This list contains bonsai instructors from the Northwest region, as well as selected US and International artists. Clubs member clubs within PNBCA were contacted in an effort to compile a list talented instructors. This list contains pertinent information about each artist. It is hoped that this list will provide PNBCA clubs with useful information when putting together annual and seasonal programs, and to effectively use the broad base of talent with PNBCA.

This list will continue to be built upon and updated each year. Your input is critical to keep this list current. If you know of instructors who should be included, but were not, please send their names and contact information to PNBCA. Every effort will be made to include them in the next edition. The intention is to distribute an updated list at each annual PNBCA Convention.

NW Instructors:

Peter Adams: Sequim, WA
360-683-4434
Active in the Dungeness Bonsai Club. Peter has over 40 years experience in bonsai. He has a very artistic eye and has written many books on bonsai. Peter hails originally from England and has a very artistic approach to bonsai. Schooled in the fine arts, Peter draws from that center to create his bonsai and instruct his students. Fees upon request. Website

Charlie Anderson: Bainbridge Island, WA
206-842-4148
Charlie Anderson has been practicing Bonsai for more than thirty years. He is a Past President of Puget Sound Bonsai and has served as both recording secretary and a term as a director of Bonsai Clubs International. Additionally, he has been twice Chairman of the Pacific Northwest Bonsai Convention. Since 1986 Charlie and his wife, Ruth, have created and run Harborcrest Bonsai Nursery on Bainbridge Island. Charlie has taught numerous classes and workshops on Bonsai. He was a workshop leader at the 1999 Bonsai Clubs International Convention and was the bonsai sensei at the Bellevue, Washington Aki Matsura Festival. Charlie has had demonstrations and workshops at local clubs in Washington, Oregon, Tennessee and California. He now spends much of his time with his wife Ruth on their 250 tree Bonsai collection and in helping others with their collections in the Kitsap County area. Fees upon request.

David DeGroot: Federal Way, WA
253-841-8992
David DeGroot is curator of the Weyerhaeuser Company's Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection near Seattle. David maintains over 100 trees and operates an educational program that includes approximately 30 lectures and two special exhibits annually. In addition to teaching, Dave has written many articles for major bonsai publications and is the author of Basic Bonsai Design, now in its third printing. Although formally educated in music, Dave developed an interest in bonsai in 1969 while a student in Milwaukee. Dave's interest in bonsai matured in New Orleans as an active member of the Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society; where he ultimately left music to start his own bonsai design and consulting business. David is a wonderful teacher who has an incredible eye for design and a vast knowledge of technical skills - from Satsuki Azaleas to Japanese Black Pines to Zelkova. Any club or group who can land David to teach or demonstrate will be very satisfied. Fees upon request.

Cathy Everett: Rainier, WA
360-446-2673
Cathy has been involved in bonsai for over 27 years. She is a member of the Olympia Club and has been teaching for the past 15 years. She cut her teeth on bonsai on the east coast, with her primary mentor being Marian Gillynswan. Cathy has demonstrated expertise with Chinese elms, and over the years has identified which indoor trees do well in the Pacific NW. Cathy will be unavailable to teach or demonstrate until January 2005. Fees upon request.

Glenn Gardiner: Fall City, WA
425-222-3583
Glenn is a longtime PSBA member and has taught bonsai in the NW for many years. He frequently contributes his time at club meetings to help PSBA members refine their trees. Glenn is known throughout the area for his formulaic wiring - having spent his working career as an engineer at Boeing. Fees upon request.

Masa Furukawa: Portland, OR
503-245-4346
Owner of Japan Bonsai which offers bonsai, pre-bonsai, supply supplies and classes. Masa has a rich history in bonsai and horticulture. His favorite tree is any kind but those having an interesting trunk-line and trees with character catch his eye.
Brief bio: 1966 Apprenticed to Toshio Kawamoto (Founder of SAIKEI) Nippon Bonsai-Saikei Art Institute and Meiju-en. In 1967 Graduated from landscape course, Tokyo Agriculture University. In 1971 Masa obtained bonsai-saikei master certification from Nippon Bonsai-Saikei Art Institute. In 1976 Started Fujinomiya Bonsai- Saikei Institute in Shizuoka Japan. 1980 Started Oregon Bonsai-Saikei Institute. Fees upon request.

