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Kusamono Artist
Young Choe
Young Choe studied traditional art – ink painting and calligraphy – in her native Korea before she moved to the United States. While volunteering at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, she was able to bring her artistic talent together with her knowledge of horticulture to create kusamono.
She traveled to Japan to study this unique art form with the master kusamono artist, Keiko Yamane.
Many of Young’s plantings can be viewed daily in the museum’s bonsai pavilions. In the world outside the Museum, she works with native plants at the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Plant Materials Center in Beltsville, Maryland.
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Featured Ceramic Artists
Ron Lang is a ceramic artist who has headed the Ceramics program at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore since 1979. For most of his professional career, he has created sculptural forms with narrative themes. In his more recent work, he returns to the functional form, uniting his interest and 25-year experience in the art of bonsai with his ceramic sensibilities. He organized and curated the groundbreaking exhibition Bonsai inSites that featured collaborative works between ceramic artists and bonsai artists. The exhibition in 2003 at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum tested the boundaries of the traditionalists.
Sharon Edwards-Russell has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She taught ceramics and foundation level courses at Anne Arundel Community College for twenty years and is currently working for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh in the Graphic Design Department. She and her husband Ron Lang have built a wood-firing kiln at their home in Pennsylvania where they producing ceramics for bonsai, kusamono plantings, and viewing stone displays.
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The Art of Kusamono
July 14-22, 2007
Kusamono are potted arrangements of wild grasses and flowers in unique pots or trays. The name is composed of two Japanese characters: “grass” and “thing.” Originally, this name referred to the small, potted grasses displayed with bonsai as companion plants.
More recently, kusamono has developed into an art form of its own. A well-chosen kusamono reflects the season in which it is displayed. Some compositions are designed to include plants that will look good in several seasons. Besides the season, a kusamono should suggest a specific natural habitat--such as a wetland, meadow or woodland. Whether using a single plant or a group of plants, there are three basic styles of planting: moss-ball, out-of-pot, or in a container.
This exhibit features plant compositions designed by Young Choe and containers created by ceramic artists Ron Lang and his wife, Sharon Edwards-Russell.
(see bios at left
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Allium virgunculae — Dwarf onion |
Japanese Display Stand (listed from the top)
Masdevallia ‘Snowbird’ — Terrestrial orchid
Hatiora salicornioides — Drunkard’s dream
Eleocharis montavideus — Dwarf rush
Armeria maritima ‘Rubrifolia’ — Sea pink
Trifolium sp. — Clover
Sedum sp. — Sedum |
Armeria 'Little Penny' — Miniature sea thrift
Equisetum scirpoides — Dwarf horsetail |
Hosta variegate — 'Cat's Eye' Dwarf hosta
Ophiopogon chingii — Twisted mondo grass |
Panicum sp. — Dwarf switch grass |
Thalictrum kiusianum — Dwarf meadow rue |
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Ledebouria cooperi — Cooper's squill |
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Carex pennsylvanica — Pennsylvania sedge
Lobelia cardinalis — Cardinal flower
Sedum sp. — Sedum |
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Gaultheria procumbens — Wintergreen
Pleioblastus distichus 'Mini' — Jade mountain bamboo |
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Carex bergrenii — Caramel carpet sedge
Campanula punctata — Bellflower
Astilbe chinensis var. pumila — Dwarf astilbe |
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Miscanthus sinensis — Japanese silver grass
Thalictrum kiusianum — Dwarf meadow rue
Dianthus deltoides — 'Zing Rose' Carnation |
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Monarda sp. — Horsemint |
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Erodium manescavii — Storksbill |
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Eleocharis montavideus — Dwarf rush |
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Imperata cylindrica — Japanese blood grass
Hosta sp. — Dwarf hosta
Pinellia ternate — Pinellia |
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Pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial' — Geranium |
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Pteris cretica 'Albolineata' — Variegated Cretan Brake Fern
Selaginella sp. — Club moss
Dryopteris sp. — Fern |
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Astilbe japonica 'Queen of Holland' — Astilbe
Cynodon daetylon — Bermuda grass |
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Juncus effusus — Twisted rush
Juncus sp. — Rush
Equisetum scirpoides — Dwarf horsetail
Scutellaria sp. — Skullcap |
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Equisetum scirpoides — Dwarf horsetail |
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Houttuynia cordata — Water chameleon
Equisetum hyemale — Horsetail
Selaginella rupestre — Spike moss |
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Carex pennsylvanica — Oak sedge
Lobelia cardinalis — Cardinal flower
Sedum sp. — Sedum |
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Phragmites australis 'Aurea' — Golden Reed
Villarsia sp. — Erect marsh flower |
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Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' — Switch grass
Penstemon sp. — Beard's tongue
Aegopodium podagraria — Bishop's weed |
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Panicum sp. — Dwarf switch grass |
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Juncus sp. — Rush
Viola sp. — Violet
Lamiaceae sp. — Mint |
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Equisetum scirpoides — Dwarf horsetail
Hosta sp. — Dwarf hosta
Juncus sp. — Rush |
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Monarda sp. — Horsemint |
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Juncus effusus — Twisted rush
Juncus sp. — Rush
Equisetum scirpoides — Dwarf horsetail
Scutellaria sp. — Skullcap |
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Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' — Switch grass
Penstemon sp. — Beard's tongue
Aegopodium podagraria — Bishop's weed |
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Cyperus alternifolius — Dwarf papyrus
Equisetum sonpoides — Dwarf horsetail
Carex 'Little Midge' — Dwarf sedge |
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Salvia 'Rhea' — Salvia
Schizachyrium scoparium — Blue stem
Carex glauca — Blue sedge |
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Schizachyrium scoparium 'Blaze' — Blue stem
Selaginella sp. — Club moss |
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Pennisetum alopecuroides — Fountain grass |
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Panicum virgatum 'North Wind' — Switch grass
Baptisia australis — Blue false indigo
Lespedeza — Bush clover
Salvia sp. — Salvia |
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Vicia villosa — Winter vetch |
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