All done for now. I’ll put the tree back on the ground for the rest of the winter; next step will be to re-pot the tree. I’ll have to watch the buds and see how the tree responds to being styled whether I’ll re-pot it this spring or not. Most likely, I’ll wait for next year to do that.

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The tree is fully wired now and I’m in the process of setting the branches. I’m surprised how easily they bend and how much like they are to ponderosa pine in their flexibility. Watch what happens to the looped branch at the top right.

The back branch has been been bent into place, now I work out to the smaller branches with smaller gauge copper wire. The tree is starting to take shape.

Close-up of the first step of wiring the tree. The trunk splits like a sling-shot so I plan to bend the branch in back further to the back, to the left and down to give the tree a greater sense of depth.

Collected Cottonwood Bonsai Continued…

Collected Cottonwood Bonsai

I'm standing directly behind the tree to give a sense of scaleStarting workDetail of the first wire laid on the treeDetail of the upper branches part way through applying copper wireSetting the branchesFirst styling is complete

I’ve got one m…

I’ve got one more shot of the Tarantula Hawk wasp for you

I thought I’d …

I thought I’d add a couple more images of the wasp I recently completed.

I thought I’d …

I thought I’d add a photo of my latest project–a tarantula hawk wasp ten times life-size. It’s made from polyethylene milk jugs and dish soap bottles. Tarantula hawk wasps live in the Sonoran desert and use tarantula spiders to incubate their larvae in. The female tarantula hawk wasp first stings a tarantula spider to put it to sleep–not kill it. She then drags the spider to her underground lair and lays a single egg inside the spider. The comatose spider will serve as host to the wasp’s larvae which feeds on the spider from the inside out. Like something from an alien movie, isn’t it?

Greetings and welcome…

…to my new blog! My name is Greg Brenden. I’m an artist living in Milwaukie Oregon. I’ve started this blog mainly for sharing my work with you; it will be an eclectic mix of recycled artwork, examples of my work as an exhibit contractor for natural history museums and my other passion–bonsai