In November, The New Yorker published an article describing the journey of American bonsai artist Ryan Neil, who studied for six years with Masahiko Kimura, "the so-called magician of bonsai". The story includes details about the fraught relationship that Neil had with his teacher, but it also sheds light on the living art we know and love. Though the angle may be provocative, it is a prominent placement about the art and culture of bonsai.
National Bonsai Foundation Publishes Beautiful New Art Book
The National Bonsai Foundation is excited to announce the upcoming release of Cultivated Stones: Chinese Scholars’ Rocks from the Kemin Hu Collection at the U.S. National Arboretum. With stunning photography and elegant essays, the 152 page coffee table book details the recent gift of Chinese stones to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum from noted scholars’ rock expert, Kemin Hu.
Photographing Bonsai with Stephen Voss: An October Morning at the Museum
By Stephen Voss
Stephen Voss is an accomplished professional photographer and member of the National Bonsai Foundation’s board of directors. His photographs are held in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.
The fall bonsai is a tree in transition. In October and November, we see some trees that have held onto their vibrant green leaves and others that have dropped their foliage practically overnight. In between these two stages are the trees that I went looking for on a recent visit to the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.
That’s why I love this time of burnt oranges and dusky reds, of late afternoon sunsets, of growing shadows and that rich, autumnal scent of decomposing leaves. When I leave the museum after a morning of photographing, I know when I return the scenes will be different, irretrievably changed. It doesn’t take a photographer’s eye to appreciate the daily, even hourly transitions as a cold fall rain moves in, or a hard freeze strips a tree of its foliage.
In the scenes here, I became interested in isolating fall color to make it stand out more. I looked for brightly colored leaves that I could compose against the dark trunk of a tree or the cool white of the museum walls. A line of red leaves became a river of color. An opening in one tree became a blurry frame through which to capture another tree in sharp detail. For these sorts of photographs, a macro lens (or even a telephoto lens) is helpful in composing, and I made most of these images in the 90mm-135mm range. It’s an old photographer’s trick, but sometimes squinting your eyes a bit can attune you more to the lights and darks in a scene; this helps you create an image that acknowledges color as part of a photo’s compositional form.
On my last walk through the gardens on the late October morning when I made these photos, I was composing a close-up image of a fallen leaf in one of the large ceramic water buckets. Just moments after I pushed the shutter button, the waterlogged leaf sunk under the surface and slowly drifted to the bottom of the bucket. I left that day with my photo of that fleeting moment, and a reminder of the wonders of this beautiful place that gives us continual gifts of surprise and amazement, if only we give it the time.
Stephen
Scenes from the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, October 2022. All photos by Stephen Voss for the National Bonsai Foundation.
Bonsai is Best of D.C. 2022
You voted, and the results are in! Washington City Paper has published this year’s Best of D.C. with promising results. We sincerely appreciate all of our supporters who worked to recognize the National Bonsai Foundation, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and the U.S. National Arboretum in so many categories.
The results show that the Museum, the Foundation, and the Arboretum were recognized in a total of four categories! Thank you for demonstrating the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and the National Bonsai Foundation’s value in the D.C. community for yet another year.
The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum has now been recognized as one of the best places to take an out-of-towner for five years in a row! Take a look at the total awards and honorable mentions below.
Best Place to Take an Out-of-Towner
Winner: The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum (selected for fifth year in a row)
Finalist: U.S. National Arboretum
Best Tour for Out-of-Towners
Finalist: The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
Best Place to Meditate
Winner: The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
Runner-Up: U.S. National Arboretum
Best Place to Day Trip
Finalist: U.S. National Arboretum
Bonsai Apprentice Henry Basile's Thank You Letter
As the morning weather in Washington, D.C. gains the slightest hint of a chill, I look out on the serene courtyard of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, where I’ve learned and experienced so much since my graduation from Kansas State University with a Horticulture degree just four months ago.
My understanding of plant physiology and general horticultural care – and of course bonsai maintenance, development, and refinement – has deeply expanded through the incredible opportunity to be this year’s Bonsai Apprentice (in honor of the Museum’s first curator, Robert Drechsler. The Apprenticeship provides me eight hours of daily practice at one of the highest levels of intensive horticulture. As anyone who practices bonsai, penjing, kusamono, shitakusa, or related arts will tell you: This hands-on experience is irreplaceable.
Along with the roles of artist and horticulturist, curatorial staff play the roles of educator and historian. While I’m out in the collection watering or weeding, visitors often ask questions from simple (“What are the tea bags on top of the soil?”) to complex (“What is the history of that tree?”), allowing me to deepen my insights each day. This accumulation of knowledge and proficiency, as well as daily interactions with patrons regarding the artistry and history of the trees, are among the most meaningful aspects of my Apprenticeship.
