John Biel started bonsai about 23 years ago with Bill Valavanis of Rochester, New York. John, a retired Program Analyst, is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he maintains his diverse collection of both collected and nursery stock bonsai.

His bonsai have appeared in many professional bonsai magazines and texts. Most recently, they have been selected every year in the top 100 in the JAL contest. His sinuous larch bonsai was accepted by the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection.

He is past president of the Toronto Bonsai Society (two terms) and serves on the editorial board of International BONSAI magazine. He was also Program Chairman for IBC '97. John has authored many articles for premier bonsai magazines and also presented programs in the US, Canada and the UK.