Move On From Your Bonsai And Try A Little Suiseki
Having been to most of the big East Coast flower shows, I thought I’d seen everything gardeners could show off. Everything from artichokes to zinnias. Bonsai, orchids and ikebana. Topiary ducks the size of Humvees. Cacti, lilies, clematis. Roses and rock gardens. Big flower arrangements and small.
You get the idea.
Then I went to the San Francisco Flower Show and saw suiseki (pronounced soo-ee-sek-ee).
Suiseki is a Japanese art form, and it’s one step beyond bonsai. Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees, and often includes making them look old and stressed, like trees growing on the top of a mountain, for example. Suiseki is the minimalist’s bonsai: It is bonsai without the tree. That’s right. It’s just a stone. But these are special stones that evoke mountain tops or rugged islands, stones with character and spirit.
According to Frank Mather of Walnut Creek, Calif., suiseki is a way to bring the outdoors inside. As a member of the California Suiseki Society, he was at the San Francisco Flower Show to answer questions and keep an eye on the suiseki, which can be worth thousands of dollars to collectors.
Most of the stones at the show were cut with a diamond-studded wire saw to give each a flat base. They ranged in size from 8 to 18 inches long, 4 to 8 inches wide and were no more than 6 inches off the table top. Mather explained that according to the traditions of suiseki, the stones may not be polished or shaped. Cutting the stones is allowed, but not required, and uncut stones are preferred. Stones may develop a patina over time if rubbed by hand, but no polishing compounds, waxes or buffers can be used.
Each stone at the show was sitting on a “daiza,” or wooden stand. Typically of black walnut, each stand is carved and shaped to fit the exact contours of the stone it will support. Wood rises like a lip containing the stone, and each stands on short feet, holding it up just above the table. It is important that the daiza not compete with the stone, but support it quietly. Another approach is to set a suiseki stone in a “suiban,” or ceramic tray that is lined with white sand. Suiban are readily available from bonsai dealers.
Suiseki stones are available for purchase starting at $50 and going up to $3,000 each, but for Mather the joy of a suiseki is also involved with discovering a stone in nature and seeing its potential. He and club members collect them along rivers or in the mountains where water has worn them smooth. “It’s like going fishing,” he said. “You may not catch anything that day, but you’re almost never sorry you went.”
Evaluating stones in the field is a learned process known as “kawa dojo,” or classroom of the riverbank. Sometimes one must be willing to carry a large stone a long distance in order to bring home something that may or may not end up as a good suiseki stone. Often only a small portion of a stone might end up being used, the tip of the iceberg, if you will.
Mather also explained that, for him, finding a stone provides a strong connection to it. His stones bring him back to the mountains where he collected them, allowing him to visit the mountains every day.
“I get up in the morning and walk down the hall. The soft sidelight on a suiseki placed in a window reveals the textures and contours of the suiseki. It’s like you’re in the mountains. And I can literally do that every day.” But, he added, “It only works for some people.”
Deciding how a stone is cut – and at what angle – is also part of the pleasure. Mather once had a stone for five years before he saw just how to cut it to create a good suiseki. Once cut and mounted, the suiseki are displayed as if they were buried in the earth with just a portion above ground. Some suiseki stones conjure up mountains, islands, rivers – or even human or animal figures.
Cutting a suiseki stone is not an inexpensive proposition. You can bring a stone to a monument cutter, but by the time a stone is cut, you may have $200 to $300 invested. As an alternative, Mather explained, you might join a gem club, as it sometimes has machines available to members to use for cutting stones.
The type of stone used is important. Granite, for example, is not often used, as it tends to weather into spheres as opposed to the complicated, angular shapes favored for suiseki. Serpentine and jadeite are good stones for suiseki, and one stone on display in San Francisco consisted of limestone with igneous intrusions.
Good suiseki can be as timeless and satisfying as a Henry Moore or Giacometti sculpture, only more personal. I’d like to find a good stone this summer, and bring it inside. I’ll not cut it or carve a base for it, but will set it in a bed of sand in an appropriate ceramic basin. In a land of snow and cold, there is definitely something appealing about the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. And suiseki doesn’t require weeding or watering.
