European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 5, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse This 800-year-old Bonsai a desert Juniper from californians Sierra Nevada is on display in Heidelberg West Germany. At right Ron Kessler carefully prunes one of his Bonsai creations. Below a close up View of a Branch being wrapped in wire. A amps Ditizio a amps Dave Didio Ron Kessler a Wunsai world by Randy Pruitt staff writer the Day is Chilly but the red leaves of a Beech tree radiate a feeling of warmth. Nearby a chinese Elm stretches its naked branches across a Pale Winter sky. And if you look Long enough at the gnarled twisted trunk of a proud Juniper a timeless personality emerges. Its the magnificent poetic world created by Ron Kessler a a world in miniature. Kessler is an enthusiast of Bonsai the ancient Oriental Art of miniature tree cultivation. The Trees he loves Are measured not in feet but in inches. Kessler can hold most in one hand. He can carry an entire Forest landscape with both. The lanky bearded new York native is a Paul Bunyan in a lilliputian land performing godlike feats with thin Copper wire scissors and tender Loving care. Each tree bears his personal signature. He bends limbs like the wind causing a Juniper to Cascade like a Waterfall. He pinches the buds of a Maple like nibbling wild Deer might so that newer thicker growth will shoot out. Masterfully he strips away bark to give a tree tip a lightning struck appearance. Kessler is a patient Man. His Art demands it. Since 1977, the retired Navy Petty officer who lives in fisc Bachtal near Darmstadt West Germany has coached hundreds of plants along from cuttings to breathtaking Art. Quot Bonsai Are living works of Art Quot he says. Quot you cannot compare them to other Art forms. Quot with oils and sculptures the piece of Art is finished when the artist puts away his brushes or the sculptor lays Down his chisel. Bonsai Are never Complete because they Are always to him the tiny Trees Are almost like children. Quot in Japan they Are treated like a family member Quot he says. Quot from great grandpa on each generation takes care of its not uncommon for a Bonsai to live several Hundred years. A special Niche called a Tok Onomo is built into some japanese Homes to display a prize object. Very often that object is a Bonsai. Although the japanese often get the credit he says the Bonsai is rooted in China 200 years before the birth of Christ. The two chinese symbols for Bonsai or pending mean Quot Plant Quot and Quot pending originated when the first person decided to take an old salad bowl and throw a Plant in it Quot he says. A that unknown person he explains was regarded As a sorcerer after he appeared at the emperors court carrying a tray with a Small landscape on it. Exactly How Bonsai came about is lost in history. But before it made its Way to Japan the Art stopped off briefly in Korea. It was in Seoul South Korea in 1977 that Kessler a balancer of aircraft engines and Oil and Gas equipment first encountered Bonsai. On a business trip he spotted a native Cherry tree in a Flower shop and fell in love. Quot it was the Middle of Winter. I brought it Home and put in on the Windowsill Quot he says. Quot it bloomed and smelled Nice and then it did what every first tree does. It discouragement set in but not for Long. Quot people either say it s too expensive and give up or it s bitten me and i be got to find out How it works a Quot he says. Finding information was t easy. Books on Bonsai weren t available on the German Market. He found his first volume while in Sumatra in Indonesia. He discovered a second Book in London. Quot it was a horrible Book but it helped Quot he recalls. Shortly afterwards he noticed More and More material being printed. Like a starving Man he began to devour the new found knowledge. His Bible is a two volume work by John Yoshio Naka entitled Bonsai techniques. He now teaches others in classes at the Cambrai Fritsch Cavern at Darmstadt. Quot you must get a feeling for the culture before building a Bonsai Quot he says. Quot in order to get the Correct feeling you must be a Little bit of a he describes his own involvement As an addiction. He works with As Many As 500 plants in his backyard in a specially built col House. The scope of his Hobby also includes searching for interesting rocks antique pots and display tables. Quot i enjoy it Quot he admits smiling. Quot Why not people May ask a what s an american doing with Bonsai in Germany a Well i Don t look Good in