Joe Harris: Boring, OR
503-663-3822 ext. 297
A native of Memphis, Mr. Harris began his nursery career in 1976 at the young age of eleven working part-time for Brussel Martin at his small bonsai nursery in Germantown, Tennessee. Working in the summer, weekends and after school, Joe helped Brussel's Bonsai Nursery grow into the largest importer and grower of bonsai in North America, now based just outside of Memphis in Olive Branch, Mississippi. From 1986 to 1990, Joe took a break from his duties at Brussel's, and began a four year apprenticeship in Japan at the Kanuma Shizen Bonsai Koen (Kanuma Nature and Bonsai Park) under the watchful eye of bonsai master Makoto Kashimoto. There he learned bonsai design, cultural care and business practices. Joe is now an internationally recognized authority on the art of bonsai, traveling throughout the United States and abroad conducting demonstrations and workshops on bonsai design and cultural care techniques. In late 1996, Joe accepted a job offer from Iseli Nursery, Inc. in Boring, Oregon, where he had been a pruning consultant for several years. Iseli is a wholesale grower of rare and beautiful dwarf conifers, Japanese maples and other select ornamental trees and shrubs. Joe now manages the Japanese maple and Matsunami-en Bonsai® divisions, as well as the pine section of their Living Art® division. Fees upon request.

Jerry Meislik: Whitefish, MT
406-862-0387
Jerry has been actively studying trees and how to grow them in containers and creating bonsai since 1977. Jerry has traveled to several foreign countries to study bonsai and design concepts. Jerry is considered an expert on tropical/indoor bonsai, and the use of native materials for bonsai. His recent book, Ficus: The Exotic Bonsai, is the ultimate resource for information on growing Ficus bonsai. Over the past ten years Jerry has had the opportunity to teach and lecture bonsai and is active in publishing articles on various bonsai topics. Jerry is available to lecture, teach and demonstrate bonsai by appointment. Fees upon request.  Website

John Muth: Seattle, WA
206-242-8244
John is the owner and operator of Bonsai NW, and received much of his instruction from his talented mother, Sharon Muth. John teaches a variety of classes at Bonsai NW and is available to do demonstrations and off-site instruction. Fee upon request.

Sharon Muth: Seattle, WA
206-242-8244
Sharon is the original owner of Bonsai NW, which she founded about 30 years ago and a longtime Puget Sound Bonsai Association member. Sharon has a fine eye for design and excellent technical skills. She has been a wonderful resource to NW bonsai enthusiasts and has passed on her skill and passion to her son John, who now owns and operates Bonsai NW. Fees upon request.

David Rowe: Parkville, BC Canada
250-752-7979
David has been doing bonsai for 25 years, and has been a member of the Toronto Bonsai Society for 23 years. He has served on the executive committee for all but three of those years. The position of editor he held for six years, show chairman six years, vice president for two, and president for one. David has given workshops and demonstrations at the Japanese Cultural Center, in Toronto. Locally he has provided workshops and demonstrations at many of the bonsai clubs. He was one of the headliners at the 1997 BCI convention in Toronto. David has provided demonstrations and workshops across the country, in Rochester, New York, The Vancouver Federation of Bonsai Clubs, the Vancouver Island Bonsai Club in Victoria and, since moving to the Island, David has started a local club where he lives in Parksville, British Columbia. In September 2000, he was one of the three headliners at the Pacific NW Bonsai Convention, held in Victoria, B.C. In 2002 David was be one of the headliners at the ABS Symposium 2002. the 1997 IBC convention he received the Chase Rosade award for design. Fees upon request.

Alan Taft: Portland, OR
503-245-1927
Alan has done some form of bonsai since 1970. Serious learning began with Masahiro Furukawa in 1983, and became a teacher in 1995 at Wee Tree Farm in Corvallis, Or. In 2003 Alan began taking "intensives" with Boon Manakitivipart. His favorite trees are juniper, black pine, and maple. Cascade and Bunjin are favorite forms of bonsai. Alan is available to do lectures, demos, and workshops, and his philosophy is "to help students create their bonsai art, not do it for them". Fees upon request.

Mr. Tak Yamaura: Surrey, BC Canada
604-536-9220
Tak has 30 years of experience in the art and skill of bonsai. He graduated from the University of Agriculture in Tokyo Japan, in 1968. While attending university, Tak was fortunate to receive training from Mr. Toshio Kawamoto, bonsai master of Nippon Bonsai Saikei Institute.
Arriving in Canada in 1970, Tak established "Japan Bonsai" in White Rock, BC. Tak has demonstrated incredible skill with Shimpaku Juniper and Tsukumo Cypress. Fees upon request.

