The Art of Bonsai

Third Thursday and Third Saturday of every month.

Explore the art of creating a bonsai and connect with nature and experience the stress-relieving benefits of this hobby. In this introductory workshop you will create a bonsai project, practice techniques and learn how to care for it once you take it home. Whether you choose Thursday ‘s or Saturday’s class, the curriculum is the same.

The Gresham Japanese Garden mission through its bonsai workshops is to educate, foster creativity, and create a thriving community rooted in the appreciation of the art of bonsai. Our regular monthly workshops are geared for the beginner student. Although each session you may learn something new due to the change of plant material sourced each month.

If you have a bonsai you’re working on at home, feel free to bring in for show and tell. It is a great way for others to learn as well.

The cost includes all material and instruction. Please bring your own pruning shears, or snippers, and pliers to class.

Workshops are held in the the Kyoudou Center (building closest to Springwater Trail).

TIME OF TRANSITION

The Gresham Japanese Garden thanks our previous bonsai instructor Mark Vossbrink for all his knowledge in bonsai, history and plants that he shared with the Garden and with our students. We wish him the best as he navigates through his next adventures.

We’re excited to announce that Bobby Curttright has joined our flock and is teaching our bonsai workshops. His biography is below.

Thursdays class time is changing to evenings starting in May, 6-8pm.

May through December workshops will be posted soon! Lots of exciting opportunities coming.

BOBBY CURTTRIGHT BIOGRAPHY

A love and curiosity for all living things has led Bobby on his journey that includes breeding seahorses, swimming with sharks, living and working in a PNW salmon hatchery, and eventually making his way into the ever evolving artistic world of Bonsai in 2012. After reading a beginner book and keeping two trees alive and well for a year, he began a more serious pursuit of the art form, in the form of a full time Japanese style apprenticeship, with Bonsai Master Michael Hagedorn. Alongside his three-year apprenticeship, on occasion he was very fortunate to travel to Japan for weeks at a time to also study under Mr. Hagedorn’s sensei, the famous Mr. Shinji Suzuki and take in as much as possible from his amazing garden in Obuse. This quiet town in central Japan is much like Gresham in its setting and climate, except it gets much more snow in the winter. Bobby completed his apprenticeship in 2016 with the blessings of both Mr Hagedorn and Mr Suzuki who have an affinity for creating top class trees, displays, and bonsai gardens.

Bobby is now well rooted in the Gresham area, with his family moving to their current home over a decade ago, where he has built and operated Cascadia Bonsai since completing his apprenticeship. The home garden is mostly comprised of local and Japanese species, with many areas to create impromptu seasonal displays. Both conifers and deciduous are regarded as necessary for the balance of the garden, and tree sizes range anywhere from handheld to ‘I didn’t know bonsai can be that big!’. His style would be akin to a natural, older style of Japanese Bonsai to really let the tree tell its own story. Bobby enjoys working on whatever tree he has in front of him and encourages everyone to strive to create trees that will be appreciated long after we have passed them on to other generations.

Workshop Cancellation Policy

We do not issue refunds on workshop registrations. 

If you register for a workshop and later become unable to attend, we will gladly offer a credit for your registration amount to use toward any future event if you notify us at least 24 hours before the workshop.

To cancel and request a credit, please email us at administrator@greshamjapanesegarden.com. Workshop credits are not redeemable for cash. Please note: Credits cannot be given for registrations for workshops hosted by visiting/out of town instructors. Due to the nature of these one-time-only workshops, all events hosted by special guests are subject to this policy. Thank you for understanding!

In the event a class is cancelled or rescheduled due to inclement weather, or any incident where GJG or its instructors are at fault, you will receive a credit to take another class at a later date.

About Our Policy

Our workshops require a great deal of pre-planning, including ordering supplies and tools, booking staff, and making commitments to pay our instructors — all based on the number of students who register. In fairness to all of our customers we are unable to make exceptions to our policy, including for reasons of illness, travel, or work hours. If you are unable to attend a workshop at the last minute, we suggest giving your spot to a friend!

Thank you for understanding!

The GJG Team