ABS Learning Seminars
Artist Bios
Headline Bonsai Artists
Welcome to the pinnacle of creativity and innovation! As we delve into the heart of the Learning Seminars, we are honored to introduce our headline artists whose ingenious mastery of their craft has illuminated the world of bonsai. With their unparalleled expertise and visionary zeal, they redefine the boundaries of creativity, inviting us all on a journey where imagination knows no limits. Please join us in welcoming these trailblazers whose artistry transcends convention, paving the way for the extraordinary.
Eli Akins
Eli Akins has been creating ceramics-specifically for the art of bonsai-for over twelve years. He began with foundational classes at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta, Georgia, studying under instructors Glenn Dair and Lora Rust. His practice deepened through a mentorship with renowned American bonsai potters Ron Lang and Sharon Edwards Russell.
Eli’s passion for bonsai began early in life and evolved into a dedicated pursuit as an adult. Immersing himself in the bonsai world naturally led to a fascination with the containers that support and complement the trees. This interest was further nurtured by the extensive pot collection of his bonsai mentors, Rodney and Charlie Clemons of Allgood Bonsai, and the imaginative work of his cousin, artist Dedo Maranville. These influences helped ignite his journey into pottery and continue to inspire his creative exploration.
Scott Barboza
Dr. Scott Barboza was introduced to bonsai by a close friend while living in California in 1990. Bonsai neatly married his passion for hiking and the outdoors with his love of gardening and a longtime fascination was born. He took introductory classes through the Sacramento Bonsai Society, but his serious study began in Seattle where he took workshops at Elandan Garden, Mt. Si Bonsai and Weyerhaeuser‘s Pacific Rim Bonsai Exhibit. After moving to Houston in the late 1990s, Scott became a member of the Houston Bonsai Society and began studying with Boonyarat Manakitivipart with whom he has worked for many years. Scott held many positions in Houston, including Vice President. He has lectured extensively, taught numerous classes and workshops, and helped to organize several conventions and exhibitions. He is currently serving as Secretary and Convention Chair for the American Bonsai Society.
Scott’s trees have won numerous awards at local, state, and regional competitions and he has exhibited trees at the Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition in San Francisco and the US National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester. He is currently building his home and garden in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.
Bjorn Bjorholm
Bjorn L Bjorholm, owner of Eisei-en Kyoto Bonsai Garden, is a bonsai professional and instructor who spent six years as an apprentice under Master Keiichi Fujikawa at Kouka-en bonsai nursery in Osaka, Japan before receiving certification as a bonsai professional by the Nippon Bonsai Association. His tenure as an apprentice at Kouka-en was followed by three years as artist-in-residence at the same location, making him the first foreign-born working bonsai professional in Japan. During his time in Japan, Bjorn’s works have been featured in the Kokufu-ten, Sakufu-ten, and Taikan-ten exhibitions, among many others.
In addition to his work in Japan, Bjorn travels the world, from Europe to Asia to Latin America, teaching bonsai art and providing services to private clients and international organizations. He operates intensive bonsai schools with affiliate nurseries in Spain and the United States, while also working with international bonsai organizations.
Sergio Cuan
Sergio Cuan is a Cuban American visual artist who graduated with a BFA in Art and Design from Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. He has a passion for painting and horticulture alike, and when he realized early on that bonsai was the ideal synthesis of both, he became fascinated with bonsai as an art form.
Sergio is a largely self-taught bonsai artist leaning on his artistic background to help hone his bonsai skills. Sergio has taken workshops with prominent bonsai masters Bill Valavanis, Mauro Stemberger, and Bjorn Bjorholm to further his education. Although he works on a wide range of species, Sergio has developed a particular interest and passion for the deciduous genre.
In 2014 he built a bonsai garden in northern New Jersey, in a beautiful setting surrounded by rolling hills, lakes, and deciduous forests which continues to influence his work. The garden, inspired primarily by Japanese aesthetics, features a diverse bonsai collection of various sizes and styles. Sergio believes that bonsai as a true art form shares commonalities with painting, drawing, and sculpture. Although the artist is bound by the physical limitations of the plant material itself, bonsai can be effective vehicles for self-expression. But unlike other art forms, bonsai is alive and in a constant state of flux. The bonsai practice is an intimate and continued dialogue between artist and nature. This relationship gives this art form its own unique dimension. Sergio also believes that one must allow the tree to guide us as we strive to capture a nuanced but powerful expression of nature in its most essential form.
Sergio travels throughout the US and abroad leading in-person lectures, demos and workshops as well as offering virtual consultations and a digital bonsai design service. He also conducts several workshops throughout the year from his own studio and garden. Sergio most recently illustrated Michael Hagedorn’s latest and much celebrated book BONSAI HERESY. In 2023 he was chosen by Walter Pall to participate in the annual Master Class held at the Bonsaigarten München in Germany. His bonsai have appeared in many publications including International Bonsai Magazine, Bonsai Focus and Bonsai Bark blog. He has shown at numerous exhibitions and has received several awards including “Finest Deciduous Award” at the 4th US National Bonsai Exhibition in Rochester, NY, and “Best in Show” at the 2016 Winter Sillouhette Expo in Kannapolis, NC.
