86 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} LIVING ART bonsai bliss words by JOHANNA HARLOW from the age of 16, Michael, now 70, shows no signs of hanging up the pruning shears. “It’s kind of like a sculptor looking at a block of marble,” Michael describes of the practice of bonsai. “What is the sculpture in the marble? It’s mostly in the sculptor’s head. Bonsai’s a little like that.” A tree will take different forms depending on which branches you lop off or leave. “There’s more than one bonsai in every tree that’s presented in front of you. What do you want to see in this tree?” Of course, these two forms of artistic expression also deviate. “If you’re sculpting in clay, you can always throw more clay on the wheel to add to bulk. But in bonsai, you have to grow that wood. Very often we grow these trees in the ground for a period of time to fatten them up.” It’s also a “living medium,” Michael points out. “If it’s done, it’s dead.” One of the oldest English- “People ask, ‘How many trees do you have?’ I say, ‘Too many!’” chuckles Michael Greenstein, Kusamura Bonsai Club’s newest president, as he swings open the gate to his Los Altos backyard. In this verdant haven, towering redwoods watch over 150-odd bonsai like proud parents over a brood of hatchlings. Like all dedicated Kusamura members, Michael can detail the characteristics, styling choices and previous owners (if any) of each of his bonsai. “Every tree has a story,” he notes, before scooping up a tree with exposed roots that undulate octopus-like beneath its trunk. “I call this the ballerina blue oak,” he says. “It has nice motion. My job for the next ten or so years is to develop this canopy as the crown of the dancing roots.” Devoted to the artistic shaping of miniature trees and shrubs PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBB MOST / JOHANNA HARLOW
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