Ryan Neil Interview from 5/9/2011

Ryan Neil grew up in the rocky mountains of Colorado. He spent 6 years studying in Japan under the guidance of the Magician Masahiko Kimura. Ryan has returned to the States and now resides in Oregon. I had the pleasure of meeting Ryan at Nature’s Way Bonsai on May 9, 2011. The following is a brief interview with the new master.

SM: So how do you like being back in the US and traveling around the country doing demos and workshops?

RN: How do I like it? I like it. I love it! I love being home. It was a tough adjustment at first, to come back to the United States because after 6 years, a lot had changed…but ultimately I’m an American at hears, so being back in the United States is a good thing for me.

SM: So do you miss being in Japan?

RN: No.

SM: No?

RN: No, I don’t miss being in Japan.

SM: Would you like to go back to visit?

RN: I would like to go back to be reminded of the things that were valuable about my apprenticeship, but the thing that people don’ understand about being an apprentice is it’s not fun, and my time in Japan wasn’t enjoyable. I was there to learn bonsai; every day was dedicated towards that, and now I’m trying to take that and apply it to my life here, so…My time in Japan wasn’t fun time and my feelings about that are more or less associated with what I went through and not the good times that I had.

SM: Gotcha. So what was the greatest lesson you learned while you were studying there?

RN: Greatest lesson – how to think.

SM: How to think.

RN: Mr. Kimura used to always tell us that you can do anything that you want if you learn how to think, and so more than teach us how to do bonsai he taught us why we were doing what we were doing. He taught us to use our heads, to figure problems out before  we ever encountered them, taught us how to think about the fundamental reasons behind the techniques and the things that we were doing through to the trees.

SM: So the whys and the hows?

RN: The why.

SM: Gotcha.

RN: The why. If you know the why, you can figure out the when, where, what and how.

SM: Gotcha. Any cool tricks of the trade that you would like to share?

RN: Cool tricks of the trade…

SM: Other than the callusmate? Which I am definitely going to check into.

RN: Cool tricks of the trade? You know, as far as I’m concerned, there aren’t a whole lot of tricks in bonsai. Bonsai is a very fundamental thing. It’s a matter of understanding what you’re doing and why you’re doing it that allows you to develop tricks. The only trick that I would have to show somebody is how to fundamentally style a branch, how to fundamentally wire a tree, how to fundamentally water, how to fundamentally re pot. Those are the only tricks I’d have to show anyone.

SM: Excellent. Where do you see yourself in, let’s say, 10 years from now?

RN: Ten years? You know, when I came back from Japan, I really debated whether or not I should consider where I’m going to be in 10 years, or what I’m striving to achieve in 10 years, and I've sort of realized that regardless how much I think about that it’s hard to really grasp what’s really going to happen with bonsai in the United States in that period of time. I hope – I hope in 10 years that bonsai has grown to the point where professionals can comfortably make a living and pursue creating excellent art. I hope that people develop and appreciation for the skill that others have really gone out of their way to learn and become proficient at, and I hope that at some point it’s something that people value. I hope that Americans take it upon themselves to dedicate their attention towards learning and improving their technique and ability to care for trees, but where it’s going to go, I really don’t have a clear vision of that in the future.

SM: One last question. What are your thoughts on grafting Shimpaku branches onto say like a Hollywood or a California Juniper?

RN: I don’t have any qualms with trying to improve the quality of a tree, so as opposed to saying ‘this tree is a natural tree, and I’m not going to graft on it’, I would never take that stance because if we’re trying to create the best tree, the best art, the best product possible, sometimes we have to expedite the process or improve the quality and characteristics of the material that we’re working on. However, I think that our native species, western species, collected from the mountains, the Rocky Mountain, the California, the Utah, the Sierra Juniper? I think that there are techniques  and I think there are methods of cultivating trees that will enable us to maximize the potential and quality of the foliage that they DO possess. So as opposed to just simply referring to and depending on Japanese cultivars of foliage to create good trees, I hope that people in the future are willing to dedicate more time and attention, and have a bit more patience when learning how to manage our western species.

SM: I agree. I agree.

RN: So, that’s one thing that I’m really spending a lot of time trying to do.

SM: Well thank you very much.