tanuki...a good learning experience?

IMHO there was an incredible tree displayed at the 5th World Bonsai Convention. I was told it was tanuki, and others were talking about this tree. It is a Shimpaku Juniper, very tall at 45 inches. You can find it on page 57 of the commemorative album. I looked and looked at that tree and was spellbound by the artistry. If you have the book look it up. If you don't have the book, consider getting a copy. There are pictures of great trees, stones and pots.
Todd

One thing I've always wanted to try with Tanuki is to hollow the live tree and then slide it into a bulge in the deadwood, much like a tongue and groove joint. This way, when the tree heals and grows, it will essentially heal around the driftwood, making it appear like a live vein. Granted, the bark would still be young, but if you have a shimpaku or similar species, you can get it down to the smoother bark layer, hiding the youth of the tree. This is all just theory. Has anyone tried such an endeavor?

hello!
wow!...it seems tanuki make the ink glowing here like in france
yes tanuki or phoenix are illusions ...like bonsai trees
this discussion wil be hard to finish ...because it depend of the way to see bonsai of eachothers
finally....it s not really a problem
but my real question was if the tanuki could be a good training way for beginners to learn how positionning the vegetation on a hard trunk line
this...without killing importants yamadoris...

that s why i suppose it could be a good learning exercice

and for me it works...i made some tanuki(with bonsai trees also ..classics or ...not at all) from three years now
and know i am beginnig to be able to make a yamadori without injury

so ...


well...thank you everybody for encouragement about these trees
i live in the backmountains of french riviera...and there is a lot of powerful trees to collect
and also these woods of oxycedrus juniper or phoenicia juniper....
now ...i will begin to form the yamadoris i ve collected during my tanuki's learning years

but if you ve liked these ones ...i will contact my teachers
with insistance...they will post theyre creations and maybe you ll get the same schock than me
when you think these trees cost 10 euros at the start...and a deadwood
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I am going to make a tanuki for the first time this year. I want to screw the tree to the dead wood. Can you tell me what screw i should use, stainless steel or doesn't it matter which?

I saw on a thread before that someone had let the tree grow around the screw,i cannot find the thread now. Any thoughts on this anyone?

I love your tanuki Cram.

nice work

... all directions to beautiful trees are good

I have used brass screws and Gorilla glue to attach whips to dead wood. The brass is inert and so does not react with the tree and the Gorilla glue was recommended by Peter Adams in an article it is a powerful glue but it also swells up so fills any small gaps.

Phil Lanceley wrote:I have used brass screws and Gorilla glue to attach whips to dead wood. The brass is inert and so does not react with the tree and the Gorilla glue was recommended by Peter Adams in an article it is a powerful glue but it also swells up so fills any small gaps.

Thanks Phil.

i use ordinary screws
and nails...brads in fact ..for littles parts or if i start from a little plant (its easier to follow the wood veins)
i cant tell you the answer with the time ...all mines a youngs
very nice trees phil!...full of natural

my last work
i made this one two years ago
i called it "le gue de bruinen"...inspired by the lord of the rings...when gandalf change the river in a wave of wild horses
so....the two first pictures are before work...it have to be cleaned ...make a branches selection ...and change the position
and the next pictures are after work
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Hi everybody,
just to show how beautiful a Tanuki can become in the hands of a great artist. This one is made my Mark Noelanders and was showed at the Noelanders trophy last January. I thought it was one of the best designs there!
And Cram I love your Tanuki and I cant wait until they have matured, to see what your vision was when you started to make them! And yes!!! Tanuki is a great learning experience for all! And why waist a beautiful piece of deadwood, when you can make a inexpensive stunning Bonsai out of it? I have some nice ones, Itoigawa Junipers growing on Taxus deadwood, that I have been working on for some years now and they give me just as much pleasure as working on my other trees!
Well don!



Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans van Meer. wrote:Hi everybody,
just to show how beautiful a Tanuki can become in the hands of a great artist. This one is made my Mark Noelanders and was showed at the Noelanders trophy last January. I thought it was one of the best designs there!
And Cram I love your Tanuki and I cant wait until the have matured to see what your vision was when you started to make them! And yes Tanuki is a great learning experience for all! And why waist a beautiful piece of deadwood, when you can make a inexpensive stunning Bonsai out of it? I have some nice ones, Itoigawa Junipers growing on Taxus deadwood, that I have been working on for some years now and they give me just as much pleasure as working on my other trees!
Well don!



Hans van Meer.

