Bonsai Mirai Website

[Si Nguyen]

how does one go about finding a master to apprentice? i have been scouring the web trying to find a school but to no avail. when i mean school i mean everyday not once a month classes. is there anyone in the u.s. that will take on students?

To Dan: Maybe you should start with a short course of a few days a year with teachers like Walter Pall here and see if you'd actually like the total bonsai lifestyle. I think Warren Hill in Tennessee (or Kentucky? I always get those 2 confused) also has a long in-house apprenticeship program. I read about that in BonsaiFocus magazine last year. Warren Hill is very good. I have seen pictures of his trees from the 70's when he was still here in California and his trees are just perfect. He was way ahead of other artists at that time.

One thing to note is that it is now illegal in this country (new since 4/2010) to do unpaid internship (or apprenticeship) unless it is for a non-profit or governmental agency (political internships in Washington DC are exempt from this law, of course). If you pay a teacher to learn whatever, then the teacher have to provide you with properly accredited Continuing Education credits, otherwise, the teacher would have to pay you for any work that you do during the apprenticeship. Money has got to change hands somehow, and of course, the IRS would need to know. A bonsai apprenticeship like with Kimura will not exist in this country. (I am not sure if Kimura pay salary or stipend to all of his apprentices or not. Please correct me if anybody know). Some of the specialist medical training programs in this country are having to deal with this new law right now. It's really difficult now. In 2003 I took a sabbatical and spent several months in an unpaid fellowship training with a specialist doctor in New York. It was great! Things like that are no longer legal now.

 

[satsuki]

This is an awesome site!

I can't wait to one day work with Ryan.

 

[William N. Valavanis]

Every bonsai artist conducts different types of apprenticeships around the world. In the early 1970s when I was an apprentice in Japan with Kyuzo Murata and Kakutaro Komuro (Bonsai Village) I simply worked for my room and board.

I believe Ryan apprenticed with Masahiko Kimura and after he proved himself worthy to remain was paid very minimum basic living expenses, which I don't think actually covered his costs.

In Japan the top well known and distinguished bonsai artists often send their sons to apprentice with other well known bonsai artists (actually their "competition") to bring back new techniques to their gardens. This has been going on for decades. Matsuda sent his son to Murata. Komatsu sent his son to Murata. Urushibata sent his son to Kimura. Oshima sent his son to Toshinori Suzuki, Akiyama sent his son to Kobayashi. There are many more examples, and presently Shinji Suzuki sent his son to Kimura for studying. Each of the above mentioned apprentices are now established and famous bonsai artists in Japan.

In the early 1990s Corin Tomlinson, Greenwood Bonsai Studio in Nottingham, England (father Harry Tomlinson) formally apprenticed with me for over a three year period (living in our home) as part of his college training requirement at Merrist Wood College for horticulture. He had to do an internship in the horticultural field at an acceptable school. It's interesting how we worked this out legally. Corin applied to Ohio State University and wanted to study at a small family run bonsai nursery. I sent an inquiry, just before Corin applied, to OSU requesting a foreign student to study bonsai with me. We had perfect timing and OSU matched us up. I had to legally pay him so needed to set up a payroll and paid him the minimum wages. Corin is and has been the only paid employee I've ever had in my four decades of conducting a bonsai business. Corin studied hard, passed all my tests and received a certificate from me, in addition to his college diploma. His studies are all documented in International BONSAI magazine, beginning with the 1992/NO. 1 issue.

Corin and his brother, Paul, now run Greenwood Bonsai Studio and he has traveled extensively throughout England teaching his art. I'm very proud of the accomplishments Corin has made in his own quiet sense. He probably inherited Harry's artistic eye (and humor too) and combined it with his own taste.

When I lived and studied with Yuji Yoshimura, he told me to "steal" his thoughts and ideas and to use them as a stepping block to improve myself and raise the level of the art. Corin is continuing in the method Yoshimura taught me and is doing well, especially when he takes clients bonsai and improves or redesigns their trees.

Bill

 

[Si Nguyen]

Thanks for sharing the experience Bill. You were way ahead of your time! Do you teach any courses at the community college too? Isn't there an AA degree in bonsai horticulture ? I heard of Ernie Kuo , who also traveled to Japan for some apprenticeship, used to teach classes at a local community college in Orange County CA for bonsai many years ago. I am in awe of any young people who could devote years of their lives to this apprenticeship in bonsai art, and you were probably the first American born person to do that. Good luck to you!
Si