Photographing Bonsai with Stephen Voss: A Winter’s Visit

As a photographer who now makes a living snapping pictures of some of the world’s most influential figures, Stephen Voss didn’t always know that photography could be more than a hobby.  Once a bonsai novice, he certainly didn’t think he would publish a photography book of bonsai.

Now that he’s an accomplished photographer, Voss wants to share his “tricks of the bonsai photography trade.” This entry is part of his regular guest blog series, “Photographing Bonsai with Stephen Voss"," published on NBF’s blog, covering everything from lighting, angles and mindset needed when photographing the trees. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to never miss one of his entries! Read his last entry here.

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Washington, D.C. has resisted giving itself over to winter this year, with 70 degree days and only a handful of nights below freezing. On one of these warm January days, I visited the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum to photograph the trees in the winter light.

While the trees are the main attraction, the Museum grounds are not to be overlooked. The cryptomeria-lined entrance gives you the sense of moving from one world to another, emerging through the main gates to the courtyard where a single tree can be seen.

Stephen Voss

To find the majority of the trees, you must walk through the Chinese Pavilion, in which the trees spend the colder months. The open air building boasts a roof of translucent glass, which keeps the pavilion a few degrees warmer than outside. But more importantly, this glass is the key to creating some of the most beautiful light the Museum sees all year. The low-angled winter sunbeams scatter and soften as they pass through the panes but somehow still retain a certain crispness as they fall upon the resting trees.

The trees are often just inches apart from each other, allowing for one to observe the collection as a miniature bonsai forest – a remix of the typical presentation that gives each tree its own space. In these tight configurations, there are photographs to be made exploring the relationships between the trees.

Stephen Voss

There are signs of life to be found in the pavilion even a third of the way through winter. Camellias are bursting with blooms and the Chinese quince’s jewel-like green buds erupt skyward. Winter light in the Chinese Pavilion never comes from straight above, but shines from hard angles, reflecting the shortened daylight hours.

Stephen Voss

The Toringo Crab Apple, in training since 1905 and one of my favorite trees, still bears some small yellow fruit that faintly sways in the breeze from the circulating fan.

Winter is a season of rest and stillness, and I don’t think there’s a better time of year to visit the Museum. Over the year and a half that I was photographing my book – In Training, A Book of Bonsai Photos – the majority of the photographs were produced from the two winters I spent there. The bare deciduous trees become abstract forms, and it’s at these times that the invisible hands of the bonsai master’s work are most clearly seen. 

Hiring: First Curator's Apprentice

The first Curator of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum was Robert Drechsler who served in that position from the founding of the Museum in 1976 until 1998.  In 2011, during the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Museum, an internship for the Museum was established by the National Bonsai Foundation to honor Mr. Drechsler for his many years of service. It was called the First Curator’s Apprenticeship.

The purpose of the apprenticeship is to educate and train a new generation of American bonsai artists. It is sponsored by Toyota North America and the Hill Foundation.

Applications are currently being accepted for the 2020 First Curator’s Apprentice.

Hiring: P/T Communications & Social Media Intern (Paid)

The National Bonsai Foundation is seeking a part-time communications and social media intern to maintain and expand its online presence with the goal of recruiting donors and visitors to The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. NBF is the non-profit supporting branch of the Museum, located at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

The Museum began in 1976 when Japanese bonsai enthusiasts from the Nippon Bonsai Association donated 53 bonsai to the United States to commemorate the U.S. Bicentennial. More than 150 trees are now on display in the Museum's Pavilions, Tropical Conservatory, Special Exhibitions Wing and courtyard. Under the leadership of curator Michael James, the Museum is training the next generation of bonsai experts who have gone on to lead institutions in major U.S. cities.

The intern will be responsible for managing NBF’s social media accounts, assisting in event planning and promoting NBF and the Museum. They will work with our communications and executive team on social media strategy and will be expected and encouraged to implement their own ideas. The intern will be expected to commit to 15-20 remote hours per month, plus regular visits to the Museum. Applicants must be based in the D.C. area.

This is a paid position.

