Eric and Victrinia Ridgeway will give a talk titled “Rooted in Place: Bonsai of the Pacific Northwest.”
Bonsai is most often understood as a Japanese art form—but in practice, it is an art of relationship: between human hands, time, and the living landscapes that shape us. In the Pacific Northwest, we are blessed with extraordinary ecological abundance, and it is from these forests, shores, and mountains that our work is born. In this presentation, Eric and Victrinia Ridgeway of Issho-en Bonsai will explore how bonsai can be re-imagined through a distinctly regional and Indigenous lens. Centering native species of the Pacific Northwest, they will share how collected trees become living expressions of place, season, and story. Through formal display, these trees are paired with traditionally harvested food, Coast Salish and Alaskan Native formline art, bentwood cedar boxes (by Andrew Peterson, Skokomish), and antique Makah cedar and grass basketry.
By weaving together living trees, cultural objects, and seasonal materials, this work invites both Indigenous and non-Native audiences to experience bonsai as something more than a transplanted Asian tradition. It becomes a bridge—honoring the origins of the art while rooting it in the lands, cultures, and waters of this region. The result is a living dialogue between tradition and place, offering a new way to see bonsai as a practice of reverence, belonging, and ecological relationship in the Pacific Northwest.
Eric and Victrinia Ridgeway are bonsai artists with more than twenty years of practice in the art. Their foundation was shaped through a five-year apprenticeship with Daniel Robinson of Elandan Gardens, one of North America’s most respected bonsai masters. This training grounded their artistic technique, horticultural excellence, and the deep patience required to work in living time. Together, they co-own Issho-en Bonsai (Bremerton, Washington), a studio specializing in native Pacific Northwest species and expanding how bonsai is seen and experienced in this region. Their work bridges traditional form with place-based expression, inviting viewers to encounter bonsai as a living relationship with land, season, and story. Eric and Victrinia are active leaders in the national bonsai community, serving on the boards of multiple bonsai organizations and contributing to the growth, accessibility, and future of the art in North America. Through teaching, exhibition, and mentorship, they are committed to honoring bonsai’s roots while helping it evolve in ways that are culturally grounded, ecologically responsive, and inclusive.
Join us either in person in the Hemlock Forest Room at ONRC at 1455 S. Forks Ave, Forks, WA or via zoom: https://washington.zoom.us/j/3834334539. If you can’t make it, you can always watch the recorded presentation later on the ONRC website here. The ONRC Rosmond Evening Talks are funded through the Rosmond Family Education Fund, an endowment that honors the contributions of Fred Rosmond and his family to forestry and the Forks community.
