Page 170 - Ebook cây cảnh Art of Bonsai

170 Creating your own bonsai

Carving the deadwood

5 Explore the deadwood.
Remove any seriously rotten
wood immediately. This may
create very interesting
character features—but it can
also destroy them.

6 Shape the hardwood,
eating away at unnecessary
sections bit by bit. Pay close
attention to the ends of any
jin—it should have slightly
jagged edges—and also to the
boundary between the live
and dead sections. It is best to
stop if you hit living tissue:
the top layer under the bark
Remove bark from
will be a different color,
the dead section
usually green or white, and it with spherical knob
will be moist to the touch. cutters, along with
soft, rotten wood
7 The roughly carved
deadwood feature follows 5 6
the established trunk line
and has introduced a
natural taper. When carving
deadwood, aim to accentuate
its natural character, such
as knots or exposed grain.

8 Smooth off rough edges.
Use a rotary tool with a
carving or sanding bit to
remove very small amounts
of wood, bring out the grain,
and remove any obvious tool
marks. Power tools can be
used to remove and style
large amounts of deadwood
but be careful not to make
it look too artificial.

The finished tree now has a
basic structure defining the
branches and what was once
an unattractive feature has
become a character point. 7 8