Peter Foele-Alba Bonsai

 

 

Creating The Shoguns Dragon:
a 400 year old Yamadori Pine
2007

 

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This 400 year old Mugho Pine 48 inch long / 122cm was originally collected in the Dolomite
 Mountains in Italy.
The tree was purchased from Salvatore Liporace from Milan. Craig was a regular visitor to
Italy and was a guest speaker at many clubs and conventions and had become friendly
with Salvatore. This was from Salvatore's own Yamadori collection but had never been styled.
There were two trees bought at the time but one died a few months later and was found to have
almost no roots in the box. Salvatore was told but did not respond.
This one survived and Craig Coussins just let it grow for three years without touching it.
The tree was growing straight out at a right angle when collected and when bought. No
work had been done on it. Craig had always likened this tree to a Dragon with a long body
and a large head. Calling it The Shogun Iyeasu Dragon seemed right for the image.
The Tokugawa Iyeasu was the most famous of the Shoguns of Japan and Craig has a
Temple Bowl that belonged to Tokugawa Iyeasu and a set of 12 17th century Lacquer Bowls with the Shoguns Mon.

This is its first incarnation, as a literati. It was lying flat and the tree was simpy placed vertically before styling two years later. There is only one living branch at the end of the tree.

 

Click on any blue lined image for a bigger picture

 

STYLING PART 1
However the styling then done at the Joy of Bonsai convention in Bristol in 2003 which included a lot of carving by Craig to re shape the stumps at the top of the tree by a year after this image, was not as attractive as a literati as Craig had wished for. Craig was assisted in this exercise by Simon Temblett and Trevor Smith. and so Craig re-potted the pine into its original position in Summer 2005..

 

 

 

 

 

In 2005 this was the pine. The foliage had grown strong and the root system was good but there was concerns about the fact that all this foliage grew from one branch and had one man and one secondary lifeline. The health of the growth was exceptional despite these concerns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Craig added this dead wood to the base as the base of the tree was quite flat and he needed to strengthen that image for the next styling. This works well and affords the pine more character. This was Juniper driftwood that had been seasoned in his garden for four years. He got this from William Vlaanderen in Holland who sells this kind of material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The tree was discussed between Robert Porch myself and Craig and we decided that the best way to go was to make the tree into a cascade. Robert prepared the tree by cutting of the old needles and we left the tree for five months until it was time to style

The tree was being grown in this position and the vigour of the foliage carefully monitored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original pot was in fact around the right size as a training pot but because there was a firing crack a small framework built by Peter Moth had been built around it to ensure that the pot did not crack in frost.
8 years ago Craig discovered a new kind of material to use on trees instead of Raffia. While Raffia does have its place this material, Vet Wrap and now Pet Wrap, is a stretch non abrasive material that is stretchy and does not stick to the bark of the tree.

I then applied the Pet Wrap and the heavy copper wire to the tree and shaped the branches into the first elements of the style I was looking for.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would do this part in a five hour session and come back to it in a week to finish the basic first shaping. Detail would be worked into the Pine in 2008. A new pot was planned and Alan Harriman was asked to come up with a design that would suit. Alan visited Craig earlier in the year and took the measurements. This would be a smaller square but taller.
There was a break for winter and during this time a pot was planned and designed by Craig and Alan Harriman of Chinamist Pots.

Draft design 1

 

This was to show that the lower third should be a lot darker than the rest of the pot. This reduces the visual impact of the pot which will need to very big.

 A section taken out of the corner was also discussed at this early stage. This was to allow the long hanging branch to come in tighter to the pot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally a simpler design was agreed and Alan        ( here with the Shoguns Dragon Pot) made the former or pot shape in which to hold the pot and control the development
As the pot is tall, there will be some ballast in the base and to remove any excess water trapped in the ballast there are holes ion the sides of the pot as well as the base.

The holes are in the design of the Mon of the Shogun Tokugawa Iyeasu. Craig has artefacts that are associated with this famous Shogun and he wanted some reference to this in his Bonsai collection.
This is Alan Harriman's excellent work.		  The finished pot to arrive on March 2 2008  and repotting will take place either in March or in July which unlike other pines in the UK is the best time for repotting Mugho.

Potting in March may also be fine in this one case as no roots will be cut or damaged in transplanting

STYLING PART 2

Click for a bigger and clearer picture
On the next styling day the Apex and rest of the branches were placed.My view of the added dead wood is that this is of course not a tanuki style, disliked by Craig, but the story of a Juniper that has grown and from the root base a seedling tree of the pine has grown and taken over the available growth are of the Juniper which eventually has died..		 Bonsai is art and this is part of the design for this art work

Perfectly in line with the title of the tree as the Shogun Tokugawa Iyeasu taking over available land from a rival clan..


 

Here Craig stands beside the Shoguns Dragon to show the very long length of the cascade.

Click for a bigger and clearer picture

 

 

 

Fine potter that he is , the pot was now ready to be prepared for the first Firing to Bisque. It is set on a wooden board to make placement in the Kiln possible. The clay is soft at this stage and because of the weight and  size of this pot, could not be held anywhere on the body of the pot without risking the clay breaking.

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Click for a bigger and clearer picture

 

 

 

Alan comments:      The pot in the  photo has not been fired yet. The grey colour is that of dry clay. At this stage the pot is very fragile, hence the lowering into the kiln on a wooden board, which is then removed of course. To try and hold the pot at the top and lower into the kiln, would result in it breaking off in the hand.

 

  

Alan comments: Tomorrow I open the kiln and remove the bisque fired pot, which will be easier to handle, but to get it back into the kiln without smudging the oxide will be a challenge.

The glaze is applied

 

Click for a bigger and clearer picture 


This is the pot after firing on the glaze		    

Potting the Shoguns Dragon
Removing the Shoguns Dragon from the old pot. The roots are strong and healthy The new pot is prepared and the Shoguns Dragon placed.

 
The tree is secured into the pot The Shoguns Dragon Peter Foele and Craig Coussins

 

Click on any image for a bigger picture

 

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