It is always a pleasure to visit with Kathy Shaner.  Once again, she came to give advice on TTSBE trees and to have her seminar on deadwood carving and tree refinement.

Here you see everyone pondering over Kathy's question of how we could improve this particular Cedar elm.

My dear backdrop holder at work again.

Original potting angle.

Future potting angle.  It turns out that a slight change of angle in the pot will make a huge difference.  Do you agree?

Here you can see Kathy checking the wires underneath the pot to see if the tree is secured.

A quick and easy way to fix missing bark is shown here.

Some bark is removed from other parts of the tree and glued into the empty space.  It can then be colored to blend in and the bare area will be less noticeable.

Our artist at work again.

A nicely trimmed Brazilian Rain Tree. 

Another Brazilian Rain Tree before trimming.

After a few minutes of magic, it is looking more like a bonsai tree already.

Using a chopstick to create more space between the trunks.

Adding more soil.

Wiring the branches.

Giving a slight trim to this juniper.

Bonsai weight-lifting.

Using a dead branch to demonstrate how to secure a tree to its pot. 

This piece of wood resembles a water dragon!  Can you see it too?