Entry #6
Judge #1: Very nice material, spectacular outcome in a very short time, this has a great future, Pot could be improved eventually.
Logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum)
Mexico
160 cm H - 140 cm W, 63" H - 55.1" W / 74 cm (29.1") H 73 cm H (28.7")
Before
Haematoxylum campechianum (Logwood) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae. The old wood from this tree is extremely hard, one of the hardest I seen, the wood is dark red (haematoxilin is extracted from this tree) and that’s why it was called the blood tree. This particular tree call my attention due to its interesting movement, heavy trunk and amount of dead wood that can be preserver due to its hard consistency. The two large chops have to be carved and the branches put in to an asymmetric two main canopies in slanted form. The tree will look much larger once it goes into a shallow container. I have a Blue pot that will allow to show the nice trunk and character and will be in accordance with the red of the starting shoots and leaves. This is one species that is slowly gaining acknowledgment in the world of bonsai. A species that has a good character and can survive for hundreds of years (or more) however it has its problems. One particular is to increase the thickness of the branches and that’s why this large deep container is useful so it can collect enough water and nutrients to grow fast.
One Quarter Progression
For the first part of the progression series I like to submit a very very simple cartoon of the design in my mind. I can draw a complex picture, but for work one only needs to define the subject and the objectives that are needed to be accomplished. I think it is a very important part to define what the likely possibilities are and see them before we start cutting things. This may be the second most important part of the series as it defines the artistic design and what are the things that need to be done. To me the most important part is the health of the tree as a pretty design on a dead tree would make this Ikebana and not bonsai. Having said this, the drawing of Haematoxylium shows ea very powerfull tree, with a strong trunk and some movement providing the first branch into an almost semicascade look while the rest of the tree has a minor slanting motion and some dynamics are played with the natural deadwood.
Half Way Progression
This a very very old tree The top branch had over a hundred growth rings similar to annual rings). In the tropics several species of trees also have growth rings, which represent the differences in growth during the years. Some years it may have two rings and some none. Depending on the physiological situations that the trees are facing and how they are growing. Trees that live in the rocks like this one, tend to grow slow and usually their growth rings are similar to annual rings. This tree can be several hundred years old, however I don’t like to speculate on its age, but I think it is good to provide more information on the trees we are working on. The main work so far was to select branches remove some portions of dead wood, and being pulling a little some of the branches. Heamatoxylium is a species that can be a bit slow, particular in bonsai containers or rocks, if this particular tree was already placed on the pot, then it would take many more years to get some growth and thinness of the branches. By allowing this season to grow freely it will get much stronger and also make it safe for transplanting it to a shallow pot that will make the heavy trunk look even more majestic. The long jin that it has may be shorten a bit, but I rather wait until the tree is repoted, cutting can be done in seconds, put it it back that’s a whole different story.
Three Quarter Progression
Third part, the tree has been allowed to grow freely from the selected branches; this will be useful to get branches anywhere that is desired and to increase the girth that they have. For a trunk this size it will be quite nice to have corresponding branches and some taper to them. Haematoxyliums are known for being quite slow at increasing the thickness of the branches in the pots, so it will be good at this time to let the tree grow a bit more until October.
Final
Hematoxylium campechanum or logwood, this particular tree has done quite well at improving the thickness of the branches, which is difficult to do on this species, usually taking several years for 1 cm. The tree is a very heavy and strong tree; the new blue pot combines well with the red leaves that come during spring and the yellow flowers of fall. It also shows the entire base of the tree those improving its visual weight. The trunk is complex in character, having much twist and a heavy structure which can only be obtained with age and contrast well with the delicate leaves. I think it has evolved well in the short time given and I hope that in the future it will become a well known bonsai. With regard to techniques used, mostly pruning, wiring, bending, hand pealing, hand carving, high pressure washing , electric sawing and electric carving were used but I did not wanted to show every step as the few hours that took this to do is much less as compare to the time for growing and branch selecting and regrowing in order to improve ramification and branch taper. The main trunk will still need some thickening and most likely I will plant the tree with pot and all for another year to improve on this. The wood is very hard and its nicer to leave it to naturally decay, specially on the recent carve areas, so it can combine well with the existing deadwood, which is so hard that even in the humid tropics it does not disintegrate. But I think the main structure is already there.
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[tab title=”Judge #1″]
Scores:
Selection: 10
Design: 9
Technique: 9
Final Outcome: 9
Documentation: 10
Originality: 8
Total: 55
Very nice material, spectacular outcome in a very short time, this has a great future, Pot could be improved eventually.
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[tab title=”Judge #2″]
Scores:
Selection: 7
Design: 6
Technique: 6
Final Outcome: 8
Documentation: 10
Originality: 3
Total: 38
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[tab title=”Judge #3″]
Scores:
Selection: 6
Design: 7
Technique: 7
Final Outcome: 8
Documentation: 6
Originality: 7
Total: 41
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