Peter Adams began his art career in the 1950s at the age of 12, gaining a graduate degree from the Farnham School of Art in 1959, followed by a post-graduate degree in painting from the Royal Academy Schools, in London.

Peter has had numerous careers in the arts, working in portraiture, cartooning, advertising, television, and teaching. He has been a bonsai nurseryman for 25 years. He now lectures worldwide, is a best selling author on the subject of bonsai as an art medium, and has received a special award from the Association of British Bonsai Artists (ABBA): "Most Prestigious Award for Raising the Standard of British Bonsai to that of an Art Form."

As an artist, Peter has devoted over 50 years to the medium of bonsai and is the author of over ten books and numerous articles on bonsai.

Although originally from England, Peter now lives in Washington State where he continues to work as an artist and author.

David DeGroot of Puyallup, Washington is curator of the Weyerhaeuser Company's Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection near Seattle. Dave 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.

Larry Jackel saw his first bonsai at the Midwest Show in 1972 and has been actively studying bonsai and acquiring trees ever since. A move to Denver in 1976 connected Larry with the Rocky Mountain Bonsai Society. This club provided the nurturing necessary to become proficient with the art and craft of bonsai. The Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, to the west of Denver, provided the pines, in particular, Pinus ponderosa, the Ponderosa Pine that Larry has been studying and developing as bonsai over the past thirty years.

The acquisition of knowledge and experience with the Ponderosa Pine has given Larry the opportunity to teach about this pine in demonstrations and workshops across the country. Larry, a retired science teacher, lives in Aurora, Colorado with his wife, Kathy.

Robert Kempinski is a rising star in the global bonsai community. He won the North American New Talent Bonsai Competition in 2002. He has had several trees displayed in the Japanese Top 100 Bonsai Trees in the World Competition and in shows across America, including the annual Walt Disney World Bonsai Display where over 400,000 people each year view the trees and the World Bonsai Convention. He is the Executive Director of the Bonsai Clubs International and was on the Board of the Bonsai Societies of Florida. Mr. Kempinski has written numerous articles about bonsai for The American Bonsai Society Magazine, Bonsai Clubs International Magazine, Florida Bonsai Magazine, and the Bonsai Today Magazine On-line. He also had an article published in American Woodworker, a 300,000 monthly circulation magazine by Rodale Press. Mr. Kempinski has traveled all over the US and the world, including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and India studying bonsai and giving bonsai lectures and demonstrations. He resides in Florida with his wife and daughter and where he maintains an excellent collection of bonsai trees and provides bonsai instruction. He graduated from George Washington University with a Master of Business Administration degree and a Masters Degree and undergraduate engineering degree from Georgia Tech. He works at Cape Canaveral Space Center as the Director of System Management for Space Coast Launch Services, a joint venture of Computer Science Corporation and the the Shaw Group, both Fortune 500 Corporations.

I have been actively studying and doing bonsai since 1977. In 1977 my interest in bonsai was re-kindled after seeing some ficus bonsai in Florida. From then on I have been actively learning about trees and how to grow them in containers.

I have been fortunate to have had exposure to many excellent bonsai teachers, and to have travelled to some foreign countries to study their bonsai and design concepts.

My interests in bonsai are many but among my special interests are tropical/indoor bonsai, and the use of native materials for bonsai. I am interested in finding native and unusual materials and refining the bonsai art to be in tune with our own materials and culture.

I have had the opportunity to teach and lecture about bonsai over the last ten years, and am active in publishing articles on various bonsai topics. Website

John began his bonsai career at a very young age; he was about 10 years old when he assisted his mother Sharon in the production of molded mame’ pots. He made a nice little income which immediately was invested in comic books. As a teenager he was most welcome on collecting trips to the cascades, both for his charm but mostly for his brawn. His first collected tree, at age 17, was an Engelmann spruce which developed into a marvelous bonsai and was exhibited often. After a year at UW he decided to join the family business, Bonsai Northwest, which at this time had moved to the present location in Tukwila. John bought out his parents in 1996, and is now sole owner. In 1984 the company changed directions, the production of pots ceased and importing from Japan began. Since 1984 John has traveled to Japan, Taiwan, China and Korea many times. While on these buying trips he had the opportunity to observe the many facets of bonsai and bonsai growing. From his travels around the US and the Orient, he has developed his own unique style of bonsai design. While many of the trees for sale at his nursery are “consignment trees” from local collections, most of the bonsai, especially collected specimens, are Johns creations. With running a business, teaching bonsai and traveling, John only occasionally gets out to the mountains to collect. Sometimes his wife April and their two dogs join him.

Pauline is the owner of pfm bonsai studio in West Charlton NY founded in 1990. Her interest in bonsai started almost 30 years ago while participating in a plant show at a local museum. She began by taking lessons with the local club sensei, Earle Pudney. The first workshop she attended was conducted by visiting master John Naka. This started her on a never-ending love with learning more about bonsai.

Pauline spent 35 years as a science teacher and continues by teaching bonsai in her "retirement." She conducts classes and individual lessons at her studio and at many bonsai clubs. Her articles on bonsai are published in bonsai magazines and on line. Currently she sits on the boards of the Mid Atlantic Bonsai Societies, The American Bonsai Society and Bonsai Clubs International as well as her home club Mohawk Hudson Bonsai Society.

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.

Arthur Skolnik 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. His wife Barbara, an experienced horticulturist, contributes part time to the Bonsai business and to his award winning landscaping company. Their 9 year old daughter Arielle, helps with some Bonsai chores and specializes in nonspecific watering and moving pots. Their dog Sheeba keeps squirrels away.