Bonsai and penjing masters like Saburo Kato and John Naka are recognized as icons who really advanced and expanded the ancient art of bonsai. Now, the next generation of artists is building on those legacies, putting down roots for many more decades of bonsai artistry.
In The Future of Bonsai blog series, the National Bonsai Foundation is highlighting up-and-coming bonsai and penjing pioneers who are next in line to spread the spirit of bonsai. Chicago native and bonsai professional Jennifer Price is one such artist. Get to know her through this recent interview with Sophia Osorio, the First Curator’s Apprentice at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.
Sophia Osorio: Can you give us a brief introduction of yourself and your relation to bonsai?
Jennifer Price: Well, I was really good at growing plants. A local nursery had some bonsai and I went over there. I learned that there was a club for this and that the meeting was that night and they needed a special events coordinator. So I became that. The following week, I found myself at Brussel's Bonsai Rendezvous, which is one of the biggest bonsai events of the year in the country. I was really thrown into it. I was very intimidated actually, trying to take all of these workshops. I couldn’t tell the front of the tree from the back of the tree, didn’t know how to wire or do anything. I was completely lost. I ended up teaching there in 2019, and I'm still involved in the local club quite a bit. I have a lot of friends there, and I try to give back some of the knowledge that I learned throughout my journey. It's been fun.
SO: When did you first become interested in bonsai?
JP: I was actually a professional ballet dancer, and as a ballerina I had always looked at movement. So the line of the trees fascinated me right from the get go. For example, when you see a Literati tree, it looks very tall and sinuous. I think I was attracted to that – I saw the movement within the trees, within the trunk line, and kind of just took it from there. As silly as that sounds, I think all trees kind of dance.
SO: What encouraged you to pursue bonsai as a profession rather than a hobby?
JP: I never thought I would do bonsai as a profession. There are so few women in this art and I sort of just stumbled into bonsai, taking every workshop that one could get. I got very lucky in that first meeting when I went down to Brussel's Rendezvous because I met Jim Doyle who has a long-established bonsai nursery in Pennsylvania. I ended up taking his class, and we really hit it off. Jim was a professional tap dancer when he was young, so we had that dance connection, and he was very patient as a teacher. Plus, he was only a couple of hours away. Through Jim, I met Walter Paul who became a huge teacher and mentor to me in my life, and then I started going to Europe to teach more. Really, Jim gets all the credit. Bonsai wasn't anything that I started out thinking, "Wow, I really want to turn this into a career." It just slowly evolved that way.
I'm still Walter's apprentice to this day. As long as Walter will have me, I will continue working with him. I’ve now made the decision to study with Ryan Neil of Bonsai Mirai, which was a big decision for me because Walter was much more naturalistic in his styling. I wanted to get a little bit more formal training, technical training, and of course Ryan's artistry is beautiful. Unfortunately, with COVID-19, I wasn't able to do much. But with bonsai, you always consider yourself a student. There's so much to learn. I don't think you can ever stop. For myself, I want to keep working with Jim, Walter, add that technical aspect with Ryan and keep going.
SO: What are your future plans with bonsai?
JP: I'd like to continue to travel quite a bit, I enjoy that. I really enjoyed my time in Europe. This year, I'm supposed to go back to Germany and Sweden for a bonsai retreat. I enjoy traveling, teaching workshops and meeting new people. It's really interesting to see how different countries approach bonsai and styling. And for my own self, I want that new component of studying with Ryan and kind of learning his techniques and his methods. It's a strange position to be in because there are not many women in bonsai, so it's almost like a niche thing. In some ways, I don't want to be the "token woman" in bonsai, so I feel like everything is wide open for the taking if that makes sense.
SO: Absolutely. That being said, why should someone get into bonsai, either as a hobby or a profession?
JP: For most people, it's a wonderful stress reliever and a connection with nature, which all of us need in our stressful lives. As far as anyone becoming a professional, that is a difficult road. I've spent a lot of time talking to friends of mine who are professionals, and traveling does get really tiring. Flying across the country to teach workshops, to give demos, I don't think that's very easy. I'm very lucky in the fact that I am married. I have a husband here who has a good job and what not, so I don't have that pressure to make ends meet. I think Ryan Neil and Bjorn Bjorholm of Eisei-En are exceptions. At a very young age, they had the ability to go and study in Japan and take that knowledge and come back and, frankly, are able to monetize it.
SO: I can definitely see that. What advice would you give to someone who wanted to take up bonsai as a hobby or a profession?
JP: If you’re pursuing bonsai as a hobby, you need to take as many workshops as you can. Join a local club. That has helped me tremendously over the years. I first started out just to have more people to ask about overwintering, care and get some help in different seasons of bonsai. In terms of becoming a professional, I think you need to seriously study with one person. Let's say you were going to study with Bjorn – you'd have to really dedicate yourself to three to five years of serious study, then go out and say, "Okay, I'm now going to pursue this on my own."
While she is not on social media, keep an eye out for Jennifer Price’s bonsai blog, coming soon!
The National Bonsai Foundation funds and curates several programs to educate and train the next generation of bonsai, like the First Curator’s Apprentice position. To support our work, consider gifting today.