Arizona Petrified Wood Suiseki – Viewing Stone

The following piece of Petrified Wood was found along the Colorado River in Arizona. I purchased the stone on Ebay and alas it arrived in one piece. I was afraid it might break during shipment. I tried making a daiza out of a piece of Ironwood. This was my first attempt at making a daiza. I took the stone down to the local bonsai club and two very advanced stone members thought I should substantially reduce the right side of the daiza. I took their advice and used a power tool on it and removed a lot of wood. I added some movement to the wood at the same time. There was no texture on the wood at all with only some worm holes in the wood. There was a very thin piece of wood on the left side of the diaza with a large cavity behind that. All of the texture you see in the photo is man made. I used a tungstien carbide cutting wheel slightly larger then 1/8 inch to add the texture to the wood. All hollows are man made except the small oval holes. Starting on the top of the wood texture was added radiating out in all directions from the center. The texture continued radiating down the sides of the wood until you hit bottom. All of the hollows have texture in them with the texture still radiating in the same direction using the same line as on top of the wood. This was a very time consuming process. The color of the raw wood was a light gray. I stained the wood a dark mahogany color. I used Tung Oil as a finish for the wood. I like Tung Oil a lot. I used a Dremel with a flexible shaft to carve the wood. The opening for the stone was done with a coarse tungstien carbide cutting wheel used on the Dremel. All in all a fun project during the hot days of summer. For more stones click HERE

Hi Mike.

I love your carved base & cannot imagine reducing it.  It looks uncannily natural.  

For a suiseki daiza in the Japanese sense of form, a supporting wood seat should closely conform to the base of the stone, but this stone is not a strong candidate as a Japanese-style suiseki, which precludes petrified wood as acceptable.  Instead, both the stone & its base scream for acceptance in the shangshi aesthetic, which is revered by modern Chinese stone enthusiasts.  Kemin Hu (an authority on modern Chinese stone enthusiasm) refers to similar stones as "modern Chinese scholar rocks."  

Your shizuo "stone seat" is a work of fine craftsmanship without the stone, but the close fitting of the stone which balances the seat by its height truly elevates the composition.  For me, the wood base rises gently from right-to-left & ends abruptly much like a headland cliff.  Beyond the cliff face, the viewer can imagine is an empty plain (or sea).  Near the edge of the cliff is a magnificent peak rising into the clouds.  It is so steep that only an immortal could attain its summit by flying on the back of a crane.  The peak's most rugged and interesting edges face the empty plain/sea.   The composition harmoniously flows visually from right-to-left from the viewer's perspective.

Thanks so much for sharing in detail your considerable choices in crafting the wood seat.  Great job!

Sincerely,
Chris... C. Cochrane, Potomac Viewing Stone Group

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your kind comments. I had to reread your comments several times to grasp everything you were saying. I am a severely disabled MS patient and it takes me several tries to understand everything that is being said. The piece of petrified wood is very heavy and I wanted something that would not get blown over or knocked over. I have two more Petrified wood stones that I have entered in our local club shows. I am working another piece of white Petrified wood that is going to be a stunner. My only problem is I cannot find what I did with the stone. I had to stop for the winter last year and I have no clue as to what I did with the stone. I am missing a Bonsai stand to, I hope their hanging out together waiting for me to find them.

Did you see the article written by Dr. Tom Elias titled "Petrified Wood as Viewing Stones"?

My other two Petrified Wood stones, I found the white stone in Franktown, Colorado:

First two photos courtesy of Mike Green.

Hi Lost.

Thanks for sharing more about yourself, stone finds & great photos.  

The premier stone is amazing.  The extraordinary wood seat makes the stone shine, for me, because I instantly see a story.  Now, IBC viewers can better appreciate the depth qualities of the stone.  

I have seen Tom Elias's article.  He is a substantial contributor to our stone community.  

Re' your reveal of living with advanced MS, I wish you the best days possible.  I hope folks with lesser disabilities take heart in your striving and accomplishment.  

Take care, my stone friend.

Sincerely,
Chris

Lost2301 wrote:Hi Chris,

Thank you for your kind comments. I had to reread your comments several times to grasp everything you were saying. I am a severely disabled MS patient and it takes me several tries to understand everything that is being said. The piece of petrified wood is very heavy and I wanted something that would not get blown over or knocked over. I have two more Petrified wood stones that I have entered in our local club shows. I am working another piece of white Petrified wood that is going to be a stunner. My only problem is I cannot find what I did with the stone. I had to stop for the winter last year and I have no clue as to what I did with the stone. I am missing a Bonsai stand to, I hope their hanging out together waiting for me to find them.

Did you see the article written by Dr. Tom Elias titled "Petrified Wood as Viewing Stones"?

My other two Petrified Wood stones, I found the white stone in Franktown, Colorado:

First two photos courtesy of Mike Green.

Wow!, They're all beauties!!!


Cheers, John