National and International Instructors

Bruce Baker: Ann Arbor, MI
734-662-3695
I got started in bonsai in 1977 after visiting the collection at Longwood Gardens in Kennet Square, Pennsylvania. Since that time he have been very actively pursued bonsai through his personal collection as well as through participation in bonsai organizations. In 1987 he was one of a number of people to be honored as "one of America's Outstanding Bonsai Artists " by the National Bonsai Foundation. A tree he exhibited in the Outstanding American Bonsai invitational exhibition at the International Bonsai Congress '87 is pictured in Randy Clark's book, "Outstanding American Bonsai." He have won many honors for his bonsai, including two Best of Show awards, at the annual Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition in Chicago.
He has demonstrated and lecture for bonsai groups throughout the world. He has been a featured demonstrator and teacher at a number of U.S. regional and national conventions. He has contribute frequently to bonsai publications and was a featured columnist for the American Bonsai Society Journal for four years. One of his articles was translated and published in Czechoslovakia prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union! He have served as president of the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society and the Bonsai Association of Michigan. He have also served as a director and officer of Bonsai Clubs International and a director of the National Bonsai Foundation. Fees upon request.

John Biel: Toronto, ON Canada
E-mail: john.biel@sympatico.ca
John Biel started bonsai about 23 years ago with Bill Valavanis of Rochester, New York. John, a retired Program Analyst, is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he maintains his diverse collection of both collected and nursery stock bonsai.

His bonsai have appeared in many professional bonsai magazines and texts. Most recently, they have been selected every year in the top 100 in the JAL contest. His sinuous larch bonsai was accepted by the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection.

He is past president of the Toronto Bonsai Society (two terms) and serves on the editorial board of International BONSAI magazine. He was also Program Chairman for IBC '97. John has authored many articles for premier bonsai magazines and also presented programs in the US, Canada and the UK. Fees upon request.

David Easterbrook: Montreal, QC Canada
514-872-1400
David has been curator of the Montreal Botanical Garden's bonsai collection since 1982. Among the most prestigious collections in North America, it includes 30 masterpiece bonsai donated by the Nippon Bonsai Association, 40 dwarf potted trees from the collection of Hong Kong banker Dr. Wu Yee-Sun, over 300 penjing donated by the People's Republic of China, new specimens of Vietnamese bonsai and a North American bonsai collection featuring outstanding mature bonsai created by North American experts.
David began growing bonsai in 1970 and is owner of a bonsai nursery. He studied bonsai in Japan in 1981 and teaches regular bonsai classes as well as being a well-known lecturer and demonstrator in northeastern US and Canada and also France. He served as president of the Montreal Bonsai Society in 1982 and 1983 and was chairman of the American Bonsai Society convention which was held in Montreal in July 1988. He has also authored two books on bonsai and bonsai care and techniques. Fees upon request

Guy Guidry: Covington, LA
985- 892-7808
Guy Guidry is a world recognized Bonsai artist. Guy specializes in designing specimen bonsai and is honored to have several of his bonsai trees on permanent display in National Museums around the U.S.A. Guy has pioneered many techniques involved in growing and designing better bonsai. Guy is particularly well known for his techniques used for creating taper in large Louisiana Bald Cypress trees. These techniques have made it possible for more people to enjoy this fantastic material as bonsai. Guy is a very talented and enthusiastic bonsai artist who enjoys traveling the U.S. and abroad, teaching and sharing his knowledge of the art. Fees upon request.

Erine Kuo: Califorina
E-mail: erniekuo@sbcglobal.net
born in China and raised in Hong Kong, Ernie came to the United States for college and received his degrees in Chemical Engineering. He worked as a forensic chemist until 1987. His bonsai life began in 1979 when his wife Margaret urged him to start a hobby and enrolled him in a bonsai class. Since then, Ernie has been a typical bonsai enthusiast, collecting specimens from nurseries, mountains, front yards and back yards. He learned from his mentor John Naka that the best way to learn bonsai is to teach bonsai. Thus in 1987, he began teaching bonsai at Cypress College in Orange County. Later in 1990, he also taught at UCLA Extensions. In 1991, he went to Japan to study under Masahiko Kimura for three months. Currently, he teaches two bonsai classes out of his home. He has traveled coast to coast in the United States and to Europe, South America, Australia and Asia to give workshops, lectures and demonstrations.
He has published articles in the Golden Statements, Bonsai in California, Journal of the American Bonsai Society, the Bonsai Clubs International magazine, Bonsai Today, Bonsai Arte E Natura (Italian), Bonsai Creativ (German) and Bonsai (German). His bonsai won the Bonsai Club International Ben Oki Design Award in 1993 and 1994 and first prizes in the Kindai Bonsai Magazine (Japanese) Readers' Sakufuten in 1994 and 1995. Fees upon request.