Drake Fowler
Drake Fowler leads The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville as Executive Director. For the past decade, he has overseen the Arboretum’s $10 million annual budget, supported by both public and private funding. As a licensed landscape architect, Drake played a key role in developing the Arboretum’s 20-year master plan, guiding the future of its 435 acres. He has also expanded the Arboretum’s development efforts by connecting with donors and increasing support from 20,000 member households.
Drake is involved in several professional organizations. He served as president of the North Carolina Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and chaired the Chief Financial Officer Working Group for the American Public Garden Association. In this role, he helped CFOs from over 600 public gardens share strategies and compare financial data.
Drake earned a Bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Michigan State University and an MBA from Western Carolina University. In 2020, he joined the first group of participants in The University of North Carolina’s Executive Leadership Institute.
John Geanangel
John Geanangel, a resident of South Carolina, has been practicing bonsai for more than 38 years. A retired K-12 educator, John’s interest in bonsai was piqued, like many others, by the original Karate Kid movie. His interests in bonsai include Bald Cypress, Winged Elm, Water Elm, Hornbeams collecting, developing forest material and creating group compositions.
In 1991, assisting his first teacher, Tom Dimig, John was an early member and contributor to the Bonsai Club of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. A major highlight of John’s bonsai career was presenting more than 20 demonstrations at the annual Carolina Bonsai Expo, often in conjunction with Arthur Joura and Ken Duncan. John and fellow club members also enjoyed many successes in the club-display competition at the Expo, which earned their club, and later their Black Creek Study Group, the title of the club to beat.
Starting in 2006, John was one of the first bonsai artists to teach the art through YouTube, eventually posting nearly 200 videos. He continues sharing his work now on Facebook and Instagram. Today, John, and his wife, Cindy, spend much time enjoying and tending to their garden and nursery. In retirement, John is often found creating and teaching in the studio or out in the woods enjoying nature.
John is recognized as an expert in the use of Taxodium species for bonsai, and recreating its varied and unique natural forms in bonsai design. Decades of collecting and working with this species have offered him a wealth of hands-on experience that he loves to share.
Arthur Joura
Arthur Joura is the Curator of Bonsai for the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Mr. Joura has a unique approach and a unique philosophy of bonsai which often makes him controversial and always makes him a refreshing pleasure to hear. He is an accomplished artist, not only of bonsai, but on canvass and in any other medium he chooses to work in. Mr. Joura believes strongly in an American approach to the art and in the use of native plant materials. Through his stewardship, the North Carolina Arboretum collection has grown into one of the best in the U.S. In his development of the Arboretum’s collection (which now numbers over 200 specimens, plus many others in production), Joura constantly seeks to forge connections between the art of bonsai and the Arboretum’s mission to promote appreciation of the flora and culture of the Southern Appalachians. He has introduced to bonsai culture more than 50 different species native to western North Carolina, and created several tray landscapes depicting well-known natural sites of the region. Perhaps of even greater significance, the model for the Arboretum’s bonsai plantings as Joura styles them is not the bonsai depicted in books and magazines, but rather the example of nature as represented by the wild trees of the forests and mountain tops of the Blue Ridge region. Joura feels that this is a return to the roots of bonsai as an artistic expression, not of a certain culture, but of an individual’s experience of the natural world around them.
Felix Laughlin
Felix’s introduction to bonsai began in 1972, when his wife, Betty Gayle, gave him his first few trees while they were living in New York City. She thought he needed a calming counterbalance to his career as a corporate tax lawyer.
In 2010, Felix and Betty Gayle moved with their bonsai collection to Asheville, North Carolina. There, Felix spent the following year designing and building an Asian-inspired garden, whimsically named “Kinkaku-ji” after the famed Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. The garden features a Japanese-style pavilion overlooking a dry landscape garden where bonsai are displayed among naturally arranged boulders, all enclosed within a stone wall defining its rectangular perimeter.
Felix currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Bonsai Society and the Society Board of Directors of The North Carolina Arboretum. He is Chairman Emeritus of both the National Bonsai Foundation (NBF) and the World Bonsai Friendship Federation, Inc. (WBFF).
Bryan Mercer
Bryan Mercer, co-owner and teacher at the Bonsai Learning Center, discovered bonsai while traveling in Japan. Captivated by the beauty and artistry of the trees he encountered, he returned home and enrolled in a beginner class—sparking a passion that has never wavered. Since then, Bryan has visited Japan with a deeper understanding of bonsai, an experience that further fueled his commitment to elevating American bonsai practice. Known for his approachable and encouraging teaching style, Bryan invites each student to find their own path in bonsai—whether by following tradition or by experimenting with new ideas. He believes bonsai should be a personal journey, one that blends horticulture, art, and individual expression.