You get the idea.
Then I went to the San Francisco Flower Show and saw suiseki (pronounced soo-ee-sek-ee).
Suiseki is a Japanese art form, and it’s one step beyond bonsai. Bonsai is the art of growing miniature trees, and often includes making them look old and stressed, like trees growing on the top of a mountain, for example. Suiseki is the minimalist’s bonsai: It is bonsai without the tree. That’s right. It’s just a stone. But these are special stones that evoke mountain tops or rugged islands, stones with character and spirit.
According to Frank Mather of Walnut Creek, Calif., suiseki is a way to bring the outdoors inside. As a member of the California Suiseki Society, he was at the San Francisco Flower Show to answer questions and keep an eye on the suiseki, which can be worth thousands of dollars to collectors.
Most of the stones at the show were cut with a diamond-studded wire saw to give each a flat base. They ranged in size from 8 to 18 inches long, 4 to 8 inches wide and were no more than 6 inches off the table top. Mather explained that according to the traditions of suiseki, the stones may not be polished or shaped. Cutting the stones is allowed, but not required, and uncut stones are preferred. Stones may develop a patina over time if rubbed by hand, but no polishing compounds, waxes or buffers can be used.
Each stone at the show was sitting on a “daiza,” or wooden stand. Typically of black walnut, each stand is carved and shaped to fit the exact contours of the stone it will support. Wood rises like a lip containing the stone, and each stands on short feet, holding it up just above the table. It is important that the daiza not compete with the stone, but support it quietly. Another approach is to set a suiseki stone in a “suiban,” or ceramic tray that is lined with white sand. Suiban are readily available from bonsai dealers.
Suiseki stones are available for purchase starting at $50 and going up to $3,000 each, but for Mather the joy of a suiseki is also involved with discovering a stone in nature and seeing its potential. He and club members collect them along rivers or in the mountains where water has worn them smooth. “It’s like going fishing,” he said. “You may not catch anything that day, but you’re almost never sorry you went.”
Evaluating stones in the field is a learned process known as “kawa dojo,” or classroom of the riverbank. Sometimes one must be willing to carry a large stone a long distance in order to bring home something that may or may not end up as a good suiseki stone. Often only a small portion of a stone might end up being used, the tip of the iceberg, if you will.
Mather also explained that, for him, finding a stone provides a strong connection to it. His stones bring him back to the mountains where he collected them, allowing him to visit the mountains every day.
“I get up in the morning and walk down the hall. The soft sidelight on a suiseki placed in a window reveals the textures and contours of the suiseki. It’s like you’re in the mountains. And I can literally do that every day.” But, he added, “It only works for some people.”
Deciding how a stone is cut – and at what angle – is also part of the pleasure. Mather once had a stone for five years before he saw just how to cut it to create a good suiseki. Once cut and mounted, the suiseki are displayed as if they were buried in the earth with just a portion above ground. Some suiseki stones conjure up mountains, islands, rivers – or even human or animal figures.
Cutting a suiseki stone is not an inexpensive proposition. You can bring a stone to a monument cutter, but by the time a stone is cut, you may have $200 to $300 invested. As an alternative, Mather explained, you might join a gem club, as it sometimes has machines available to members to use for cutting stones.
The type of stone used is important. Granite, for example, is not often used, as it tends to weather into spheres as opposed to the complicated, angular shapes favored for suiseki. Serpentine and jadeite are good stones for suiseki, and one stone on display in San Francisco consisted of limestone with igneous intrusions.
Good suiseki can be as timeless and satisfying as a Henry Moore or Giacometti sculpture, only more personal. I’d like to find a good stone this summer, and bring it inside. I’ll not cut it or carve a base for it, but will set it in a bed of sand in an appropriate ceramic basin. In a land of snow and cold, there is definitely something appealing about the idea of bringing the outdoors inside. And suiseki doesn’t require weeding or watering.
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posted by Davor Novakovic @ Friday, July 15, 2005
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