Publications:
International Bonsai, 2003, No. 3, 'Development and Refinement of Japanese Boxwood Bonsai'
Bonsai Today, 2003 Issue 6, #88 'California Juniper'
Bonsai Today, 2004 Issue 2, #90 'Creeping Juniper'
Featured in:
Kinbon, September 2004 #9, pgs. 110-112---Styling Juniper
Kinbon, October 2005 #10, pgs. 52-57---Styling Small Semi-cascade White pine
My teachers:
Mr. Shinji Suzuki of Nagano, Japan. Mr. Suzuki has three Prime Minister awards and almost ten Kokufu prizes under his belt, making him the foremost bonsai master in his generation. Many bonsai professionals have dubbed him ‘the future of bonsai’. I was literally stunned when he accepted me as an apprentice.
Mr. Boon Manakitivipart of Alameda, California. Boon is an award-winning bonsai master who studied in Japan under masters Mitsuya and Kamiya. Boon runs the popular Bonsai Intensive program in Alameda, and teaches around the country. I studied for three years in his Intensive program before going to Japan.
Michael Hagedorn’s art background ranges from painting and drawing to ceramic sculpture and installation. He made bonsai containers for nine years in upstate New York and Arizona. But before all that, he was already into bonsai; a Sunset book triggered a passion for bonsai when only sixteen.
During his years as a potter, Michael studied bonsai with Boon Manakitivipart of California. In December 2003, surrendering to a rare opportunity, he traveled to Nagano Prefecture, Japan where he apprenticed for several years under bonsai master Shinji Suzuki. Seven bonsai that he wired were accepted into the Kokufu show in Tokyo, two in the Taikan Ten, and one in the Sakafu Ten. Michael was also honored by Mr. Suzuki to do the wiring on two bonsai that went on to win a Kokufu Prize and a Prime Minister Award.
The lessons of apprentice life are detailed in his forthcoming book: Post-Dated: The Schooling of an Irreverent Bonsai Monk.
