At our August meeting we were quite pleased to welcome Walter Pall as our guest. He took on the challenge of presenting a carving demonstration in the small window of two hours. The tree was an urban collected yew. He is a great storyteller with a wry sense of humor, poking fun at anything and everything. As he pointed out the tree will be uglier before it becomes beautiful. 
If you haven’t looked through Walter’s blog then you are missing out on a very well maintained and informational site. Walter’s Blog
Midwest Bonsai Society 