The foliage of the South inherently calls to those willing to listen. Trees, specifically, called to Zach Adamz from an early age. His first memory of fascination stems from the joyous time he spent outdoors as a child in the landscape of Chattanooga, Tennessee. His time hiking the rocky Appalachian mountains and fishing in the nearby streams and lakes fostered his relationship with the biosphere, sourcing the inspiration for his art.
As humans and trees grow, age, and change, Zach Adamz embraced his call to become a muse for the natural world as a Bonsai artist. Adamz has practiced his craft for over a dozen years, even turning his passion for Bonsai into a business model to share with the Oxford community.
His journey to study the art of Bonsai was one on an international scale. He left his home in Chattanooga shortly after graduating high school to study at the National Bonsai Museum in Seoul, South Korea, in 2019. He qualified as a Bonsai master and utilized his new-gained artistic knowledge in the United States. He reminisces how the first of his works drew from his hikes among the trees in Korea and how his time abroad was integral to his artistic development. From Salt Lake City, Utah, to Austin, Texas, Adamz eventually was called to the University of Mississippi.
Amongst his travels, Adamz found love: his wife, whom he is happily married to, and their four children. The family’s move to the charming town of Oxford, Mississippi, was spurred by the offer of an academic teaching position. The landscape of Northern Mississippi provided comfort and familiarity for Adamz, the mixed forest environment beckoning him back to his true calling.
However, his recreational passion was soon challenged by the necessity to provide for his family. About a year after moving to Oxford, the mundane lifestyle of academia was not fulfilling. As the University took a different route, Adamz looked at his craft in a new light. Taking up Bonsai as a full-time commitment, Adamz was forced to look actively at what he was creating from an outside perspective. He learnt “…how to balance personal taste and objective beauty in [his] art form.”
Thus, in 2021, Komorebi Bonsai was born. The Japanese term, Komorebi, meaning “sunlight that filters through the leaves to the forest floor,” inspired sharing his practice with the Mississippian community. From selling his work to offering workshop classes, Adamz has discovered a way to stay true to the core value of his art whilst providing.
“Every tree reflects a piece of memory within the landscape,” he says. As the rings of trees display age and memory, so do the miniature models of his work. He often states that a tree in his collection “Looks like the one we climb at grandma’s house” or reminds a viewer of “That one tree at the lake by the cabin.” Adamz gains joy from fulfilling his artistic purpose and takes pride in connecting people with the cherished places of their past through the natural environment.
His art continues to pull from the landscape of the South, drawing on the creative sense that the natural world is not always the inspiration but more so the human-environment interaction. He values the people of Mississippi due to their ability to live within the realm of nature, not just on its soil. Mississippi shines through his pieces as he continues to explore the state’s biodiversity and cultural history and how that can be cultivated to be part of his craft.
Adamz shares his desire to contribute to the community by showing that Bonsai is not just a Japanese art to be practiced in Mississippi, but an art form of Mississippi. He reflects the traditions and heritage of the South through the native species and climate by working in tandem with the natural world.
“Understanding how the tree works, how it grows, and spending that time with the tree takes you to the next level of contemplation with yourself and with something that can’t communicate with you on a verbal level.” Whilst nature cannot converse with words, Adamz has pursued his desire to express the words of the natural world with its viewers through Bonsai.
After practicing recreationally for 15 years, He continues to share his gift through his children. He spends his time helping them collect moss and rocks in the woods of Mississippi. His love for his family has evolved into a new inspiration for his art. Zach Adamz not only thrives by surrounding himself with nature but also by bestowing his naturalistic gift of Bonsai with others.
His gallery, workshop classes, and more can be viewed at www.kobo-bonsai.com. To see more of his work, his personal account can be found at @zma_adamz on social media platforms.