Colin Lewis: Salem, MA
978-745-6940
Colin hails from Great Britain and has been practicing bonsai for over 30 years. His dry wit, attention to detail and aesthetic eye for design make Colin a wonderful teacher and demonstrator. Colin has published a number of bonsai books, including The Art of Bonsai Design; Bonsai Survival Manual; Bonsai: a care manual; and several other books. Colin has won numerous awards for his bonsai work. He is Founder and Principal of the Hô Yoku School of Bonsai. Fees upon request.

Boon Manakitivipart: Alameda, CA
510-865-1008
Boon's start in bonsai was the result of a birthday gift: a small juniper bonsai. Before long, he joined the Bonsai Society of San Francisco, the club through which he took his first beginner class in the spring of 1989. Anxious to learn as much as possible about bonsai, Boon studied with as many teachers as he could find in California.

In 1993, the Golden State Bonsai Federation awarded Boon a Teacher Development Scholarship; two years later, he received the Ben Oki International Design Award for styling a Sierra juniper. In 1995, Boon received several informal offers to study bonsai in Japan. Several months later he traveled to Japan where he studied bonsai for one year as an apprentice with Yasuo Mitsuya. Following his apprenticeship, Boon returned to Japan twice a year to continue his study with Kihachiro Kamiya until his passing in January, 2004.

In 1998, Boon founded and became the teacher of Bay Island Bonsai, and started his business, Bonsai Boon. Boon is available for demonstrations and focused workshops. He conducts Bonsai Intensives at his home in Alameda, CA. Fees upon request.

Cheryl Manning: Los Angeles CA
E-mail: cmanning@wgn.net
Cheryl is from Los Angeles and began working in bonsai in 1981 learning her basic skills from Murata Bonsai Nursery in Orange County pursuing then studies with John Naka, Ben Oki, Harry Hirao and Jim Barrett. In 1994, sponsored by the Golden State Bonsai Federation, she spent a year-long apprenticeship with Yasua Mitsuya in Toyohashi, Japan. Cheryl, who was a popular featured presenter at the American Bonsai Society in Milwaukee in 2002, is a member of the Japan Nippon Bonsai Association and a board member of the National Bonsai Foundation in Washington, DC. Fee upon request.

Roy Nagatoshi: Sylmar, CA
818-362-5476
Roy Nagatoshi (with his father Shigeru) owns Fuji Bonsai Nursery in Sylmar, outside of Los Angeles, California. Roy became involved in bonsai in 1959, and by 1968 both Roy and his father were teaching at their nursery. Roy holds a Bachelor Degree in ornamental Horticulture, and makes frequent appearances, teaching and demonstrating bonsai all over the U.S.

Roy was credited for creating bonsai for a major motion picture, Karate Kid III, in 1990, and was also involved in a bonsai educational video professionally produced by Puget Sound Bonsai Association, with funding provided by Weyerhaeuser Company of Tacoma, Washington.

He is the President of the California Bonsai Society, and was Chairman of the 40th Anniversary Convention, held in the Spring of 1997. Fees upon request.

Ben Oki: Culver City, CA
310-827-3466
Japanese-American was horn in Sacramento, California, in 1927. At age six, he moved to Japan, where he learned Japanese landscape and stone techniques. In 1950, Ben returned to the United States after graduating from Matsu Moto Business School, and has managed his entrepreneurship in landscape gardening ever since.

Ben is admired and in high demand worldwide as a Japanese Garden designer, especially for his use of stones in his compositions. Ben's design work includes the garden of screen star Cybil Shepard in Tennessee, and others in the Pacific Islands and South America. Ben is a curator of the Bonsai Collections at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.
Ben studied bonsai under world master John Naka, and has assisted him with demonstrations and meetings. Ben has become one of the internationally known bonsai masters, and takes a key role at conventions by conducting workshops, demonstrations, and critique sessions.
Ben has been growing and teaching bonsai since 1958, specializing in California juniper. He shares his hands-on experience and expertise in his article, Collecting California Junipers, published in a British magazine. He is well known for his rugged, freeform style, fine detail work, fast wiring, and skillful tree-splitting techniques.

