Cheng Cheng Kung , SiDiao Series, Taiwan White Pine

Field Grown Taiwan White Pine, Pinus Morrisonicola Hayata, Front Before work

With white and red chalk, the shari and life lines are carefully selected. Note: white chalk is for shari, Red for the life line

After removing bark, the shari is meticulously sculptured using a hook burin.

Further rectifying the separation between the shari and the life line.

After removing bark, an artificial looking stub remains.

With Mighty sword 101, mechanical Sidiao is perfomed to eliminate the excess.

With a drill bit, the shari is further refined.

the beautiful shari after performing mechanical Sidiao.

Other parts of the shari after refinement.

After finishing the shari work, Mr. Cheng prodceeds to carefully wire the whole tree.

Front of the tree after wiring.

Left side after finishing work.

Right side after finishing session.

Back view.

Please enjoy. You can see more at www.sidiao.com .

Thanks for sharing this technique series. Being self taught this is the sort of thing I look for. I have studied countless photos and read a lot of literature via books and the internet to learn as much as I can about bonsai techniques. Growing up working at my grand parents nursery certainly helped me develop my knowledge on how to care for plants which has been quite helpful in taking care of my trees.

I saw him in a live demo a few years ago. Very impressive artist.

Mike

One woulda thunk he'd have found a better tree to work with -- or am I missing something here?

Looks like Mr. Cheng has this tree under control and looking good, every detail. Good show Jose Luis and thanks! Look forward to seeing your juniper from the trip.

__gary

JimLewis wrote:One woulda thunk he'd have found a better tree to work with -- or am I missing something here?

Jim, I think you have to visualize this tree 10 years down the road.

Mike

mike page wrote:

JimLewis wrote:One woulda thunk he'd have found a better tree to work with -- or am I missing something here?

Jim, I think you have to visualize this tree 10 years down the road.

Mike

Tried that. Still rather gawky. Must be me.

Jim,

Leaving the tree aside, the pictorial is meant to show others a different approach in shari creation.

Regards,

Jose Luis

I understand that.

jrodriguez wrote:
Front of the tree after wiring.

I am in agreement with Jim on this tree. I also have another question concerning this exposure as the front of the tree. Why? Why was all of that Jin and Shari work, which was I might add remarkable, done only to be hidden on the back of the tree, or did I miss something in the explanation. Aside from all of that stuff, all of the work done was wonderful and interesting to watch. Any criticism I may have, comes only from wanting to know the rest of the story, and not to pillory the effort with any kind of gotcha moment. I know there are people out there who think it there lot in life to drag down the best amongst us and throw mud at their work.

Hello,

Bonsai is meant to be enjoyed from all angles. Also, dead wood is an asset or feature of the entire composition.

Making the dead portions of a tree the focal point of the bonsai detracts attention from the other components that typify the composition as a whole. Although a valid and beautiful, focal point bonsai sometimes emphasizes one element, while other important aspects of the the tree remain unnoticed.

I certainly like this tree very much. The soft curves and the needle clouds give a sense of maturity and stability.

By the way, i am happy for the fact that this topic has encouraged discussion. We all learn from the coments and remarks made by our distinguished members.

Kind regards,

Jose Luis

Vance, have ever studied trees in nature to see what parts of a tree have dead wood or shari in this case? I think if you had taken the complete class with Mr. Chen and visited mountain top naturally weathered trees you could answer your own questions. Thanks again jose luis for a peek into Mr. Chen's approach.

__gary