For your educational listening pleasure, here are the Mirai podcasts currently residing on SoundCloud.
Podcasts from the Oregon Public Broadcasting shows “State of Wonder” and “Think Out Loud” are at the bottom of the post.
Mirai users mentioned in titles and descriptions:
@Lime @Ricardo_Nagaoka @Colton
Bonsai Mirai Podcasts
The story behind Bonsai Mirai
2017 October 10 - 01:03:30
In this inaugural podcast, we dive into the history behind the creation of Bonsai Mirai, and the core players that make this business happen. This is the first of many podcasts to come, where guests from all over the world gather to explore the medium of bonsai as an avenue to connect nature, culture, and the individual.
Peter Warren
2018 November 13 - 00:50:53
Peter Warren joins the Mirai team in the studio for an unfiltered discussion on bonsai in the UK, why suiseki isn’t just ‘rocks’ and how bonsai explains universal physics.
Juan Andrade
"2017 December 11" - 00:55:16
Juan Andrade is a bonsai professional hailing originally from Costa Rica, now based in Florida, who recently finished a bonsai apprenticeship in Japan. In this episode, the Mirai crew discusses Andrade’s roots with bonsai - his apprenticeship in Japan, collecting epiphytes in the Costa Rican jungle, and where he thinks bonsai is headed.
Ron Lang
2018 December 31 - 01:17:29
Ron Lang is a celebrated ceramic artist, sculptor, and long-time bonsai geek who has a unique perspective on the bonsai vessel. The team sits down with Lang for a heated breakdown on what makes a bonsai a bonsai, and pushing limits with the ceramic body.
A Trip to California
2018 January 11 - 01:16:00
The Mirai team recaps from a recent trip down to California where they visited the most ancient trees on the planet, witnessed avant-garde ceramic artist, Jonathan Cross, wood-firing his kiln, and scrambled through the otherworldly landscape of Joshua Tree.
Michael Lime Allen
2018 January 18 - 01:37:33
The sound engineer for Mirai Live & resident Timbers enthusiast, Lime is one of the most colorful personalities on the Mirai Team. In this podcast, Lime & Ryan talk big-wall climbing in Yosemite, the life of a nuclear engineer in the Navy & how bonsai has the power to change lives. Note: Especially for ‘bonsai hardcore’ enthusiasts.
The Art of Kimura
2018 January 23 - 01:48:53
Masahiko Kimura is one of the most famous bonsai professionals in the world, one who has truly pushed the technique and concept of bonsai as we know it today. In this podcast, Ryan, Troy & Lime sit down in the studio to discuss the history behind Kimura’s most famous works, the dynamics of bonsai in Japan, stories of the apprentices and Kimura’s overall evolution as an artist. Follow along in the book, The Magician, the bonsai art of Kimura, to reference the images and trees being discussed. Note: especially for ‘bonsai hardcore’ enthusiasts.
Texas Barbecue & Field Collecting
2018 January 31 - 01:26:34
Colton, Troy, Ryan & Lime take a trip down to one of the best bonsai growing operations in the country, Telperion Farms. We start off with Colton Vick, native Texan and the man behind Mirai operations. They dive into Colton’s history, his passion for barbecue and the lone-star state. Troy and Lime then dig into the world of field-growing bonsai - how to select the top 10% of material and navigating the ‘pyramid’ of opportunity.
John Naka
2018 February 2 - 01:11:10
John Yoshio Naka was an American horticulturist, teacher, author, and master bonsai cultivator. He is known as the Father of American Bonsai, spreading the knowledge of this practice to a burgeoning community in the United States. In this podcast, Ryan, Troy, and Lime sit down to discuss John Naka’s contribution to the world of bonsai, the path of a beginner practitioner, and continuing the raise the level of American Bonsai practice in Naka’s wake.
Ricardo Nagota
2018 February 9 - 01:46:07
Ricardo is a Japanese photographer born in Paraguay, schooled at RISD, and now the man behind the videographic magic of Mirai Live. In between wandering through ancient Italian olive orchards and driving along the Amalfi Coast, Ryan and Ricardo take some time to digest the broad concept of ‘art’ - it’s consideration, appreciation, and creation - and then bring it all back to bonsai as the ultimate creative endeavor.
Randy Knight
2018 March 2 - 01:25:05
Randy Knight is a world-renowned yamadori collector hailing from St. Helens, OR. In this podcast, the Mirai team talks with Randy about his origins in bonsai and the collecting process. He shares some wisdom and experiences from over 17 years in the mountains searching for the best wild bonsai material in North America, if not the world.
Todd Schlafer
2018 March 8 - 03:06:23
Todd Schlafer is a musician, graphic designer and bonsai aficionado from the Rockies who recently quit his corporate job to pursue bonsai professionally. As is a long-time friend and student of Mirai - in this podcast, Todd, Ryan and Lime sit down for some real talk on what it truly looks like to pursue bonsai fulltime at a professional, sustainable level.
Wiring
2018 March 16 - 01:35:37
Wiring is one of the most important techniques that bonsai practitioners learn. It is a meditative puzzle, a fully immersive practice of being present with your hands, the tree, and the design. In this podcast, Ryan, Troy, and Lime sit down to discuss the struggle and process of wiring - how it forces you to grow as an artist.
Oregon Public Broadcasting Podcasts
State of Wonder: Is Portland The Epienter Of A Cool New American Bonsai Movement?
2015 September 18 - 00:07:22
(Bill’s Note: Podcast posted prior to the September 2017 Artisan’s Cup)
When most Americans think of bonsai — the craft of pruning and shaping small trees — they probably think of an ancient gardening craft practiced by lovers of Japanese culture.
Ryan Neil thinks it’s anything but.
With a story ripped from the movie “The Karate Kid,” he founded Bonsai Mirai, a leading international school in the hills outside Portland, and he’s partnered with cutting-edge architects and designers in an effort to make bonsai cool for a new generation.
From Sept. 25–27, they’re staging an ambitious exhibition of bonsai from around the country at the Portland Art Museum called the Artisan’s Cup with design help from Skylab Architecture. Their goal: to elevate bonsai into a contemporary art form worthy of, well, museums.
State of Wonder: Can Bonsai Be High Art? UPDATED STORY
2016 May 21 - 00:07:49
(Bill’s note: Takes place during the “American Bonsai: The Unbridled Art of Ryan Neil” event in May/June 2016.
The updated story, has “Karate Kid” sound bites, last four minutes differ from the previous link.)
When most Americans think of bonsai — the craft of pruning and shaping small trees — they probably think of an ancient gardening craft practiced by lovers of Japanese culture.
Ryan Neil thinks it’s anything but.
With a story ripped from the movie “The Karate Kid,” he founded Bonsai Mirai, a leading international school in the hills outside Portland, and he’s partnered with cutting-edge architects and designers in an effort to make bonsai cool for a new generation.
Read the full story: www.opb.org/artsandlife/article…ovement-art-museum/
Think Out Loud: Bonsai Exhibit
2016 May 24 - 00:18:26
Ryan Neil is an American bonsai master. He explains how the ancient Japanese art form translates to U.S. style, and walks us through an exhibit of his work currently up at the Portland Japanese Garden.