The Satsuki Society in Los Angeles has awarded Ben "Best in Show" in their bonsai competition for four consecutive years. In 1989, Los Angeles Consul General of Japan Seki Hiromoto honored Ben with a prestigious recognition of his RYU NO MA!, "Dancing Dragon," a collected California juniper. In 1991, the tree became a part of the North American Collection at the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, United States National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Ben's 35-year-old hackberry is displayed as a part of the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection of the Weyerhaeuser in Tacoma, Washington.

In Indiana, Cheryl and Charles Owens honored Ben with both the Ben Old International Design Award and the Ben Old National Design Award-the awards for excellence in bonsai design quality sponsored by Bonsai Clubs International (BCI) and the American Bonsai Society, respectively. Since 1984, Ben has been leading "Ben Oki's Japan Bonsai Tour" to visit gardens, nurseries, and pottery shops.
Ben is a former vice president of the California Bonsai Society, and a program chairman of the Satsuki Society. Ben is also an active member of other bonsai organizations, including the American Bonsai Society, the BCI, the Nampu Kal, and the Southern California Chapter of the Japanese Satsuki Society. Fees upon request.

Chase Rosade: New Hope, PA
215-862-5925
Chase has always had enthusiasm for horticulture. He saw and worked with his first Bonsai in the mid 50's (he still has a Japanese Maple started from seed in 1958), and has a degree in Ornamental Horticulture from Delaware Valley College. In 1963/64 as a world traveler, Chase had the opportunity to apprentice Bonsai with Kyozo Yodshida of Nara, Japan for 8 months. With the purchase of 10 acres in Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1970, the Rosade Bonsai Studio opened its doors.

Chase maintains an extensive teaching and lecture schedule and does some writing. He has served as President and board member of many bonsai organizations while still having a little time for a home life, which revolves around Bonsai.

In the past few years Chase has given programs for hundreds of Bonsai clubs and groups as well as the American Bonsai Society, International Bonsai Congress, the MidWest Bonsai Alliance, the International Bonsai Arboretum, the Golden State Bonsai Federation, and the Latin American Bonsai Federation with lectures throughout South America. He has taken extended lecture tours to Europe and Asia, presenting programs in Switzerland, Germany, England, and the European Bonsai Association as well as India, Philippines and Japan.

Chase likes medium to large size bonsai in all styles and species. One might think he favors Pines, Junipers, Maples and Azaleas but he is quick to point out that his favorite tree is the one he is working on. Fees upon request.

Kathy Shaner: San Jose, CA
408-226-6625
Starting her career in Bonsai in 1983, Kathy Shaner has become Internationally known and Recognized for her excellence in the art of Bonsai. After becoming a member of ten Bonsai clubs and studying under several of California's most respected Bonsai instructors, she was granted the opportunity to study in Toyohashi, Japan. There she worked for Yasuo Mitsuya, winner of Minister of Education and Kokufu Awards, among others. He realized that her drive and passion for Bonsai went far deeper than a simple hobbyist's desire and that she had a great talent. Mr. Mitsuya encouraged Kathy to complete the full 5-year apprenticeship, which she did in 1994. This was a double first for both Japan and Kathy Shaner. She was the first non-Japanese citizen and first woman to be certified by the Nippon Bonsai Kyodo Kumaii, the professional Bonsai grower's branch of the Nippon Bonsai Kyokai (Japan Bonsai Association).

Since that time, Kathy's career has taken off in many directions. Conducting seminars, and full-day workshops, lecturing on-site and working on private collections are some of Kathy's many Bonsai activities. Students are taught the art and culture of Bonsai using her creative specialized methods. Her critiques are a highly regarded part of the program and have set a standard for other instructors.
She is the curator of the Golden State Bonsai Collection-North at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. Display of this collection opened in the fall of 1999. Fees upon request.

