I
t all happened during the
hot September of 2010 in
Alicante, Spain, where
Kevin Willson enjoyed a
life like a rockstar. Kevinhad several designs in mind and
illustrated two of them. Ruben
Ciezar Villanueva, the owner and
collector, chose the more classic
option spontaneously. This was
because it really emphasized the
fabulous moving live veins and
deadwood.
Kevin explained that when this
tree was collected its live veins
weren’t as thick as they are now;
the tree needed to adjust from a harsh
mountain situation where foliage grows
less vigorously than it does lower down
the mountain.
Most of the time went into carving the
deadwood. Although using large tools
to split and tear the wood, the use of a
machine was necessary because its wood
was iron hard. The risk with carving such
deadwood is that you could spoil it in just
an instant. The design was kept as simple
as possible to let the powerful movement
and shari show its potential. The front
was adjusted later and its branch setting
even further simplified. (Read the whole
Masterclass article in our BF 2011-1 issue.)
A small peek back at a tree created 9 years ago by Kevin Willson
Text and photography: Bonsai Focus Studio
During the XX Trophy, held in February of this year, we came across an old friend, a yew styled by Kevin Willson. The
tree had gone through an amazing transformation and was one of the eye catchers of the show. We could not help
but take a short stroll back down memory lane
Update: Amigos of the tejos
The yew was dug out by Ruben Ciezar Villanueva.
You can see that the trunk divides into two parts. On
the left two live veins run across it and at the start
of the branch there is an open area. The branch that
grows to the front is too heavy, while the top area is
too straightRuben assisted KevinAbove: At the base of the massive trunk there is a
stunning piece of deadwood. Below: Kevin at work(^74) CASE HISTORY Bonsai Focus