Today I took a carving workshop with bonsai deadwood carving specialist Will Baddely of Wildwood Bonsai at Yannick Kiggen’s YAMA Bonsai Studio.

The tree I took to the workshop was the big Acer Campestre that I bought and repotted earlier this year.

The tree as I brought it to the workshop.

Since the upper half was too straight and way too heavy, it had to go.

Will drawing the lines where the cuts will be made.

The top is gone…

So now that the trunk is the right height .The carving can begin.

Yours truly removing the bark with a dremel.

Will starting to hollow out the future deadwood.

The hollow part is deep enough.

Will making a drainage hole.

Next step is carving the edges so the deadwood starts to look more natural.

After the edges are carved Will shows how to put in more detail to the deadwood.

The top jin of the tree gets the same treatment.

Will, me and a carved tree. The result of today.

The detail of the top jin.

Detail of the jin that used to be the main trunk.

The pictures don’t do the tree justice. But you get the main idea. For the next 2 years the deadwood will be exposed to rain, wind, sun and all other elements of nature. It should look a lot more natural in a few years.

I had a great day, Will is an awesome guy with an exceptional talent. Next time he’s here again I’ll be there too 🙂