In nature, animals, insects, rocks, wind, snow and self-sacrifice expose heartwood to the elements creating the oftentimes beautiful shapes and patterns we recognize as “deadwood” in bonsai. Deadwood always suggests a story – the cause of the trauma to a tree that killed part of it off. Some of these stories are more compelling than others. It’s the compelling stories that we look for in bonsai.

Looking closely at the grain of this exposed wood reveals minute subtleties of shape and texture – the result, in part, of characteristics inherent to the wood itself.

When we create deadwood on our trees through carving and other techniques we inscribe a story directly onto the tree. The more compelling the carving, the more compelling the story. This is where quality comes in.

I’m impressed when bonsai artists quickly carve up deadwood with power tools. I’m more impressed when they do it well. Creating shapes not found in nature, working unevenly from branch to branch or haphazardly crossing the grain can belie a tree’s nature and create an incongruous story that yields more dissonance than harmony. Carefully thought out and well-executed carving can trigger our imagination by suggesting a more plausible story for a tree.

Michael Hagedorn relates an anecdote about natural deadwood in his account of life as an apprentice, Post Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk. Barely able to contain his excitement about a tree that was new to his garden, Shinji Suzuki encouraged his students to name the “best point” of the tree:

Tachi hesitated, and said, “Ubu?” “YES!” said Mr. Suzuki. “This tree has never seen a carving tool – it could never have been improved by one.” Ubu (as if just born, innocent) is a very special, rare quality in an old bonsai that Mr. Suzuki is particularly fond of impressing on us. Still his excitement grew. “Michael! Michael!” he repeated, grinning at the tree and prancing around it, “Tachi! TACHI! There ARE no such trees, this is the very apex of bonsai, a true Major Leaguer! (36)

Natural deadwood is a vehicle for nature’s story. Carved deadwood, and to some degree the whole practice of bonsai, is our vehicle.

Here are a few photos of pine deadwood found along the Mt. Whitney trail.