that with a touch of carving will when viewed from the back will appear to be mooning you.

As to this fantasy picture, I have seen many using deadwood along with the living tree to have the tree tell a story, or to in the fantasy vein make thier trees look like dragons and such. My yes isn't exactly an answer as to the way I think you intended, but there are the other dimentions to carving, and shaping.

Then you have Nick Lenz, who will create a fantasy tree by growing a tree thru a toy car, or add a dolls head , a rack of ribs, or a hand to the project to get a fantasy, or tell a story. Then there was also the cascade in a bowling ball pot demo that shook the world of bonsai. The art part of it is a living changing part of what we do. someones next WOW piece could be a mame in the hands of WALL-E the little trash compactor from the movie of the same name.

Lots of not wrong answers to this one.
 
I have once seen (when i was quite young) a fully grown tree with a bicycle inside it. I can't remember where it was but the frame had been hevily coated in hammerite and got re-coated every few years but all the components had rusted almost into nonexistence.

I know people carve dead wood to make it look real But the original question do people carve images into dead wood and would it still be bonsai

still a very informative answer thankyou

got any photo's of your mooning tree ???
 
I have once seen (when i was quite young) a fully grown tree with a bicycle inside it. I can't remember where it was but the frame had been hevily coated in hammerite and got re-coated every few years but all the components had rusted almost into nonexistence.


Kinda like this?

http://hoaxblog.s3.amazonaws.com/treebike.jpg
 
Google "Demon Larch Nick Lenz" and tell us what you think when you find the pic ;)
 
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I like the sculpture/bonsai combination, although I am not sure that we can call it bonsai.

But who cares what we call it? The question is whether or not you like it, and would you pay money for it - and by money, I mean serious money. That would be a good measure of success or failure, of this new art form.

In a strict sense, bonsai is all about the tree, and nothing should distract from it. In this case, the focus of the work is the sculpture, although the tree part is still an important one. So it would probably be better to call it something different, such as bonsai-sculpture.
 
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Jason thats what I was thinking too, not sure if this is the one but it has 2 different spots to check out, hopefully when uploaded you can see the details
 

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Maybe you are referring to this one?
Root over Gargoyle.
 

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"Is it bonsai?" That is a question that can't be answered from any definition of bonsai. Things like this happen in other artforms all the time. If the community accepts them then they are "the new thing" in that art form. If not then they are not art. I tell you that I don't think things like this (admitttedly shopped) carving/bonsai will find wide approval but I really like it.
 
I had a bad pix of that one John, but in response to is it art, in the case of Nicks stuff, sometime you really have to see the tree in person, pix do not do many of them much justice. I would love to see someone sit with Nick and argue otherwise, it would be a fun conversation to watch.
 
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