Kaya Mooney
Kaya Mooney is a 28-year-old American who has dedicated the past several years to bonsai. He traveled to Japan to study with bonsai master Keichii Fujikawa, where he learned about cultivation, design, and tree care by working directly with the trees.
After years of focused training, Kaya received his professional certification from the Nippon Bonsai Association, which was a significant step in his career. Now working on his own, he continues to improve his skills, cares for client trees, finds special bonsai pots and tools, and teaches workshops. Living and working in both Japan and the U.S., Kaya aims to connect Eastern and Western bonsai traditions and help others appreciate this living art.
Andrew Robson
Andrew Robson is an award winning deciduous artist in the American bonsai community. He completed a 3 year apprenticeship with Michael Hagedorn, after graduating from Yale University. Andrew also studied shohin bonsai display with Daisaku Nomoto, an award-winning Japanese shohin master and judge at Gafu-ten. Andrew is the President of the Bonsai Society of Portland, the largest bonsai club in the United States. He regularly exhibits work at the Portland Japanese Garden and lectures at the garden’s Japanese Arts Learning Center. Andrew is a host of the Bonsai Wire Podcast and regularly creates new episodes with the other hosts and prominent figures in the bonsai community. Andrew resides at his deciduous garden RAKUYO-en with his golden retriever Bailey, where he teaches and shares the art of deciduous bonsai.
Brad Russell
Brad Russell is a bonsai professional and enthusiast who co-owns The Bonsai Learning Center. The center is known throughout the Southeast for its wide range of bonsai supplies and educational programs. Brad first discovered bonsai while working in landscaping, thanks to his teacher Randy Clark, the former owner of the center. Inspired by Randy, Brad worked hard to learn more about bonsai aesthetics and horticulture. After three years working with Randy, Brad joined forces with Bryan Mercer to take over the center and run the business together. Over time, Brad has learned from bonsai artists around the world, building his skills in both the art and science of bonsai and sharing his knowledge with clients and students. He has won several first-place awards for his trees in juried events and stays busy teaching bonsai classes and workshops. Brad recently reopened the center at its new Statesville location and is excited to keep promoting bonsai and inspiring others in the community.
Shannon Salyer
Shannon has been practicing and studying bonsai for 25 years. During that time, he has studied with several prominent artists such as Warren Hill and Bjorn Bjorholm. Over the years Shannon has become increasingly passionate about Shohin bonsai. Today he owns and operates Kusa Farm, which specializes in the propagation and promotion of material for Shohin bonsai. He has won sever regional and National awards for his Shohin bonsai and display.
Sylvia Smith
Fascinated by Japanese gardens and artwork, Sylvia Smith partnered with her husband, Howard, to open the bonsai nursery “BonsaiSmiths” in 1996. Sylvia’s bonsai education blossomed further in 2001 when she and Howard began studying under Boonyarat Manakitiviapart, eventually becoming Boon’s first intensive graduates. Building on her long-standing leadership in the Bonsai Society of Dallas, she hosted numerous international artists and organized several conventions. She was a student of Nick Lenz for a year and was fortunate to have worked directly with the great Masahiko Kimura and Shinji Suzuki. Since then, her artistic journey has continued: she curates personal collections, appears frequently at seminars and conventions, and her trees have won numerous awards at state, regional, and national events, all of which contribute to her growing legacy.
Preston Tolbert
Preston Tolbert is a full time artist working in Statesville, NC. He studied ceramics at Western Carolina University under Professor Joan Byrd. While at WCU he met his wife Sara Tolbert, also a potter. There he also began making bonsai pots and collecting trees with the guidance of Robert Wallace. After graduation in 2007, Sara and Preston moved to Clarkdale, Arizona to be assistants to ceramic sculptor Don Reitz.
After moving back to North Carolina in 2010, they built a small wood soda kiln and opened a pottery shop in Old Fort. In 2014, Preston enrolled in grad school at The University of Mississippi with Matt Long. After graduation, he and Sara once again moved back to North Carolina, this time to Statesville, where they currently operate Warehouse Arts, a facility for workshops, artist residency, and ceramics equipment manufacturing. Preston also teaches Ceramics at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC.
Rob Wallace
I received my B.F.A. in Painting and Art Education from Ohio University in 1999. Shortly afterward, I moved to North Carolina, where I discovered the art of bonsai at the 1999 Carolina Bonsai Expo. That experience shifted my perspective—from painting nature’s beauty to sculpting with living trees and plants.
With some background in clay from my undergraduate studies, I began exploring how to create containers for bonsai and other horticultural plantings. This curiosity deepened when I returned to school to pursue my master’s degree. In 2007, I earned my M.A.Ed. from Western Carolina University, focusing on ceramics, bonsai, and their connection to art education. During that time, I also learned wood firing and soda glazing techniques, both of which I now frequently incorporate into my work.
Today, I live in Columbus, NC, with my wonderful wife and our two sons. I teach high school art, tend to a growing collection of bonsai, and run a home pottery studio. I recently built a new hybrid kiln capable of firing with both wood and gas, which I use alongside an electric kiln to create one-of-a-kind, high-quality bonsai containers.