Arthur Skolnik
E-mail: shibui@rogers.com
He was born in 1953 and grew up in Quebec City, Canada. He has lived in Toronto since 1989 and previous to that, in Montreal for 12 years. His educational background is biology and psychology. When he was between jobs in 1980, he saw a (life altering) display of newly imported Bonsai from Japan at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. He read everything he could find on the subject, took a workshop, practiced a lot, then opened a Bonsai business in Montreal. He imported trees from Japan, Taiwan, China and the U.S. and passed on his passion for Bonsai to many people. In 1984 he was invited to live and work with a Bonsai grower in Shikoku, Japan. His video, " The Growing Art of Bonsai", is considered by many well known and respected sources as being the best English language video on the market. Currently he has several more projects in development. He has lectured and demonstrated on Bonsai, Viewing Stones and Japanese Gardens to local and international Bonsai and horticultural societies, TV and radio stations, in English and French. He was on the organizing committee of the American Bonsai Society convention in Montreal in 1988 and was a Director of the Montreal Bonsai Society. He was Vice President of the Toronto Bonsai Society and served two consecutive terms on the Board of Directors of Bonsai Clubs International. He was on the organizing committee for B.C.I. '97 in Toronto, and on the Feature Garden Committee for Canada Blooms, a flower and garden show produced by the Garden Club of Toronto and Landscape Ontario. He is a member in good standing of Landscape Ontario and his garden displays have twice won first prize in the Feature Garden Competition of the Canadian National Exhibition. At Canada Blooms, he was awarded "Best Japanese Garden", one year and the Sheridan Award another year for the best garden under 1000 square feet. He has contributed to many international publications including 'International Bonsai', 'Bonsai Magazine' (BCI), 'The North American Viewing Stone Society', 'Bonsai', (the British Bonsai Magazine) and the Journals of the Swedish and Belgian Bonsai Societies. Three of his favorite Viewing Stones have been accepted into a permanent display at the US National Arboretum. At the BCI convention in 1996 in Washington D.C. he won the Rosade "Excellence in Design" award for his Shohin Bonsai display. At the M.A.B.A. convention in Detroit Michigan, June '00, Mr. Kimura of Japan awarded his Ficus retusa 2nd prize in the masterpiece display. At the Millennum Bonsai contest in Rochester New York, Sept.'00, his Shimpaku Juniper won 3rd prize. Both times he submitted photos of his trees to the JAL (World's 100 Best) contest, they were accepted. Fees upon request.

John Thompson: San Jose, CA
408- 371-7737
John's experience and bonsai collection encompass a wide range of species and styles. He is a recognized authority on the development of bonsai techniques for Native Oaks. He especially enjoys working on collected specimens of Oak, Juniper and Boxwood. Collecting from the wild as well as the neighborhood and maintaining a growing ground for development of material yield a stream of interesting pre-bonsai for his avocation.

JT emphasizes the active "Doing of Bonsai," and incorporates the natural forms that exist around us with the unique characteristics of the individual tree. He believes in touching and enjoying his trees every day. Fees upon request.

Bill Valavanis: Rochester, NY
585-334-2595
Bill's interest in bonsai started very early for him. He began lecturing to garden clubs in the Charleston, West Virginia area when he was only sixteen. In 1970, Bill went to Japan to begin his bonsai studies in earnest. There he studied with Kyuzo Murata, Toshio Kawamoto, Kakutaro and bonsai chrysanthemums with Tameji Nakajima. To learn more about Japanese design and line, he studied with the Shofu School of Ikebana and received a master's teaching certificate. Bill graduated from the State University of New York at Farmingdale in 1971, majoring in Ornamental Horticulture. He began teaching regular bonsai classes in Rochester and traveling extensively teaching classical bonsai art. After graduation from Cornell University in 1976, he lived, studied and taught bonsai courses at the Yoshimura School of Bonsai with Yuji Yoshimura. Bill lives in the Rochester area and his business The International Bonsai Arboretum reflects his dedication to the promotion of the international artistic and Horticultural expression of classical Bonsai art through propagation and education. He began publishing International BONSAI in 1979, now reaching over 50 countries. Fees upon request

Bob Wilcox: Toronto, ON Canada
416-533-7111
Bob is currently president of the Toronto Bonsai Society. He gives credit to early training in architecture which led to a career in the graphic arts - most recently he works as a book designer. His specialty has been the collection of wild trees in Ontario. Larch, pine and cedar are levered out of pockets on the rocky shores of cool, northern lakes and, occasionally, apples and hawthorn are dug from farmers' fields. He was a finalist for the Ben Oki Award in 1999 and has had trees featured each year in the Japan Airlines competition. Fees upon request

Zhao (Brook) Quinquan: Yanghou Jiangsu, China (0514)7352417
Zhao is an internationally recognized expert in Penjing. Growing up in Yangzhou, China both his father and grandfather had penjing collections. Zhao, author of Penjing: Worlds of Wonderment, has been creating penjing for over 25 years. To watch a Zhao demo or to partake in one of his workshops is a true delight. Zhao is a gracious and talented artist. Fee upon request.