miyatacroft

Charles R. Croft, III
Bio Statement: I have been in Bonsai seriously for about 12 years. I joined the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society (NVBS) and the Potomac Bonsai Association (PBA) in 1995. I am a PBA mentor for beginning bonsai artists and occasionally assist with or hold workshops and teach beginner workshops. I served three years as the President of the NVBS, one year as the First Vice-President of the PBA and just finished two years as the President of PBA. I am currently involved in the planning and preparation for the World Bonsai Friendship Federation Conference to be held in the Washington, DC area in 2005.

Artist Statement: Each tree has a preferred growth habit and is affected by nature in its own way. I do not believe in forcing the tree into a preconceived shape or style, but prefer to work with the tree to let it tell me the preferred style for the resulting bonsai. This most often involves working slowly on the tree to allow a particular style to evolve. It is also important to remember that bonsai is the only living art and, as such, each tree will continue to evolve throughout its lifetime. Sometimes this evolution occurs in ways we would never see and certainly can never plan for, but which, dramatically change the tree.

Masako Miyata + Charles R. Croft III
Masako Miyata Bio Statement: Currently professor of ceramics at James Madison University, VA. Received BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago with James Nelson Raymond Foreign Traveling Fellowship Award and MFA from Pennsylvania State University. Received six Research Grants and three Educational Leave Grants from JMU. Artist-In-Residence, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI, 1987. Exhibited in over 130 shows in 23 US states. Permanent collections include: Museum of Modern Art, Milan, Italy; J.M. Kohler F. A. Center & Kohler Company, WI; Mint Museum of Craft and Design (Allan Chasanoff Ceramic Collection), NC; Museum of Rhode Island School of Design, RI; Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, UT; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, VA, among others. Artist Statement: I have been trying to look at East and West with fresh perception for the past thirty-two years, and I plan to continue my search for many years to come. I believe that Soetsu Yanagi's statement in his book, The Unknown Craftsman, fully expresses this everlasting quest of East and West: "Differences undoubtedly exist, but extremes touch, and we are richer thereby if we expand to the full orbit of man's presence on this globe."
		Click here for a detail of the image above. Bonsai Drawers unglazed, cone 11 porcelain and cone 3 earthenware oxidation fired 23 1/2 l x 23w x 12 1/2h 2002 Bonsai Tree Information: Botanical Name: Juniperus chinensis 'San Jose' Common Name: San Jose Juniper Style: Informal Upright Estimated Age: 25 years Time in Training: 15 years
		Charles R. Croft, III Bio Statement: I have been in Bonsai seriously for about 12 years. I joined the Northern Virginia Bonsai Society (NVBS) and the Potomac Bonsai Association (PBA) in 1995. I am a PBA mentor for beginning bonsai artists and occasionally assist with or hold workshops and teach beginner workshops. I served three years as the President of the NVBS, one year as the First Vice-President of the PBA and just finished two years as the President of PBA. I am currently involved in the planning and preparation for the World Bonsai Friendship Federation Conference to be held in the Washington, DC area in 2005. Artist Statement: Each tree has a preferred growth habit and is affected by nature in its own way. I do not believe in forcing the tree into a preconceived shape or style, but prefer to work with the tree to let it tell me the preferred style for the resulting bonsai. This most often involves working slowly on the tree to allow a particular style to evolve. It is also important to remember that bonsai is the only living art and, as such, each tree will continue to evolve throughout its lifetime. Sometimes this evolution occurs in ways we would never see and certainly can never plan for, but which, dramatically change the tree.