lederhosen and a Tyrol like the proverbial bavarian the 51 year of j Kessler tramps through the forests. He studies Natur to enhance his pastime. Quot you see what it looks like in the Woods Cliffs mountains and Transfer it to a tree Quot says the member of the Bonsai club of deutschland the covering organization for working Bonsai groups throughout Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes Monda Estern Europe. This accounts for the Eye catching cotoneaster those exposed roots grow like octopus tentacles Over i fist size Rock As if the Earth had eroded around it. His is just one of the Many occurrences he observed in the wilderness but on a much larger Icale. Now nature s wonders can sit on a living room pole alongside a cup of Coffee. I everything is movable Quot he says. Quot that s one of he ideas behind i Kessler is one of the few Bonsai devotees in Europe who practices both chinese and japanese cultivation methods. J the chinese do things that Are not allowed in plan he says. Quot the chinese Are More relaxed less Pennal. Their plants Are More comfortable to live . I by contrast the japanese system is More stylized jul still within the limits of nature. I some Trees in Japan Are regarded As National pastures Quot Kessler says. Quot they cannot be sold or pipped out to one of the greatest collections is owned by the emperor. While age in a Bonsai is greatly respected Kessler is it is not the most important criterion experts Cognize. Quot it s More important How Long someone s teen working on a tree to achieve the proper 800-year-old living tree sets Kon Guo Igo Horst Kremeier at work at the Bonsai Center. Ken George an 800-year-old piece of America is on display in a German museum that draws people from All Over the world. What s incredible is that the object is still alive. It is a Bonsai tree a desert Juniper from California s Sierra Nevada and it is just one of the Eye stoppers at the Bonsai Center in Heidelberg West Germany. The museum owned by Bonsai expert and author Paul Lesniewicz houses what has been described As the most outstanding collection of Bonsai masterpieces in Europe. The natural Bonsai about 40 inches tall was discovered by Bonsai master John Yoshio Naka in the 1960s and purchased by Lesniewicz in 1983. About 25,000 visitors tour the temperature controlled museum at 401 Mannheimer Strasse annually. Hours Are 10 . To 4 . Daily. The exhibit is adjacent to a Nursery that supplies Bonsai to dealers throughout Europe. Bonsai authority Horst Kremeier who works with Lesniewicz and conducts special seminars said it is not enough to hire an average Gardener to care for the plants. Quot you must have someone who looks at the plants with an artistic Eye. We do it with Kremeier studied painting in High school. His father worked As a Gardener. Somehow after seeing his first picture of a Bonsai he managed to blend Art and gardening. Quot the Only rules Are a Good Eye and Plain common sense gardening Quot he says. Quot there is Harmony of the tree Harmony of the under planting and Harmony of the pot. Everything must harmonize together or it will not a . Bonsai prices vary greatly. Four years ago in Japan a Forest arrangement of Pines brought $500,000. Kessler purchased one of his favorite Trees from a Nursery for 10 Marks about $6. Kessler is not interested in Selling his plants but he does like to freely share his knowledge. Americans though should be prepared to face one problem if they intend to take up the Hobby plants cannot be shipped Back to the United states without meeting strict requirements set up by the department of agriculture and . Customs. A three month quarantine period is also imposed. Quot few living plants will stand this treatment Quot he says. Quot i have trouble getting people interested to that degree. If they Start on something and get attached it Breaks their heart to leave it Kessler says people quickly learn there is More to Bonsai than meets the Eye. He likes a quote from Naka the Bonsai master it is not enough simply to Admire the Beauty of these miniature Trees. The admirer ought to be Able to gain from them something much More fundamental an awareness of the Laws of evolution and growth the realization that we Are All Man and nature brought together in these persons who wish to learn More about Bonsai May Contact Kessler at his Home at 06166-8451, preferably after 6 . A amps Davo Dicirio the Silhouette of a Ginkgo Boliba Bonsai tree created by Ron Kessler. Asch 5,1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 15
