|
T H E T R I B U T E D I S P L A Y
Above
The Nick Lenz tribute display for the North American Bonsai Pottery Competition. |
In Memoriam
N I C K L E N Z Massachusetts, USA 1940-2022 
|
Andrew Nick Lenz, widely known as Nick Lenz and known affectionately as 'the Ogre', was a renowned bonsai master, ceramicist, author, expert carpenter, colonial restoration mason, Sunday-school teacher, painter, practical joker, fresh-water ecologist, teacher, playwright, local curmudgeon, and friend whose work blended whimsy, drama, and natural harshness into evocative living sculptures. His creations challenged traditional bonsai norms with their eccentric originality that captured movement, emotion, and narrative—living sculptures that feel alive in time as much as in form.
Growing up surrounded by trees and nature, Lenz developed an early appreciation for the quiet power of landscapes. His artistic journey led him not only into bonsai design but also into ceramics, where he crafted unique containers that complemented and elevated each tree’s character. He often created several pots for one tree to provide options to the tree and artist to decide the most ideal pairing. His pots were never merely vessels; they were extensions of the story the bonsai tells.
Lenz’s style is bold yet honest. He is unafraid to challenge tradition, pushing bonsai into realms of art that blend the natural with the mythical, the cultivated with the wild. Whether working with collected native species or creating whimsical compositions, his trees embody both discipline and imagination. Much of these concepts he wrote about in his highly sought after book ‘Bonsai From the Wild: Collecting, Styling & Caring for Bonsai’. As a teacher and mentor, Lenz has influenced a generation of enthusiasts through demonstrations, writings, and personal guidance locally, nationally and internationally. He emphasized the importance of experimentation, of finding joy in the work itself, and of treating bonsai as an evolving conversation between artist, tree, and time.
Today, Nick Lenz is celebrated as both a potter and bonsai artist whose contributions continue to shape the American bonsai landscape. His legacy lies not only in the trees and pots he has created, but also in the inspiration he leaves with others to wonder, learn, and teach.
Growing up surrounded by trees and nature, Lenz developed an early appreciation for the quiet power of landscapes. His artistic journey led him not only into bonsai design but also into ceramics, where he crafted unique containers that complemented and elevated each tree’s character. He often created several pots for one tree to provide options to the tree and artist to decide the most ideal pairing. His pots were never merely vessels; they were extensions of the story the bonsai tells.
Lenz’s style is bold yet honest. He is unafraid to challenge tradition, pushing bonsai into realms of art that blend the natural with the mythical, the cultivated with the wild. Whether working with collected native species or creating whimsical compositions, his trees embody both discipline and imagination. Much of these concepts he wrote about in his highly sought after book ‘Bonsai From the Wild: Collecting, Styling & Caring for Bonsai’. As a teacher and mentor, Lenz has influenced a generation of enthusiasts through demonstrations, writings, and personal guidance locally, nationally and internationally. He emphasized the importance of experimentation, of finding joy in the work itself, and of treating bonsai as an evolving conversation between artist, tree, and time.
Today, Nick Lenz is celebrated as both a potter and bonsai artist whose contributions continue to shape the American bonsai landscape. His legacy lies not only in the trees and pots he has created, but also in the inspiration he leaves with others to wonder, learn, and teach.
“His impact on American bonsai was very special, never much of a pro or a promoter, never much of man of doctrine or dogma, he came and left as an artist striding forward with a causal heart in his hand whispering playful things while acting out a high drama play.”
- David Crust
(student, friend and now steward of many of Nick's trees and pots)
- David Crust
(student, friend and now steward of many of Nick's trees and pots)
Above
Demon Cedar Tree and ‘Serpent-Covered’ Ceramic Container Created by Nick Lenz Photography Credit: Pacific Bonsai |
Above
Penelope Created by Nick Lenz Photography Credit: National Bonsai Foundation |
T H E O G R E A N D H I S P O T S
By Kris Springer
By Kris Springer
It all began once upon an Oger-ly day when Nick realized that the only way he would get his "bongo bushes" into nice pots was to craft them himself!
I am, with good information, assuming this to have happened in the mid-70s when he built his own kiln. We are all sure that Nick had dabbled in pottery previously; however, his bonsai pot creations came from books, magazines, and observations—few of which were available at the time. The rest came simply from an ingenious and creative mind.