With your support, this program will continue to train people who increase the scope of bonsai within the United States. The National Bonsai Foundation’s ongoing investment in this Apprenticeship, promotion of various exhibits and artists, and dedication to introducing bonsai to a broader public are necessary steps to develop the next generation of bonsai artists and curators.
Thank you to the National Bonsai Foundation for advancing bonsai artists, horticulturists, and curators through the Bonsai Apprenticeship. And special thanks to you and the many supporters who have made this incredibly formative experience possible for me, those before me, and those still to come.
Henry Basile
Bonsai Apprentice 2022
In Memoriam: Abe Shinzo, September 21, 1956–July 8, 2022
The National Bonsai Foundation extends its deepest condolences to the loved ones of Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and to the people of Japan at this sad and difficult time. Mr. Abe was the longest-serving prime minister of Japan and a very faithful friend to both the United States and democracy throughout the world. The news of his assassination on July 8, 2022 is a truly tragic and shocking loss.
Mr. Abe had a special connection to the U.S. National Arboretum’s National Bonsai & Penjing Museum and the NBF, starting from when the Museum opened in 1976. The Museum opened with a gift of fifty-three trees from the people of Japan to honor the United States’ bicentennial and celebrate peace between the two nations. These trees, the “original gift,” occupy a special place in the Museum’s history, and many remain on display today. One tree, a dwarf Japanese maple, was donated by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Shintaro Abe, Mr. Abe’s father.
The Museum was also honored in 2019 to host Mrs. Akie Abe, Mr. Abe’s wife, during her visit to Washington, DC when she toured the Museum alongside the First Lady. It was a privilege then to share with her the tree that her father-in-law had donated, and the Museum continues to be proud to display it for the public at this time.
Bonsai: A Look Sideways
National Bonsai Foundation Board Member and professional photographer, Stephen Voss, brings us his latest photo blog.
Revisiting the same subject over many years time allows one’s appreciation of it to deepen and be imbued with complexity and nuance. But sometimes, we will glance over a tree, having seen it many times before. I’ve sometimes found myself struggling with how I might photograph these trees after having done so many times in the past. Sometimes, changing your visual tools can be an effective way to force yourself to see the trees anew.
Tilt-shift lenses have been used by architectural photographers to make images of buildings appear perfectly straight, with no distortion. What’s interesting about the lenses to me is that they can also be used “wrongly” to pinpoint a small bit of a scene to be in focus. The name of these lenses literally comes from their ability to tilt and shift in relation to the digital sensor on the camera.
On a warm spring day at the museum, I spent some time wandering around, try- ing out this new way of seeing that seemed to bring a little abstraction to the more “straight” photography I’m used to doing. Focus in a picture is a way of directing the viewer’s eye, of making choices about what is important and what is not.
Typically, this has a lot to do with the distance of an object to the camera, but with this specialty lens, one can up-end that idea and create images where focus is a more nebulous concept. Trees take on an ethereal quality, the softness pulls the scenes out of the present and gives them a timeless feel that feels fitting for bonsai.
On a technical note - tilt-shift lenses can be extremely expensive, but there are many less expensive alternatives. Pictured here, I purchased a tilt-shift lens mount adapter that fit onto my Sony camera and could take Pentax lens with screw mount adapters. The whole setup cost less than 1/10 the price of a native tilt-shift lens and worked great.
A PBA Spring Show Recap from Aaron Stratten
On May 6 through 8, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Potomac Bonsai Association (PBA) Festival returned to the U.S. National Arboretum and National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. The festival included an exhibition of bonsai, formal bonsai displays, vendors, workshops, demonstrations, and more! It was a rainy weekend, but that didn’t stop bonsai enthusiasts from taking advantage of the return of this annual event.
PBA bonsai display in the courtyard of the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum
PBA is an umbrella organization (no pun intended) serving and consisting of several smaller bonsai clubs and societies in the Washington D. C., Maryland, and Virginia region. Club members were able to display their trees on tables surrounding the museum courtyard. This allowed visitors a rare opportunity to see the bonsai of local hobbyists alongside specimens that are part of the world-class collection at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. In addition to the courtyard display, which was open to the sky and rain, some bonsai were exhibited inside the display wing of the museum in a more formal setting.
PBA members discussing the arrangement of formal displays in the display wing.
Two event tents were erected on the lawn just across from the museum. The larger was filled by bonsai vendors from across the country who offered all manner of bonsai related items for sale. Both long-time bonsai enthusiasts and the newly-bonsai-curious were able to peruse and purchase bonsai and pre-bonsai plant material, bonsai pots and tools, and other related art and display accents. Especially during the rainy parts of the weekend, the vendors tent was a wonderful place to escape the weather, catch up with old friends, and feel immersed in the bonsai experience all at once.
