Page 52 - BSAM 2016 Q4

Previous page, left; Alessandro works on a juniper at Massimo Bandera’s studio.
Previous page, right; The black pine is Alessandro’s tree and he is working on it at Massimo’s school.
This page, top left; Alessandro with his Japanese language teachers, Sawa Nakamura and Yukiko Deangelis,
Middle left; Massimo Bandera and Alessandro at Kokufu-ten bonsai exhibit in Japan.
Bottom left; Alessandro with his father Marco at Omiya Bonsai Village.
fascinated by videos and information on the great avant-garde master, Masahiko Kimura.
His sublime works, with a perfect combination of strength of the trunks and the delicacy of the crown, they appear like something completely new, never seen in the environment of classic bonsai.
e lesson ended with the ironic joke by our teacher, Bandera, when in front of the astonished faces of his students said, "If you want to study from the Great Master you must know how to speak Japanese and be willing to learn from him for six years."
I did not tell Massimo, but I immediately began to study Japanese, taking lessons from a translator in my city.
A year later I made him aware of my ambitious intentions and to which he reacted in disbelief: "If you want to experience Japan is not necessary to only study from Kimura, but you must know Japanese, and you study with him for at least ..." "six years!” I interrupted, “...and I'm already studying Japanese! “
Given the quickness of my reply, the discussion became more serious. On the advice of Massimo, I continued language studies with unparalleled teachers, Sawa Nakamura and Yukiko Deangelis, multiplying the speed of learning.
en came the time to also acquaint the Great Master of my intentions, having read the experience of Ryan Neil, where he wrote to him every month for many, many months, I imagined that the procedures would take place at a slow pace. In the summer of 2015 we sent the rst letter to the master.
Incredibly two months later, I received the answer: the teacher wanted to meet me.
Obviously the merit of such a timely manner must be attributed to Massimo and Professor Nakamura.
In February of the following year, not to be labelled a slacker at school, I was time to take a nice vacation for my rst trip to Japan. Massimo Bandera, Professor Sawa Nakamura and my father, Marco Bonardo, accompanied me.
It was a climb towards the best, starting from the visit to Kokufu-ten bonsai exhibit, and on to the gardens of Kobayashi and Kimura.
e latter seemed an unprecedented perfection, every single blade of grass was in the right place and it was a perfect t in size and color.
The masterpieces from the entrance sparkled in their green tones and in the midst of these excelled Toryuunomai, a tree of a matchless harmony among whose branches are hidden the most profound essence of nature and art, so you can stand there and watch, perceiving that wonderful silence that embraces the alpine landscapes.
I hesitated a moment before crossing the threshold, the master was not there, and so, we began to admire the work, caressing the thick foliage with our eyes.
50 | BCI | October/November/December 2016
Since 2010, I took courses for a couple of years the Scuolad’ArteBonsai,thenthecourseswereinterrupt- ed and I found myself at a point of departure with a few little plants to look a er.
In 2013 Massimo Bandera held bonsai classes in Alba; I was aware of his works from various publications. Of these, I was fascinated with those created by pro- cesses that involved a lot of manipulation, because as we know, there is no art without the work of man.
e rst lesson was interesting: in addition to having worked on a nice Kuromatsu, originally more than a meter high, an Easter gi from my parents, I was