I'm with you Hans. Done well they can make great designs.

waow hans...this one is stunning indeed!
exactly the kind of things i d like to do in the future !...well... i will try
now the only ones i will make will be with the good species of junipers and maybe pines like marc noelander
i will go to the noelander next year....i think it will be a good experience to see more high level trees in real

Some stunning tanuki on this thread, for sure. It takes just as much skill to create a great tanuki, as creating a great bonsai.

And yet, tanuki reminds me of Cubic Zirconium. It looks just like real diamond, can be beautifully cut, and yet, a 10 Karat Cubic Zirconium doesn't fetch the same price as a 10 Karat diamond. In case of the Tanuki, it doesn't have much to do with money, and may be my comparison is not very good, but there is something about these trees that do not appeal to me.

I look at the Noelanders tanuki and admire it endlessly, but when I find out how it was made, the magic is gone. Same with a stunning suiseki that has its bottom cut and hidden under its daiza. Same with an "original" painting that turns out to be a copy.
It's funny how these things work.

But sorry for changing the subject. Your question was about the Tanuki as practice material. To me it comes down to this: if I spend 10 years to work on a Tanuki, why not spend those years, working on the "real" thing? It's the same effort, same skill. There is a Pet Store next to my house, selling driftwood for aquariums. I could buy a great-looking driftwood for $3 dollars, but the thought seems preposterous.

Attila Soos wrote:
But sorry for changing the subject. Your question was about the Tanuki as practice material. To me it comes down to this: if I spend 10 years to work on a Tanuki, why not spend those years, working on the "real" thing? It's the same effort, same skill. There is a Pet Store next to my house, selling driftwood for aquariums. I could buy a great-looking driftwood for $3 dollars, but the thought seems preposterous.

The thing is to get material that looks like the tanuki of Cram you have to spend a small fortune. So for people who can't get their hands on that kind of materal a tanuki is a good substitute.

Smithy wrote:

The thing is to get material that looks like the tanuki of Cram you have to spend a small fortune. So for people who can't get their hands on that kind of materal a tanuki is a good substitute.

Yes, I hear you. If you live in an area where collecting is a problem, tanuki is a very justifiable choice.
May be this is why I cannot appreciate it enough: living here in California, I am blessed with a long list of choices for collected material. We can get very high quality yamadori for bargain prices, compared to Europe. So, there is no need for cheaper alternatives.

Tanuki is not my cup of tea but your work is beautiful and very convincing!

thanks antall!
smithy said exactly what i think
and even if i live in a yamadori area...i don t want to learn styling on old venerable yamadoris....
all the mistakes i made on the tanukis will not be done on nice trees
and during the three years ok learning with tanuki(not ten... )....i have collected a lot of trees i am starting to work now


i can t stop looking at mark noelander 's tanuki.....raaaa...raaaa...raaaa

cram wrote:thanks antall!
..and even if i live in a yamadori area...i don t want to learn styling on old venerable yamadoris....
all the mistakes i made on the tanukis will not be done on nice trees...

You are too modest. As long as you go slowly on them, and seek some advice once in a while, you can learn on yamadori just as well. You seem to know more than you think you do.

cram wrote:waow hans...this one is stunning indeed!
exactly the kind of things i d like to do in the future !...well... i will try
now the only ones i will make will be with the good species of junipers and maybe pines like marc noelander
i will go to the noelander next year....i think it will be a good experience to see more high level trees in real

I know! It is the best Tanuki I have seen up to now.
Here are two of mine. It are former cuttings from my other itogawa junipers. And they are growing in/on Yew deadwood. Why wast such beautiful deadwood when you can have such fun with it and maybe end up with a stunning one like Mark's one!?

Below: there is no wire in this one. It needs to fill out just that bit more, before I will start the real styling.



Below: Why would I trow this precious deadwood away? Now I can still admire it every day and have gained a bonsai as well!



Below: This one in the moon pot is placed in that white flower pot, that is filled with stones, for stability. Normally it would stand on a high, but light table. There is no wire on this tree! All the new small branches are just simply pushed trough and underneed the deadwood as it grows! In a few years I will start the real styling. But I think it will be a fun composition in the near future!



Hope you enjoyed the pictures?!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

This thread has been a real eye opener for me.
I'm loving all your work guys and I to was impressed with Marc's "wrap" at the Trophy.

Keep up the good work Cram,
Okk, Okk,
Simon

evolution...

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i will graft this one i think with juniperus sargentii

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another one...
i did put two veins on this one
and the one on the bigger trunk were attack by pests and died
so i made a new head with one of the branches of the lower vein

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....not bad...laurent...not bad