Throughout the years, as bonsai grew, so did Nick's skills. His wife Joanna made his first two "chops" when she noticed he was simply painting Lenz in black on pots big enough. It was Joanna who created the "aardvark" and the more proper, though rarely used, "Lenz." At some point Nick began to use various forms of his initials—N L or L N—sometimes with one capitalized and the other not, sometimes reversed. A small n with a capital L hanging off of it is seen from time to time, along with many other iterations. Were these meant to signify different years or times? Hard to tell, yet.
Nick's claybody was originally very rough and coarse, as he added spent grog from his kiln since wasting was “bad.” He eventually settled on a local source for his clay, and once he found it, he used no other. The feel of his pots is singular, and few potters today come close. Nick did experiment with porcelain but deemed it too weak for the freezing climate of his western Massachusetts abode. He also thought it too fussy for his brutalistic gas-fired kiln.
The glazes our Ogre developed were again learned from books, magazines, observations, and real snail-mail letters exchanged with the few bonsai potters of the day. Trial and error was evidenced by the large “broken crockery” pile hidden out by an old stone wall. The glazes he used ranged from subtle to stunning. He kept a meticulous set of notes and formulas, many created for specific species of trees—for their trunk, branch, twig, and “flowie” colors, if it applied.
I am, with good information, assuming this to have happened in the mid-70s when he built his own kiln. We are all sure that Nick had dabbled in pottery previously; however, his bonsai pot creations came from books, magazines, and observations—few of which were available at the time. The rest came simply from an ingenious and creative mind.
Throughout the years, as bonsai grew, so did Nick's skills. His wife Joanna made his first two "chops" when she noticed he was simply painting Lenz in black on pots big enough. It was Joanna who created the "aardvark" and the more proper, though rarely used, "Lenz." At some point Nick began to use various forms of his initials—N L or L N—sometimes with one capitalized and the other not, sometimes reversed. A small n with a capital L hanging off of it is seen from time to time, along with many other iterations. Were these meant to signify different years or times? Hard to tell, yet.
Nick's claybody was originally very rough and coarse, as he added spent grog from his kiln since wasting was “bad.” He eventually settled on a local source for his clay, and once he found it, he used no other. The feel of his pots is singular, and few potters today come close. Nick did experiment with porcelain but deemed it too weak for the freezing climate of his western Massachusetts abode. He also thought it too fussy for his brutalistic gas-fired kiln.
The glazes our Ogre developed were again learned from books, magazines, observations, and real snail-mail letters exchanged with the few bonsai potters of the day. Trial and error was evidenced by the large “broken crockery” pile hidden out by an old stone wall. The glazes he used ranged from subtle to stunning. He kept a meticulous set of notes and formulas, many created for specific species of trees—for their trunk, branch, twig, and “flowie” colors, if it applied.
I N T E R V I E W S & A R T I C L E S
A B O U T N I C K
A B O U T N I C K
Nick’s creativity made bonsai feel magical and inspired all of us.
Grab your tools and enjoy the articles and videos below to share in his spirit.
Grab your tools and enjoy the articles and videos below to share in his spirit.
|
Nick Lenz’s Once-in-a-Lifetime Whimsical Bonsai and Ceramics Display at The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum National Bonsai Foundation www.bonsai-nbf.org/blog-archive/2019/11/25/nick-lenzs-once-in-a-lifetime-whimsical-bonsai-and-ceramics-display-at-the-national-bonsai-amp-penjing-museum Artist Profile: Nick Lenz The Bonsai Journal bonsaijournal.com/nick-lenz-profile.html Andrew Lenz Archive Abel Lenz andrewlenz.org/ Nick Lenz Initial Styling of a Larch American Bonsai Legacies youtu.be/99mjr_nJDPc?si=rubWrODlLMlUxp5t |
“Nick taught me many, many things. He taught me to take my time and look at "everything all at once." He taught me how to create jin deadwood, how to look at branches, and the importance of learning the whole tree—and how connected it all was by getting your hands and eyes into the soil and onto the roots.
He taught me his joy of bonsai, a joy I now gratefully share.”
- Brandon Herwick
He taught me his joy of bonsai, a joy I now gratefully share.”
- Brandon Herwick
Photography Credit: Brandon Herwick
|
This display is brought to you by
Kris Springer Brandon Herwick Photography provided by Kris Springer Brandon Herwick |
Photography Credit: Abel Lenz
|
T H A N K Y O U T O O U R S P O N S O R S
|
|
|
|
|
D I S C O V E R P O T T E R S I S P R O U D T O S P O N S O R T H E 2 0 2 5 N O R T H A M E R I C A N B O N S A I P O T T E R Y C O M P E T I T I O N
