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Detail of the Juniper trunk before carving.......

As can be seen in the image above, the Juniper had a superb naturally-twisting live vein and deadwood and any carving carried out needed to be very subtle, the purpose of which would be to clean and enhance what was already there.

..........and after carving.

The same section of the trunk after carving by hand. As there was no need to alter the shape of the deadwood on this tree, I simply pulled fibres to enhance the depth of the grain, before using a wire brush to remove soft or rotted wood.

Detail of the trunkbase.

I find that the careful use of a steel-wire brush along the grain of the wood adds texture, that can be further enhanced with the use of a knife and draw-knife to accentuate cracks and fissures.

The Sabina Juniper after completion of initial carving. Having repotted the tree into a purpose-built bonsai pot from Erin Pottery in May 2015, styling of the foliage would take place during the following growing season.

Creating Deadwood for Bonsai by Hand: Part Two. Page 1 2 3