Jim Barrett is a very well known California bonsai artist. He was gracious enough to spare a few minutes of his time outside of his vendor area for an interview.
Photo #29572
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Standing in the Exhibition tent surrounded by the incredible and venerable bonsai, for a brief few moments I was glimpsing bonsai through the eyes of a man who had been there as the fledgling bonsai community in Southern California found its wings. Jim began bonsai in 1954, living in the San Gabriel Valley of California. The San Gabriel Valley was, at the time, a very agricultural area. The fertile floodplains and gentle foothills, mild temperatures and ample space, lent themselves to the pursuit of horticulture.
At the time, there were “Ming Trees” that were popular artificial bonsai being marketed for decorative uses. Jim was charmed by these little graceful trees, and hoped to create some. However, the attractions of growing actual bonsai soon took his attention. He was a frequent visitor of the San Gabriel Nursery, which had a section of bonsai. Jim bought two Japanese Black Pines and two junipers. One of the junipers is still living, and is in the private collection of Jerry Kessler of Long Island. Jim visits Long Island regularly to trim and work on the tree.
Mr. Kishi was Jim’s first teacher, who spoke almost no English and worked for the San Gabriel Nursery. Another influential friend of Jim’s was
Frank Nagata, who founded the first exclusively bonsai nursery (possibly in the entire United States) called Baiko-En. They worked on both imported and local stock, and sold to such celebrities as
Red Skelton and
Freeman Gosden of
Amos & Andy. Red Skelton, who had it in his contract that he would receive bonsai on a regular basis, eventually moved to Palm Springs where he had climate controlled pavilions built to house his collection.
Khan Komai was Frank Nagata’s son in law, having married Kay Komai, Frank’s daughter. (An interview of Kay Komai will follow) Khan Komai created his first bonsai at a family gathering for his birthday, in 1953. When, in 1958, the Komai Nursery was founded, Jim became close friends with Khan Komai and they began to work together. Khan would design Japanese landscaping and gardens for customers, and Jim and a fellow fireman would build the structures and fencing as designed. Jim built the building that was the classroom for Komai Nursery, as well as the lath houses on the nursery property.
"In 1960, Jim considered leaving bonsai... Instead, he began to teach"
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In 1960, Jim considered leaving bonsai. He wasn’t being challenged by it and felt that he needed to grow or move on. He likened it to a tennis player needing to play against a strong opponent in order to improve his own abilities. Instead, he began to teach. Jim still teaches in his home in Arcadia.
In 1975, the bonsai community was trying to get local ceramists to create bonsai pots. Japanese pots were rare and expensive, comparatively speaking. However, the local artists would only make “mixing bowls with holes”, often decorated with flowers, pretty but not suitable for bonsai. When a ceramist finally made a decent round, wheelthrown bonsai pot and was asked to make twelve more, he refused, stating that he was an artist and only did unique pieces. Jim set his mind to learning ceramics himself and began teaming with an instructor at Pasadena City College. Together, the two worked out the intricacies of good bonsai pots, overcoming factors such as warpage. Learning from the ground up, Jim has a very deep understanding of the creation of good bonsai pots. He now has a large electric kiln for oxidation firing, and a large gas kiln for reduction firing. He mixes his own glazes, many coming from tried and tested recipes, such as his best selling “Deep Green,” and he has also created his own glazes like his favorite, “Barrett’s Bleu.”
One of Jim’s favorite memories is of a nursery in Japan which was originally founded by a man who became an aluminum salvager after the World War II. With his pushcart and his own two legs, he would collect aluminum scrap and eventually built a factory to use the aluminum. He made a fortune in this way, and built the most impressive bonsai collection Jim has ever seen. It requires an appointment to see it, and visitors are treated to area after area of masterpiece bonsai. It is now owned by the family of the original salvager. In 1989, Jim and his wife Helen led a tour to the nursery. He hopes that they will be able to go back to Japan again and see their old friends.
Japanese Black Pine and Foemina Juniper are Jim’s favorite species, and he keeps his collection of trees in pots to about thirty or thirty five.
Here is a picture of Jim in front of his magnificent Twisted Pomegranate, which Jim developed from a cutting in 1969. The mother tree was imported from Japan and was one of the trees that Frank Nagata brought to this country those many years ago, deeply woven into the history of bonsai in California.