Responsibilities will include, but will not be limited to:

• Writing content for our website and social media pages by documenting and attending Museum events, interviewing notable figures in the bonsai world and capturing “behind-the-scenes" experiences at the Museum

• Creating and distributing a monthly/twice-monthly email newsletter, with occasional additional messages to promote special events or fundraising campaigns

• Posting on and tracking analytics for our social media pages

• Monthly marketing strategy phone calls with NBF members and communications leaders

The ideal applicant will have:

• Extensive experience using social media for personal use and on behalf of a non-profit organization, like a museum

• Strong writing skills

• Familiarity with Squarespace, MailChimp, Eventbrite, Facebook Live, YouTube and social media apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

• An interest in bonsai, horticulture, Japanese culture, public gardens and the Washington, D.C. museum scene

• Photo editing skills and graphic design skills

• Excellent time management capabilities

Application requirements:

• Resume

• Cover letter

• Links to portfolio or relevant work

• Contact information for 1-3 reference(s)

• Please send all items to aanapol@bonsai-nbf.org.

Photographing Bonsai with Stephen Voss: A How To

As a photographer who now makes a living snapping pictures of some of the world’s most influential figures, Stephen Voss didn’t always know that photography could be more than a hobby.  Once a bonsai novice, he certainly didn’t think he would publish a photography book of bonsai.

Now that he’s an accomplished photographer, Voss wants to share his “tricks of the bonsai photography trade.” He will be writing a regular blog covering everything from lighting, angles and mindset needed when photographing the trees. Sign up for our newsletter and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to never miss one of his entries! Read his last entry here.

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When I began photographing the trees at The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, I knew little of bonsai and had even less of an idea of how to take pictures of the miniature wonders. What I did know was that, if I wanted to have any success at this, it would be by creating something new, apart from the tree itself. 

Making a photograph to record what something looks like is a perfectly reasonable goal, but it only scratches the surface of the expressive possibilities of photography. But where do you start? Here is an exercise to partake in if you’re just getting your feet wet in the realm of bonsai photography:

Walk around the museum, being sure to look at all of the trees until one catches your eye. It’s not a bad thing if that tree happens to be in good light (open shade for instance, not bright sunshine).

Stand in front of that tree, set a timer on your phone for ten minutes, and do nothing. By nothing, I mean just look at the tree. Bend down, look from the side, just don’t stop looking at it. Notice the way light hits different parts of it, think of the generations of people who have worked on this tree and try to find something new about the tree that you’ve never seen before.

After 10 minutes, take 15 shots of the tree, each one different than the last, like so:

At some point during this exercise, you may find yourself questioning the whole enterprise, feeling foolish or that you've simply run out of things to see. This feeling is part of the process. Without this doubt and uncertainty, without exhausting your sense of what’s there, you can’t really make progress. As someone who’s felt these unsettling, frustrating feelings many times in my photographic life, I urge you to just keep at it, keep looking, keep seeing.

Learning to see is a strangely undeveloped skill for many photographers and developing it requires time and patience. But why bother? If you’re like me, with no discernible skill in working with bonsai, but a deep appreciation and love for the trees, looking closely is a form of appreciation, a way to connect. With a keen eye and a bit of luck, it can also be a way to turn that experience into a meaningful photograph. 

Read his last entry here.

Penjing Defined by Master Zhao Qingquan

If you’re not familiar with the nuances differentiating bonsai – which originated in China and has been popularized by the Japanese – from the Chinese art of penjing, the two forms probably seem very similar or even identical. But with a little background, you’ll see there are important differences that distinguish most penjing from bonsai. We spoke with renowned penjing master, Zhao Qingquan, to bring you this blog.

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Zhao was born in Yangzhou City, China, where his father – a penjing enthusiast – first introduced him to the art of penjing. Other than his father, the most influential figure in Zhao’s life was his professor Xiaobai Xu, who bolstered his penjing knowledge.

“I am always proud of my final choice of the penjing as a career,” he says.

As Zhao explained in Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment: “In the Chinese language, we distinguish between three kinds of penjing, shumu penjing (tree penjing), shanshui penjing (which literally translates to “mountain and water penjing” but is usually called “landscape penjing” or “rock penjing”) and shuihan penjing (water-and-land penjing).

Zhao says that artists in China constantly innovate and develop penjing forms, so the style and content of the art form is becoming increasingly varied, but all have the “same essence of applying natural materials to express natural landscapes.”

Zhao explains that bonsai is actually the same as shumu penjing (tree penjing), one of the three categories of penjing. Tree penjing (bonsai) uses containers to display natural trees and plants, and artists will use wiring, pruning and chiseling techniques to create the composition’s dominant elements, he says.

In contrast, the second category of mountain and water penjing take the form of landscape scenes: artists will cut and reshape rocks to embody islands or mountains and often add small live plants to flesh out the scene, Zhao says. In the third category of water-and-land penjing, artists depict more “complete” scene, using materials like soil and water, as well as miniature figurines, he adds.

