Bonsai Design Techniques
Colin Lewis
Class Preview
1:14
- In-depth Instruction; over 155 mins
- On-demand video access anytime
- Bonus downloadable PDF resources
- Access to class Q&A
Introduction to Bonsai
14:20
Join your instructor, world-renowned bonsai artist Colin Lewis, for an exhilarating exploration of bonsai design. Tap into the striking poetry of this age-old tradition as Colin shares the history of various designs from around the world, highlighting a variety of aesthetics, emotions and philosophies as he goes. You'll finish the lesson feeling inspired and ready to assess a variety of trees for their future potential.
Leave No Trace Behind
21:44
Discover Colin's professional and ingenious secrets for hiding traces of human intervention on branches, trunks and roots. You'll also learn how to use guy wires and toggles to bend branches into the position that you want, applying consistent pressure and creating the fewest cuts in your branches as possible.
Junipers
25:46
Colin turns your focus to juniper trees, which have special qualities that lend themselves beautifully to the art of bonsai. You'll learn masterful methods for creating a jin - a sculptural, exposed branch that's been stripped of bark- using a variety of time-tested tools. Colin also shows you how to safely and effectively develop shari, which are areas of deadwood on the trunk.
Dealing With Deadwood
16:21
Explore the art of deadwood further as Colin demonstrates a variety of methods for shaping jins. Harness the primitive art of fire to shape jins to your liking, and learn how techniques such as twisting, bending and applying lime sulfur can ensure a jin that rivals the form of branches twisted by wind or raging rivers.
Death-Defying Techniques
24:45
Experiment with hair-raising techniques as Colin helps you muster the courage, preparation and patience required to significantly cut into your bonsai in order to create dramatic bends. You'll learn how to apply geometry before cutting and securing large branches to create bends. Colin demonstrates how to avoid breaking the wood, and shares the best practices for securing your wires and helping the branches heal.
Composing Branch Structure
18:47
Branch structure is a complex and fascinating topic, and understanding it plays a crucial role in bonsai design. Learn more about branch structures and the canopies they create as you learn how to shape, prune and care for branches of all types.
Final Refinement
33:02
Put all of your new skills to work as you put refining touches on your tree. You'll prepare for the final shaping of your design before learning how to wrap branches in raffia and heavy wiring. Working branch to branch, you'll fine-tune branch positions before utilizing Colin's final tips for positioning and trimming the foliage.
Create exciting, original bonsai with advanced design techniques! Join renowned bonsai artist and author Colin Lewis, and explore bonsai as a true art form. Begin by developing an eye for design by sketching trunks and canopies. Then learn the best way to shape branches while leaving little evidence of human interaction. You’ll work with junipers, the queens of bonsai, and find out how to develop shari and live veins. Moving on, expertly deal with deadwood and shape jins before learning how to use fire to bend your jin into new positions, or age jins to achieve a mature look. Plus, uncover Colin’s secret method for heavy engineering with the wedge principle, and successfully compose and shape new branch structures. To round out your new skills, prepare your bonsai for final shaping, and enjoy how the final touches transform your tree’s image.
Colin Lewis
Colin Lewis is a world-renowned bonsai artist, author, teacher and consultant. He is the founder of Bonsai Magazine, served on the European Bonsai Association and has been a teacher of bonsai for more than 25 years. Today he is the founder and a full-time instructor at the Ho Yoku School of Bonsai in Southern Maine. Colin has written many essential bonsai books, including The Art of Bonsai Design, The Bonsai Survival Manual and Practical Bonsai, and has contributed to Reader's Digest Encyclopedia of Gardening, The Bonsai Handbook and more.
Bonus materials available after purchase