Page 46 - Demo

Top; Ponderosa Pine, Pinus ponderosa
Bottom; Sierra Juniper, Juniperus occidentalis
For Daniel, the focus of the tree is the trunk. He is fond of saying, “Show me a great trunk, I can grow a top.” But to bring it all together, to make it work in the magical way which sets apart his work from so many others, he keeps some simple principles in mind to guide his work.
Deadwood is an essential part of the story of long life and struggle. Even as we humans bear the marks of our lives, so should trees speaking of mature and venerable life. The willingness of trees to forsake all, back to the root itself if need be, is a story of constancy in a changeable world. Deadwood shouldn’t be added carelessly, but with thoughtful consideration to portraying the story of the tree’s life.
Opportunities should never be wasted when designing a tree. For trees in nature, losing a limb would rarely be sheared off clean. The usual result would be a stub of the lost branch remaining to become what we call jin. Even better, if the wound is severe, a tear would likely result causing hollows over the slow course of time that we call uro. But the clean sawn and callused marks so often used would not be a common occurrence in the natural life of a tree and so should be avoided. Instead, leaving stubs from unwanted branches leaves opportunity of jin and uro to further bespeak tales of age and survival.
There is an almost wild dance to the forms that Daniel’s trees can take. That movement translates itself to the very tips of branches. Crooked, gnarly, undulating branches are a hallmark of his hand. Someone familiar with his work can walk into a
44 | BCI | October/November/December 2014