How To: Do simple bonsai styling

Graham Potter of Kaizen Bonsai shows Bonsai beginners how to make interesting trees from relatively available materials. He first details the history of the specific tree he will be working on. He points out that this specific specimen has small, compact foliage, branches that support itself, craggy bark, and a nice taper in the trunk. He begins to shape the tree by cutting the small amounts of foliage that are dead or weak as well as the foliage grows beneath the branches. He then uses hand tools to remove the dead bark until he has uncovered the living part of the tree below. He then shows the viewer how to thin the top wood and make some interesting texture to improve the taper. To do so, he bit into the wood, split it, and tore it to leave interesting texture. He then went over with a torch to char the surface of the wood. He then used a wire brush to remove the charred material. Then it was time to wire the tree - Graham instructs to position the branches paying attention to both the location of the branches and the space in between the branches.