Zhao points out that “as an art aiming at ‘seeing the big from the tiny,’ penjing is often created as a method of self-expression to convey personal emotions.”

He reflects that humans naturally desire a tranquil life that immerses us in nature, but we often alienate ourselves from our natural environment to focus on work and family. Zhao says the pressure to survive in a modern and increasingly industrialized world facilitates humans’ tendencies to not prioritize connections with nature.

 “Penjing art allows us to pursue peacefulness and tranquility in our inner hearts and fulfill our desires of being part of nature,” he said. “Therefore, penjing as an old traditional art has been renewed.”

Penjing is a traditional Chinese art that can be traced back to as early as the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Bonsai (tree penjing) was brought to Japan during the Southern Song Dynasty of China (1127–1279) or the late Heian Period in Japan (794–1192), Zhao says. 

Three nationwide penjing communities have been established successively in China: the Chinese Society of Landscape Architecture Flower Penjing Suiseki Association, the Chinese Penjing Artists Association, and the Penjing Branch of China Flower Association. 

“As an art form expressing the human desire to love nature and peace in the world, penjing has gained increasing popularity around the globe,” Zhao says. “Penjing is used to decorate our homes and to cultivate self-expression, helping us achieve a healthier and happier life.”

Drawing from Bonsai: Photos from Class

On Saturday, professional nature illustrator, Tina Thieme Brown taught a drawing class at The Museum. About 10 students gathered to “draw from bonsai.” Here are some great photos of the class by our Social Media Intern, Dani Grace. Read more about Tina’s creative process drawing nature in a past blog here.

Interested in taking a class with Tina at the Museum? Make sure to sign up on the form below and you’ll be the first to know if we announce another date!

The Art of Kusamono: Interview With ‘Articulturist’ Young Choe

“I never thought that I would become an artist or teacher.”

— Young Choe, Articulturist

Young Choe has spent more than 20 years volunteering at The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and working sporadically as a horticulturist at the U.S. National Arboretum. She loves her work, but in her spare time follows what seems to be her true calling of kusamono, the art of curating collections of wild grasses and flowers in unique pots or trays. 

Choe fuses her artistic talent with horticulture, resulting in a process she calls “articulture.” Choe says that Kusamono is the perfect tie between her Asian culture, knowledge of plants’ physiology and the talent she has developed toward creating beautiful works. Many kusamono styles exist, but according to Choe, the most developed versions of the art form come from Japan and Europe.

Kusamono can be created in various vessel-like pots or moss balls and can be put on display by itself, on a tray or on a ceramic tile, paired with bonsai as an accent plant.

“It’s a living art form,” says Choe. “Every plant is different depending on how you create it, what kind of plants you put together and which pots you use.” 

Choe affirms that kusamono is different than ikebana or bonsai. But, like those practices, each kusamono arrangement requires a unique pruning style that builds a special form over time. 

Choe had wanted to study plants since she was young, but horticulture was not a popular subject in her home city of Seoul, South Korea. She ended up studying Asian art in South Korea, but upon moving to America she began volunteering at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, an experience that led her back to her old interest in plants. 

Soon after, Choe enrolled at the University of Maryland where she received a Bachelor of Science in horticulture. When Choe first started at The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, the little accent plants that often accompany bonsai arrangements fascinated her. Hoping to learn the art herself, she traveled to Japan three times for a week each time over the course of about five years to study under Keiko Yamane, a kusamono master.

“At that time, I simply learned this because I loved it,” she said. “I never thought that I would become an artist or teacher.”

She now travels around the world instructing on the art of kusamono to other budding practitioners. Most recently, Choe worked on a kusamono arrangement for a reception the Museum held for the American Public Gardens Association’s annual conference.

“When I share this art form, the students are very motivated and happy,” she said. “When I see that kind of energy from people, it makes me happy.” 

Choe says that she is grateful to the staff of the U.S. National Arboretum and members of the National Bonsai Foundation for supporting her as a kusamono artist and says she tries to work on kusamono as much as she can when she isn’t working at the Arboretum. 

“Kusamono is threatening my main job right now!” Choe joked. “I just keep doing it, I can’t give it up.”

The National Bonsai Foundation Remembers Member Solita Rosade

The National Bonsai Foundation (NBF) and the worldwide bonsai community mourn the loss of Solita D. Tafur Rosade who passed away on Aug. 31st, 2019. A beloved figure who dedicated her life to promoting the art of bonsai, Soli was born in Colombia, South America, but left at an early age to be educated in the United States, Spain and Switzerland. 

