From the Artist

People often ask me, “What is bonsai”?  One could answer what is bonsai with a haiku by Yosa Buson (1716–83). “Camellia flower, falling, lets drop the rain of yesterday.”

Ponder this wonderful haiku by one of Japan’s great poets, and it may shed some light on the nature of bonsai.

Buson’s image of a camellia flower spilling rain as it falls from its stem puts into words what bonsai expresses without words: beautiful moments in time in the natural world.  Bonsai can help us imagine the smell of wildflowers, the sounds of churning water in a river, and the feel of pine needles beneath our feet.

To me bonsai is a lifestyle of connecting ones heart to the core of nature.

Bonsai, although small in size, has the ability to show the perceptive viewer vast expanses of landscape and limitless moments in time past, present, and future.

When I am styling and developing a bonsai, I always embrace the idea of not controlling the tree.  To design bonsai well, one must let go of the desire of control in order to better see the soul of a tree and let it be your guide.  Then what is planted in a vessel is not the bonsai alone, it is essence, mood, and atmosphere.  Bonsai is planting all of nature in a tray.  I not only want to capture what we can see with our own eyes but what we feel when we are absorbing the spirit, and vast subtle nuances of nature.  If one connects to bonsai through the heart, one can experience the essence of the natural world in a pot.

Bonsai allows us to be present in nature even in the middle of a bustling city.  They can magnify nature’s spirit by helping the soul interpret and experience the mood of the landscape.

This bonsai exhibition is my journey of exploration and freedom using simple trees trying to maximize and pull out the spirit of each piece in a quiet language of imagery and emotion which is the mirror upon which the bonsai reflects nature, both seen and unseen.

To enhance the experience once again I have reached out to Brooklyn Root Design for design whimsy bringing the contemplative enchanting nature of bonsai and the reflective style of contemporary design together.

Brooklyn Root Design provides a multifunctional and divers combination of architecture, interior design, garden design, plant and garden maintenance and Bonsai services through Bonsai NYC for public, privet and commercial spaces.  This approach is realized through collaborations with a broad group of forward thinking clients, consultants and artisans.

We seek to make cultural, physical and natural connections in our work.

Come join these little giants at ResoBox and let the bonsai be your guide.  There is no limit to the depths of understanding one can achieve.

Gallery