Ah Leon + Mike Ramina

Ah Leon
Bio Statement: I began my career as a painter. After some time, I came to the realization that my strength as an artist was in clay. I made a conscious choice to follow the Yixing pottery tradition, particularly Chinese teapot art, as the foundation of my work. My ceramic art changed dramatically after I traveled to the United States in 1987 and saw how modern ceramic artists freely expressed themselves. I embraced a move towards my own artistic freedom of expression, while remaining acutely aware that I wanted to preserve my heritage as a Taiwanese artist and continue to reflect that cultural characteristic in my work. Solo Exhibitions: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Phoenix Art Museum, Elvehjem Museum of Art, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Garth Clark Gallery, etc.


Artist Statement: Given my cultural heritage and artistic focus, the making of the bonsai vessel was very dear to me. The bonsai tradition predates teapot making in Yixing, and I sought to incorporate its aesthetic with the idea of the modern vessel. On the one hand, I wished to preserve a tradition of austere beauty, while on the other, present the vessel containing the bonsai as a contemporary form of expression, including adding a non-traditional base to the piece. The integration of the three parts - the tree, the vessel and the base - form a modern sculpture with ancient underpinnings .

  

 

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Untitled
Taiwanese stoneware clay
11d x 9.5 h
2002

Bonsai Tree Information:
Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa)
Collected in 1985 (17 yrs in training)
Natural Habitat: Colorado approx 9000'
Approx 150 yrs old
 

Mike Ramina
Bio: I have been in bonsai over 30 years and have served as President of the Baltimore Bonsai Club and Vice President of the Potomac Bonsai Association. I studied bonsai with both John Naka and Cliff Pottberg. I have toured and attended bonsai conventions in Japan, Toronto, Hawaii. I have been a mentor at the US National Arboretum and offered bonsai instruction and demonstrations at several schools.

Artist Statement: I feel that the 'rules of bonsai' are guidelines. You must allow yourself the freedom of your own imagination. If you don't take chances in styling your trees all you will accomplish is growing a plant.