Bonsai Boy

Daily dedication, patience, and detailed craftsmanship are usually considered elevated virtues only for the wise and mature. But 10-year-old bonsai artist Tyler DeBlauw is proof that even the young can possess these sublime abilities.

DeBlauw’s work as a member of the Santa Barbara Bonsai Club recently merited him a Golden State Bonsai Federation scholarship that allows him to further study the ancient Japanese tradition of carefully pruning and shaping ordinary trees into miniature, potted versions of themselves. 

“It’s really fun to make them. You train it, trim it, keep it small,” said DeBlauw in an interview with The S.B. Independent.