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Roundup of American bonsai potters

November 25, 2016 by Jonas Dupuich

I thought I’d wrap up this set of posts about American bonsai potters with a look at several artists. First up is Jim Gremel.

Jim is a well-known potter and bonsai professional. I’ve been using his pots for years and am a big fan as they’re well-built and easy to use.

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Round glazed pot – Jim Gremel

Jim makes pots in many different sizes and styles. Most of my current selection consists of nanban-style unglazed pots.

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Large nanban – Jim Gremel

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Jim Gremel signature

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Unglazed nanban – Jim Gremel

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Unglazed nanban – Jim Gremel

His smaller work includes great pots for accents.

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Accent pot – Jim Gremel

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Accent pot – Jim Gremel

Jim’s pots and trees are available at his nursery and at Northern California and regional bonsai events like the National Bonsai Exhibition. To get a better sense of the scope of Jim’s work, check out the pots (and trees!) at his site, Deer Meadow Bonsai.

Next up is Jim Barrett.

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Accent pots – Jim Barrett

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Accent pots – Jim Barrett

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As seen from below

Barrett too is known for both bonsai and containers. I’ve found a few lately in a variety of shapes and sizes, including two large, shallow containers.

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Large oval – Jim Barrett

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Large oval – Jim Barrett

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As seen from below

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Jim Barrett signature and chop

Dick Ryerson has been making bonsai pots for the past ten years. He is best known for his round, glazed pots.

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Glazed round – Dick Ryerson

No two of Ryerson’s pots are the same in that each is stamped with a unique ID.

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Blue round – Dick Ryerson

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Dick Ryerson chop and pot ID

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Yellow round – Dick Ryerson

Ryerson has a great website that offers a good look at the different styles, shapes and colors with which he works – visit it here.

The final pots for today aren’t among the most common American pots you’ll find. Below is a pot from bonsai collector Larry Ragle. Larry has made a small number of pots for years and only recently began selling a few. The blue glaze and recessed feet appealed to me.

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Larry Ragle

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Ragle pot seen from below

Pauline Muth’s work includes a large selection of accent pots. Here’s one I picked up at the recent GSBF Convention.

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Accent pot – Pauline Muth

Years ago, Gary Wood brought a few accent containers to the west coast. I was quick to pick one up. Here it is with a vase made by Wood.

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Vase and accent pot by Gary Wood

Last up is a pot by Max Braverman. Kora Dalager ordered the pot from Max and has been its sole owner until recently. It’s a beautiful round glazed pot. I can’t wait to find a good tree for it!

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Max Braverman

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Braverman signature

I hope you enjoyed the brief tour of American Bonsai Potters. Am planning similar posts for Japanese potters down the road.

As I am not as familiar with European potters, I’ve included a collection of videos put together by Tony Tickle. See them in his recent post, All the Bonsai Potters Showcase.

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Filed Under: Display Tagged With: Jim Gremel, Pots

Previous Post: « Crataegus bonsai containers by Michael Hagedorn
Next Post: How did you learn bonsai? »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tom Martin says

    November 26, 2016 at 4:59 am

    Could you show the Max Braverman signature? I have a pot by Max and would like to compare with yours.

    • Jonas Dupuich says

      November 28, 2016 at 7:50 pm

      Hi Tom – I just revised the post to add a photo of Braverman’s signature.

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