West Coast Bonsai Artist
"Because it takes a lifetime to become a Bonsai Master"
Artist: Michael Klasno
Location: Riverside, California
Current number of trees: I guess I have over 100 bonsai plus numerous succulents.
Interest in bonsai: Over 20 years
Class: Advanced
Best bonsai talent; Picking good, inexpensive start material
Patience level; very good
Worst bonsai habit: "Forgetting I live in a desert, I still kill a tree now and then"
Here is an interview we did with Michael Klasno in December 2004.
MK Over 20 years ago, 1984 I think, I attended a local show and won the demo plant in the raffle. It later died from over zelous triming and my lack of basic bonsai knowledge but it sparked the interest. I have serously studied for about 12 years now.
WCB What talent class would you say you fall into?
MK "I consider myself an advanced novice". I say this because it truly takes a lifetime to become a Bonsai Master. Over the last nearly two decades I have read everything I could get my hands on, styled 100's of trees and attended dozens of work shops and trade show seminars and I am still at a loss for words to explain the shear artistic talent of a true bonsai master like Kyuzo Murata or the late John Yoshio Naka.
WCB You say you are studing serously. Are you currently taking classes?
MK Yes, I currently take monthly classes with Masaru Ishii from the "Chikugo-En" Bonsai Nursery. They are more like informal work shops. "Mas" and his son Gary specializes in Kishu Shimpaku. Mas is one of the fields pioneers in the art of grafting shimpaku juniper to mature San Jose juniper stock. He has some amazing trees.
I have also had the good fortune to take a great work shop at Chikugo-En with Kenji Miyata from Japan. Having experienced "Kenji Style" I now know how far I must take my trees to reach the inspirational, and exceptional level that these "Masters" have reached.
WCB Tell us a little about your collection.
MK Most of the plants in my collection have been with me for many years. Some were purchased from private collections or were pre-bonsai bought from bonsai nurseries around Southern California or purchased at shows. As I have matured in the art I have taken on bigger projects and purchased better plants. Some of my plants I actually started from cuttings or seeds These are" my babies" and are a long way fom true bonsai but they bring me great satisfaction.
WCB What is your favorite type of tree to work on?
MK Junipers and olives trees, they are eaisly the most forgiving species for where I live. I have the most fun finding stock in nuseries or home depot and doing a little magic to turn them into much smaller virsions of there former selfs.
WCB Have you ever "collected" plants in the wild?
MK No I have always wanted to go on a dig but the opportunity has not presented itself when my schedule would allow me to partisipate. A few plants in my collection were dug from gardens does that count? I do actually have three california Junipers that were dug up from mountain sides but they were all purchased from private collections.
WCB One last question. What advise would you give to beginners in bonsai?
MK I would tell them to study and always remember that Good bonsai stock can come from any where. I have one or two nice plants that were even saved from the trash. Patience, training, proper fertilizer and a little tender loving care can make even the ugliest plant bloom into a living work of art.
MK My pleasure