February 26 & 27, 2017 - Workshop and General Meeting Demo with Owen Reich

We are pleased to announce Owen Reich as our guest artist for the Monday February 27th general meeting! The meeting will take place from 7:00 to 9:30pm in the Douglas Classroom at the UW Center for Urban Horticulture. Space is still available in Owen's workshop on Sunday Feb 26. If you're interested in experiencing hands-on instruction from a nationally recognized professional, please contact workshop chair Lynn Paietta.   

Owen Reich is a full-time bonsai professional and owner of Bonsai Unearthed (www.bonsaiunearthed.com). A native of Georgia and resident of Tennessee, Owen has spent a great deal of time in the Blue Ridge and Smoky mountains and has a passion for deciduous and broadleaf evergreen species. Since he was old enough to work, Owen has been involved in the green industry and has participated in internship programs at the famous Iseli nursery in Boring, OR and a retail garden center in Athens, GA. Owen holds a degree in ornamental horticulture from the University of Georgia and after graduation spent 5 years as the nursery manager of Samara Farms, one of the largest nurseries in the Southeastern US. Owen spent two years as a formal apprentice at Fujikawa Kouka-en in Ikeda City, Japan. Fujikawa Kouka-en is regarded as the top bonsai nursery in the Kansai region and specializes in the highest quality bonsai. His sensei, Keiichi Fujikawa, is a second generation bonsai artist and has exhibited at the Kokufu-ten and Taikan-ten shows for the past 21 years. Owen travels to Japan on a regular basis to continue his studies and to help others learn more about the world of Japanese bonsai. Owen is particularly fond of maples, fruiting tress and winter flowering bonsai and also has a love for rare and unusual species. Of his teaching style, Owen says the following: "The best way to describe my teaching style is laid back and practical. There are many gray areas when learning about bonsai, but navigating these murky waters is possible. The most important thing when working with bonsai is that this activity should be fun. While styling and caring for exhibition quality collections is something I’m capable of, some people just want to improve their skill sets without all the pomp and circumstance. An ideal end to any workshop I lead involves a room full of students worn out from information overload, not guessing what the next step is for their bonsai."