#28 Travis Hendrix - California Bonsai Apprentice

In late May of this year I spent three days working on trees at Peter Tea's studio and workshop.  On one of those days, I got to sit down and chat with Peter's full time apprentice Travis Hendrix.  We covered a wide range of topics including what his apprenticship has been like so far, why Travis picked Peter Tea, his future goals, CA natives, Japanese gardening, collecting, growing trunks and a lot more.  I always enjoy getting to hang out with Travis and am excited to see big things from him in the future.    You can follow along with Travis's Bonsai Journey here- Instagram: californiabonsaiapprentice  Chapters (00:00:00) - Nakamalex Exhibit(00:01:07) - What was your first bonsai book?(00:02:30) - How did you get into bonsai?(00:05:01) - Apprentices Become Bonsai Pros(00:06:10) - What are your future goals in bonsai?(00:07:42) - Peter T and Jeff Stern(00:10:06) - What's a day to day look like as an apprentice under Peter(00:12:07) - Bonsai and Gardening: California natives(00:14:00) - California Native Gardening(00:18:25) - Bill Castellan's Japanese Garden(00:19:23) - Boulders placed in odd numbers(00:19:55) - How to Build a Bonsai Japanese Garden(00:23:56) - What Tools Do You Use To Move Big Stones?(00:27:20) - Repotting a Giant Juniper Tree(00:30:28) - Coming Along and Pedal: Trees and shrubs(00:31:32) - Oak and Valley Oaks(00:32:06) - Oak Collecting(00:32:44) - How to dig a live oak(00:35:41) - Bonsai in the Garden: An Oak Tree(00:37:47) - Bonsai 101: Water Your Oaks(00:40:27) - Peter's Bonsai Teacher Interview(00:42:03) - Bonsai Artist Peter Smith on Training in the US(00:44:34) - Peter Yamadori's technique(00:48:01) - Do you like grafting native junipers?(00:49:07) - What types of trees would you grow?(00:52:36) - What do you think of oak bark?(00:54:42) - Air Layering Oaks(00:56:47) - Building Your Own Bonsai Garden(00:58:42) - Bonsley on Talking About Oaks(00:59:14) - Bonsai Apprentice: Goals