Meet the Artists
Every seminar, workshop, and demonstration at All Jazzed Up is led by a working artist, educator, or craftsperson. Here’s who you’ll be learning from, March 11–14 in New Orleans.
Introduced to bonsai in California in 1990, Scott studied for years under Boonyarat Manakitivipart in Houston before taking on leadership roles with the Houston Bonsai Society. He now serves as Secretary and Convention Chair for the American Bonsai Society, with trees exhibited at the Bay Island Bonsai Exhibition and the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.
A retired Metairie principal practicing bonsai since 1971, Randy learned from Vaughn Banting and ran Bennett’s Bonsai Nursery for over two decades. He rebuilt his entire collection after Hurricane Katrina and wrote Bonsai Design: Bald Cypresses, the standard reference on growing Louisiana’s native conifer as bonsai.
A Houston-area artist and National Champion, Hoe is largely self-taught, with more than 20 study trips to Japan, Korea, China, and Taiwan behind him. He co-founded the Houston Chinese Bonsai Society and works across both Lingnan clip-and-grow penjing and Japanese-style bonsai.
Joe and his wife Xuan have spent over fifty years building a bonsai garden in Mobile, Alabama, now home to trees 30 to 50 years old. Largely self-taught, he has spent more than forty years teaching clubs across the Deep South.
A practicing dermatologist, Karen has studied under Chase Rosade, Ryan Neil, and Mauro Stemberger, and has twice served as President of the American Bonsai Society. Her honors include the John Y. Naka Award and the North American Award for Finest Native American Tree.
A retired veterinarian and longtime Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society member, Dawn has shown at every U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition since 2016 and won three Best in Show awards at Lone Star Bonsai Federation conventions.
Melissa pairs twenty years of bonsai experience with a love of pressed flower art, creating kusamono and shitakusa companion arrangements. She creates the shitakusa for Underhill Bonsai’s annual C’est Bonsai event and serves on the Greater New Orleans Bonsai Society board.
A writer, educator, and student of Asian art, Kristy focuses on Japanese hanging scrolls and how they shape a bonsai display. She writes regularly for the American Bonsai Society Journal on display aesthetics and the cultural traditions behind the art.
An internationally recognized master from Puerto Rico, Pedro has had eight trees selected for the World Bonsai Contest and won first prize at Japan’s Gafu-Ten exhibition. He is President of the Puerto Rico Bonsai Federation and a former President of the Latin American Bonsai Federation.
A ceramic artist working from his studio in Moselle, Mississippi, Byron taught art for 34 years and now builds traditional, template-shaped bonsai containers by hand. He is a Fellow of the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild and former President of the Mississippi Art Colony.
Raised on a wooded property in southern Louisiana, Evan draws on the region’s pine forests and cypress marshlands for his design sense. Ten years into the art, he teaches with an emphasis on the golden mean, horizon lines, and perspective.
A former professional ballerina, Jennifer found bonsai after retiring from dance and brings that sense of line and movement to her styling. An apprentice of Walter Pall since 2015, she has taught across the U.S., Europe, Africa, and twice represented America in Shanghai.
John traces his bonsai interest to the collection at Longwood Gardens near Philadelphia, and got his start recreating trees from his own backyard. He now works mostly with native species and a few tropicals, and brings the same curiosity to the art that he brings to life as an otolaryngologist and triathlete.
A radiologist by training, Boyd has built an extensive tropical collection from his home in New Iberia, Louisiana — USDA zone 9. Bougainvillea, with its unique horticultural demands, remains his favorite species to work with.
A certified Bonsai Clubs International Instructor since 2008, Mauro has taught on all seven continents and is known for his bold, energetic styling. He has been a featured guest at The Trophy in Belgium, the European Bonsai Association convention, and the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.
Working with bonsai for more than 45 years since his family’s garden in Thailand, Suthin holds more National Awards for Finest Bonsai Masterpiece than any other artist. He is especially known for his shohin bonsai and his clear, generous teaching style.