Guest bonsai artist Mark Fields was present all weekend to share his expertise with participants. Mark has practiced bonsai since his childhood and is the owner of Bonsai by Fields, LLC – a bonsai nursery in Indiana. He is the current president of the American Bonsai Society, and member of the National Bonsai Foundation Board of Directors. He presented a bonsai demonstration on Saturday morning and led intermediate and advanced bonsai workshops on each day of the festival.
Mark Field beginning the bonsai demonstration.
For those with less experience, PBA also hosted beginner workshops in the smaller event tent. Members of the public and bonsai beginners of all ages were able to register for the workshop which included a small plant, training pot, soil, wire, and – most importantly – guidance from PBA members through the process of styling the plant material into the beginnings of a bonsai that will bring enjoyment for many years to come. Participants were given hands on support and information for the continued care and training of their new bonsai.
With two years away and a weekend of chilly rain, it might be tempting to think that few would show up, but the bonsai community and the bonsai-curious showed up in force to make the weekend a great success. It seems the pandemic invigorated the appetite for bonsai rather than dampen it (pun intended)! For more information about PBA and its member clubs, check out https://potomacbonsai.com/.
For information on the National Bonsai Foundation and ways to help the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum check out https://www.bonsai-nbf.org/.
Former NBF Board Member presented distinguished Japanese award
All photos courtesy of Aaron Webb – Embassy of Japan in the USA
The Ambassador of Japan honored former National Bonsai Foundation (NBF) Board of Directors Member and author Ann McClellan at a ceremony earlier this month for her outstanding contributions of introducing Japanese culture and promoting friendly relations between Japan and the United States.
Though she was officially awarded the Imperial Decoration “Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Rays” in 2021, the award presentation and ceremony was ultimately hosted on May 10, 2022, at the home of Koji Tomita, Japanese ambassador to the United States.
“I am humbled beyond measure to have been recognized in this way,” Ann said. “It wasn't something I sought or expected.”
The presentation began with Ambassador Tomita’s speech, which welcomed the intimate crowd of Ann’s colleagues, friends and family and highlighted her contributions to furthering understanding of Japanese culture in the United States. The ambassador presented Ann with a certificate signed by the Japanese prime minister to accompany her medal, which had been pinned to her jacket for the ceremony.
“The award came in a lovely lacquer box, which I keep in a special spot where I can see it daily,” she said. “Sometimes I reach out and touch it, just to affirm to myself that it's really here in my world.”
Ann also spoke at the ceremony, thanking the many supporters she has had throughout her career and about her introduction to Asian culture, which came when she unexpectedly taught a Japanese and Asian history course to high school students while finishing college. Since then, she’s traveled to Japan several times, worked on the Smithsonian Institution’s product development team for Japanese goods, written several books on Japanese cherry blossoms and spread the spirit of bonsai throughout the United States.
Ann and her brother, Bill, speaking at the ceremony
“I was one hour ahead of the students in learning that semester, but it launched my abiding interest in Japan and all things Japanese,” Ann said in her speech. “I thank the cherry blossom and bonsai spirits for the honor and privilege of sharing their stories, and I thank the government of Japan for its recognition of my efforts to expand understanding of Japanese culture through these trees.”
Ann’s eldest brother, Bill, gave a toast in her honor, which included an overview of Ann’s academic and professional background as well as family memories the siblings share.
“To you and your written works and presentations on the Sakura Celebration, bonsai and Japanese culture – we toast your good works and wish you good luck in your next projects,” Bill said in his toast.
Ann said she was in a state of astonishment about the experience and still lives in the reverie. For the foreseeable future, you will find her presentations on bonsai and cherry blossoms or working on her upcoming publications. Ann’s next book, to be published in 2023, highlights the cherry trees blossoming at the U.S. National Arboretum and around the world. You can find her book about the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, Bonsai and Penjing: Ambassadors of Peace & Beauty, on the NBF bookstore.
Although Ann recently finished her term as a member of the NBF Board, we still wholeheartedly feel her support as a long-time supporter and leader of the Foundation. NBF is grateful for her dedication to sharing the art of bonsai and looks forward to her continued success in spreading appreciation and understanding for Japanese culture.
New Special-Edition, Commemorative T-Shirt Design!
We are thrilled to launch the new design of our 2022 commemorative World Bonsai Day t-shirt to our Gift Shop. The art featured on the front is of the Museum collection’s Black Pine and was originally done in woodblock by professional artist and friend of the Museum, Mary Ellen Carsley. Learn more about her and the inspiration she finds and shares through bonsai and the Museum here. The back features a quote by Bonsai Master Saburo Kato.
T-shirts come in both short-sleeved and long-sleeved and in several colors. Get yours today, or as a gift for your favorite bonsai lover!
Learn more about World Bonsai Day here.