This is indeed a newbie question. It might be basic but oh well :) I was wondering how one goes about making English Ivy into a Bonsai.

My mother has some nice young Ivy growing indoors, a few strands approximately 6-8 inches. I was wondering if making Ivy into a bonsai is as simply as letting it grow, shaping it with wire, and allowing its "trunk" (not sure if thats the correct terminology) to thicken into a tree-like thickness.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

now there's a challenge.

Thanks for the help!! :D

With ivy (Hedera) you would want to take a cutting from a matured ivy if you wish to use it as a bonsai.
They have two forms of development to my experience. When they have matured they tend to prove more "woody" and tree like as you would desire. The growth is upward and stronger.

When you take cuttings from a matured plant they preserve these aspects that come with maturity.

Another reason you may want a mature plant as it is (not just a cutting from it this time)would be the fact that as fast and easy as an ivy would grow, it thickens and tapers rather slowly and can take up to decades patience to realise even a shohin size bonsai with a good taper.

Literally ancient trees grown in very difficult terrain tend to have a very twisted trunk (said to be able to better adapt to each root feeding all the branches and also being more flexible to provide resistance to harsh wind or heavy snow).Thus this is a very good reason one would want to go for a Hedera as a bonsai specimen... as it twists and turns in a truly unique way.

But the downfall is the bit about thickening.

With a fresh started plant or cutting, you would best arrange a few sacrifice branches (those you let grow freely a few years and then remove) low and close to the roots to ensure thickening more towards the roots since a Hedera does not easily taper (meaning it more what uniformly thickens through out length of the plant).

I hope this can be of some help