Returning to Colombia after college, Soli married and raised two children. Her love of nature and her hobbies of painting and gardening gave way to the fascinating world of bonsai. In 1984 she attended her first bonsai class in Cali, Columbia. Later while in Colombia, she authored a bonsai manual in Spanish entitled "The Essential in Bonsai," and became President of the Asociación Vallecaucana de Bonsai.

Soli’s devotion to the art of bonsai took her to many places in the world, both as a bonsai artist and as a bonsai diplomat. She gave demonstrations and held workshops at international bonsai conventions and other bonsai events in Asia, Europe, India, South Africa, New Zealand, United States, Canada and several countries in Latin America.

In 1992, Solita founded the Latin American Bonsai Federation (FELAB) and served as FELAB's President until 1998. From 1998 to 2002, she was the President of Bonsai Clubs International (BCI). In 2005, she became the third Chairman of the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF), and after her term ended in 2009, she continued to serve as President of the North American Bonsai Federation (NABF) until 2018. Until her passing, she was a member of the NBF Board of Directors supporting the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington, D.C.

Earlier this year Solita and Chase Rosade celebrated 26 years of marriage. Together they owned and operated the Rosade Bonsai Studio in New Hope, Pennsylvania. From this beautiful studio, they invited both masters and novice alike to share in their love of bonsai, over the years giving countless classes and demonstrations to anyone willing to learn this wonderful art. From its inception the Rosade Bonsai Studio helped lead the way in celebrating World Bonsai Day in support of peace and friendship through bonsai.

There are few whose service to bonsai was greater than Soli’s. Much like WBFF’s founding fathers, Saburo Kato, John Naka and Ted Tsukiyama, Soli possessed “the spirit of bonsai” and worked tirelessly to spread the good word of bonsai both at home and abroad. 

Soli leaves behind a loving family and many friends and admirers throughout the world whom she inspired with her boundless enthusiasm for bonsai. At the end of her life, she found great joy seeing how the art of bonsai is flourishing in every corner of the globe – and knowing that she had played a part in making this happen. Her contributions will long be remembered and her friendship will always be missed.

National Bonsai & Penjing Museum Enters into Historic “Sister Museum” Relationship with Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Japan

Photo Credit: Stephen Voss

The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum officially became a Sister Museum to The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum in Saitama, Japan on Monday, Aug. 5th! 

Our Museum was formed in 1976 as the result of Japan’s Bicentennial Gift of 53 masterpiece bonsai. The Omiya Bonsai Art Museum, created in 2010, is located in the famous “Bonsai Village” that has been at the center of bonsai in Japan for almost 100 years.

Many board members and leaders from both museums attended the ceremony, which was held at our Museum in Washington, D.C. Dr. Richard Olsen – Director of the U.S. National Arboretum, which houses our Museum – and The Honorable Hayato Shimizu, Mayor of Saitama, signed the “Sister Museums Declaration.”

Photo Credit: Stephen Voss

Attendees heard remarks from Dr. Olsen, Mayor Shimizu, Felix Laughlin – National Bonsai Foundation Co-President – and Takahiro Shimada, Minister for Communications and Cultural Affairs at the Japanese Embassy. A luncheon in the Exhibits Gallery followed the ceremony, and Dr. Fumiya Taguchi – Manager of The Omiya museum – gave a presentation called “The History of Bonsai in Japan.”

Photo Credit: Stephen Voss

In the advent of their new partnership, the two museums plan to share information about their upcoming educational bonsai exhibits and programs. 

“Both museums hope to help increase awareness and appreciation for the other as premier destinations to experience the art of bonsai at its highest level of creativity and development,” Laughlin said.

Photo Credit: Stephen Voss

Takahiro Mori Performs Bonsai Demonstration at U.S. National Arboretum

Mori works on bonsai during demonstration.

Japanese bonsai master Takahiro Mori held a bonsai demonstration at the U.S. National Arboretum on July 20th.

In February, Yoshiko Higuchi of the Japanese Embassy wrote to Museum curator Michael James that Mori, a Japanese bonsai master who operates a nursery in Saitama, Japan, planned to visit D.C. in July. Higuchi and James then asked Mori to perform a couple of public and private demonstrations while he stayed in the District. 

At the public Museum demonstration, Mori held a talk about bonsai and performed a one-hour demonstration on a juniper collected on the Arboretum’s grounds five years ago. Museum staff members who have been caring for the tree since its collection will complete any remaining wiring and pruning the juniper needs.

The juniper collected on the Arboretum’s grounds five years ago that Mori worked on during the demonstration.