Kathy Shaner studied under several of California's most respected bonsai instructors, and she was granted the opportunity to study in Toyohashi, Japan.
While in Japan, Kathy studied under Yasuo Mitsuya who is highly regarded in Japan as a Master of Gendai (contemporary form) bonsai training. She uses her knowledge and ability to find the "soul of the tree" and to teach her students in a clear and understandable way. Students are taught the art and culture of bonsai using her creative specialized methods.
Her critiques are a highly regarded part of the program. Kathy is the curator of the Golden State Bonsai Collection-North at Lake Merritt in Oakland, CA. and maintains and designs private collections throughout the United States. She is also the resident bonsai master at the new El Dorado Bonsai School.
Walter Pall's philosophy about demos is first and foremost to provide high quality bonsai work, add a substantial amount of explanation for the audience to clearly understand his development process, and tell amusing anecdotes along the way.
Altogether this makes for an entertaining and professional show. He has won the most prestigious Crespi Cup Award of Italy for his well known Rocky Mountain Juniper, and has come in among the top six, every time he has entered. Walter works with indigenous European species, which he collects in his beloved Alpine mountains. Walter's bonsai usually are strong, powerful trees which he frequently forms in natural shapes. The longer he has been involved with tree development, the more he has moved away from traditional bonsai styling to his own concepts of design.
David Rowe has been creating bonsai for 30 years, and was a member of the Toronto Bonsai Society for twenty-three.
His formal training was in Technical Publications at the London College of Art which he applied as editor of the ABS Journal for five years. A photo of one of his trees was judged to be in the top 100 of the "Japan Airlines World Bonsai Contest". David moved to Vancouver Island five years ago and been a regular at club workshops and conventions since then. David’s command of both the horticultural and aesthetic aspects of bonsai is appreciated by all who attend his workshops and demos.
Jerry Meislik is well known for his work on ficus with a particular emphasis on growing them in northern climates. His interest in bonsai began as a teenager when he visited the bonsai exhibit at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens and wasre-kindled after seeing some ficus bonsai while living in Florida. In addition to his work with tropical/indoor bonsai he is also interested in finding native materials and refining the bonsai art to be in tune with our own materials and culture. Over the past ten years he has taught and lectured about bonsai in a wide variety of locations. He has also written and published two books, Ficus: The Exotic Bonsai and Introduction To Indoor Bonsai.
Dennis Makishima is well known for his bonsai styling. His tree work combines horticultural science, bonsai aesthetics, and creative interpretation of the small trees in urban situations. To better understand tree aesthetics, Dennis took his first bonsai lesson in 1982 and had the wonderful opportunity to learn from bonsai pioneers in Japan and in California. Since then, Dennis has taught over 500 workshops and classes across the United States and abroad. His work and classes emphasize respect for nature, respect for the tree which is being worked on, and respect for the creative process of fellow practitioners.