Stub and carve or cut flush?

[Mudroot]

This is the pine I've been torturing for the past weeks.

To see if it had quit bleeding sap, I nibbled away at the stub a wee bit more.
No sap seepage.

I buy a lot of my stuff from Maruyama Bonsai Nursery and they seem to cut their JBPs flush with trunk. It ages dark and isn't unattractive, but it's obvious that the branch or unwanted trunk was sawn off.

I'm wondering what you folks think.

Nibble this back some more toward the trunk and let it sunbleach over time or cut it (either sculpt along black line toward the curve in the base or saw directly straight off?)

Whatever I do, I know it won't look like it was a "natural" break.

thanks

 

[Jason_mazzy]

From the mountains of Japan






I would emulate this in the cutting technique.

 

[Mudroot]

Like a V in the curve?

 

[bonsaiBlake]

I believe my brother is referring to the rough unfinished stubbs on the trunk. Maybe just leave your stubb as is. . . the broken jagged look of it will only help to add "age" to the tree. I like the way the stubb looks.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

A well placed Uro can make this look more natural

 

[Mudroot]

maybe uro. Have to consider. Think a pine would callus OK?

Made a nice one on an olive but never a pine

How about shortening and a LITTLE concavity or such?

 

[Jason_mazzy]

The stub itself looks thick and unatural. Create the taper by either a shark or notch or Uro at the joint is my opinion.

 

[Jason_mazzy]

Take a look here. This site may offer creative direction for Shari, Uro, and Jin: http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/pine.php

 

[Mudroot]

Take a look here. This site may offer creative direction for Shari, Uro, and Jin: http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/pine.php

Bingo! Found similar on that site

 

[Mudroot]

Okay. Now to see how it develops from here.
Can always refine.

Or if I get enough negative comments, I can find a dowel to glue on it.



(it slopes more down into the curve than the photo shows)

 

[larlamonde]

Mud since you asked I dont like it, looks un-natural How are you at carving? Just carve some grooves and notches into it. Once you get going you'll be suprised how well it looks.

 

[Mudroot]

Notches where? In the ground part or the edges of the hole?
I think it will look better when it gets some weathering.

I had considered carving at the bottom part of it, but want to see how it progresses.

 

[Mudroot]

The chop was probably a mistake in the first place since it was the main trunk that just had too many complications in the limbs on it.
Another mistake was stubbing it too short to carve much jin.
But that chop was LARGE! Thus giving a challenge I may not be up to.

As it stands now, I think about all I could do is try to modify what's been done and ragged it up a little bit. But that opens up a smaller and smaller window of how to correct whatever I might mess up.

Here's a bit clearer pic of how it follows the curve of the new trunk.

I'm contemplating maybe elongating the uro in a random way to drag it lopsidedly down lower.

But just not sure and waiting and seeing and thinking more about it.

 

[jeanluc83]

I think you would have been better leaving it as is was in the first picture but all is not lost. I would hollow it out some and extend it down the trunk to make it look more natural. Pines are naturally weak in the crotch so I have come across this kind of damage in trees in nature.

I would recommend finding someone in your area to work with you on carving. Find a class or workshop that you can bring the tree to. Also do lots of practice so that you will be ready when the time comes.

You also don't need to be in any hurry to get the carving done. Let it sit for a few years so that you can build up your skills. Remember that this is a pine so it is going to take years of refinement anyway.

Good luck.

 

[Mudroot]

Regrettably, I should probably have left it like this.

At least it was sorta fun to look at then.

The learning curve is brutal.

 

[Mudroot]

But I'm not giving up. Will work some more in a while. Post pix here or new thread.
Thanks for tips.

 

[bonsaiBlake]

Do you have a pic of the entire tree as it looks right now?

 

[Mudroot]

Do you have a pic of the entire tree as it looks right now?

I just KNEW it. SOMEONE would ask for pix of it now.
Well, since I've already caught hell from 96.3% of the Bonsai Nut community for not having good white uncluttered backgrounds for pix, oh why not?

I'm a bit reluctant though because these pix show some extra nibbling I've done this AM on the dreaded chop whack after being told to give it more time which I don't seem to be able to do.

But here they is.

Go ahead and let me have it now.

 

[Victrinia Ensor]

Taper at any cost is sometimes a short sighted option. That's the lesson here. I'd stop working it over and get it to someone who has some skill at fixing these kinds of problems. You live in a fairly active bonsai area. In a month you'll have half the talent of the west cost in your backyard for a convention. Daniel Robinson will be there... Kathy.... David DeGroot... . Heck... I'll be there.

Leave it be... bring it to the convention... GO to the convention... it'll ease your learning curve more than you could imagine.

V

 

[Mudroot]

Oh I have quit now.

The next attempt to kill it will be the spring repot.
And it's okay now as at least the bowl shaped stub is gone.