Page 53 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2016Q2

Working in metal, stone, glass and wood, this self-taught artist is inspired by the simplicity
of form and expression found in primitive art such as the glyphs and cave paintings of
America’s southwest. His sculptures are a celebration of line and movement, simple,
unadorned but dynamic, full of feeling and emotion. Ryan Neil showed me a
BCI talked with Rick Gregg at his studio recently and asked him about his role in the
creation of The Artisan Cup trophy. concave cutter and said,
BCI: How did you become involved with The Artisans Cup?
RG: Ryan Neil found me on the Internet and contacted me. We met and he described the “Anyone who knows bonsai,
project. He wanted two trophies, a permanent trophy for The Artisans Cup and take-home
trophies for the winners. Ryan showed me a concave cutter and said, “Anyone who knows knows this tool.”
bonsai, knows this tool.” After a quick sketch, the take-home trophy took shape and was
approved.
BCI: Apart from the wooden base, it looks like you made this sculpture by forging. How
was the permanent trophy different?
RG: Yes, the take home trophy was forged, which means mostly beating and shaping hot
metal with a hammer and other tools or dies. Designing the permanent trophy was a longer
process. After thinking about the landscape of the Northwest, the trees, the water, and the
mountains, I made numerous sketches and presented six possibilities. After we discussed
the options, one was chosen for further development.
BCI: What did you know about bonsai before Ryan contacted you?
RG: I saw bonsai for the first time at a county fair in San Diego when I was 15 years old.
Although I never pursued bonsai, it was an experience that has stayed with me for over five
decades. I love linear forms so I have always been interested in trees.
BCI: Can you tell us a little about how you made The Artisan Cup trophy?
RG: When I was drawing, I was looking for an expression of a sweeping tree, simple and
stylized. It was when I added the second trunk that I got the feeling I was after. Creating
a cloud-like canopy on the tree also proved difficult. By breaking the canopy into several
shapes, the wind-swept tree came to life. Then came the fabrication. First, I made an exo-
skeleton of the trunks with light steel rod to which I carefully tack-welded forged panels
of steel. Then with an oxy-acetylene welding process, I welded the panels together and
smoothed out the surfaces to make them seamless.
BCI: How did you make the craggy cliff on which the tree is perched?
RG: The base was tough. I made three bases before I got the look I wanted. I start with a wire
mesh form to which I add my concrete mix that has a specific color and texture. I apply it
with a painter’s spatula and work it until I get right.

Rick did get it right. The Artisans Cup Trophy expresses what theartisanscup.com de-
scribes as the modern American bonsai aesthetic, “…the unbridled, natural form of the
tree as it appears in the wild through asymmetry and dynamic movement.”
The Artisans Cup has created a watershed moment in American bonsai, a moment that is
sure to endure because The Artisans Cup website offers retrospective passes to the exhibit.
Purchase a pass and experience the movement with photos and movies of the event, and
audio commentary on every bonsai in the exhibit by the team of international judges. As The Artisan Cup Trophy [take home], 2015, by Rick
the momentum builds for the next Artisans Cup, and the movement grows internationally Gregg. Forged steel, with walnut base. 18” h
with an exhibit planned for Sydney, Australia in 2020, so too will bonsai grow as a true art Below; More Sculptures by Rick Gregg can be viewed
form. And The Artisans Cup Trophy will come to symbolize Ryan Neil’s deep commitment at www.rickgreggstudio.com
to the art of bonsai and the global recognition it deserves.

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