Guest Artists: Bjorn Bjorholm ◊ Daisaku Nomoto ◊ Juan Andrade
BONSAI SOCIETY OF DALLAS
April 6th – 9th, 2017
Sheraton Dallas North Hotel
On the second weekend in April 2017 the Lone Star Bonsai Federation Hosted an informative, interactive, and fun bonsai convention. Our theme, Make the Cut, was a whimsical reminder of the fundamental action we take as bonsai enthusiasts. We were excited to have three wonderful guest artists joining us. They were Bjorn Bjorholm, Daisaku Nomoto, and Juan Andrade. We began the weekend with a vendor preview/social along with a talent contest sponsored by Joshua Roth, then added workshops, demos, lectures, exhibit critiques, vendors, a bonsai auction and raffle. There was even an opportunity to see all three of the artists working on stage at the same time.
Convention Committee
Sylvia Smith Convention Chair
Christian Gamboa Workshop Chair
Howard Smith Exhibit Chair
Steven Hendricks Vendor Chair
John Borusheski Raffle Chair
Bill Muto Registration Chair
Diane Lowe Auction Chair
Guest Artists
Bjorn Bjorholm
Bjorn began his Japanese apprenticeship under master Keiichi Fujikawa at
Kouka-en bonsai nursery in Osaka, Japan as a teenage boy. At the age of 30,
he is now a well accomplished bonsai master himself. Architectural Digest
dubbed him the “Brad Pitt of Bonsai”! Charismatic, entertaining and an all
around nice guy, he has been teaching bonsai throughout Europe, Asia and
Latin America. Although he is currently living in Japan, his plan is to relocate to
the United States and begin a bonsai school and nursery in his hometown of
Knoxville, Tennessee sometime in 2017.
Daisaku Nomoto
Daisaku Nomoto was born in Miyazaki City in the southern Island of
Kushu, Japan. He began his bonsai apprenticeship as a young teen under
the tutelage of bonsai master Kihachiro Kamiya in 1995. In 2004 he won
the prestigious Koku-Fu prize for his incredible work on a Japanese Black
Pine. In 2005 he opened his own bonsai nursery called Nomoto
Chinshohen. Mr. Nomoto is a very skilled and impressive bonsai artist
and teacher. His sense of humor makes him especially enjoyable to work
with and learn from.
Juan Andrade
Known in the Latin Bonsai Circuit as ‘Bonsai Tico” this Costa Rican native studied
bonsai under bonsai master Junichiro Tanaka of Aichi-en in Nagoya, Japan.
Although newer to the United States circuit, Juan is no stranger to the Latin
American bonsai community. He began to study bonsai at the age of 15 and
studied under noted American bonsai masters Pedro Morales and Boon
Manakitivipart winning numerous awards between 2005-2012 prior to pursuing
his studies in Japan.
Michael Ryan Bell
Now known as the most knowledgeable pot authority in the United States,
Michael Ryan Bell began his bonsai career as a simple quest for knowledge.
He has been collecting bonsai pottery since 2009 and now has a very
impressive collection of antique pottery. He is currently working on several
books on pottery and has developed the only “Seal and Signature” database
through his bonsai blog with intensive information on pot makers, their seals,
and history.
Howard and Sylvia Smith
One of a few husband and wife bonsai teams, Howard and Sylvia opened
their bonsai shop in 1994. They started their bonsai career at first just
buying and selling hand-picked trees for their shop and learning bonsai from
various artists. They soon realized that they wanted to pursue a professional
education in bonsai and became the 1st and 2nd graduates from Boon
Manakitivipart’s Intensive Bonsai School. Today they both give lectures and
demos and have been featured along with their trees and clients’ trees in
several bonsai books.
