suiseki greenhorn

This are my first attemps in suiseki.

With the first one I built my first Daiza, hmm... it seems to be a little bit heavy,
the second one should show a very exhausted man,
and the third one is the one where the Daiza fits better in my opinion.

I Hope some profs can give me advice what to do better.

Regards,
Marco

Here is another one. This is a very dark colored Flintstone.

The last pictured stone reminds me of the famous sculpture "The Thinker" by Rodin ( https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=the+thinker ) - very nice. Regarding its Daiza, I would like to know what others more expert than I am think. But, personally I think it is a bit too small.

Barry M wrote:  Regarding its Daiza, I would like to know what others more expert than I am think.  But, personally I think it is a bit too small.

Thanks Barry, maybe you are right.

Recently I found some new interesting stones. Here are two of them:

Hi,

I like that last stone that you posted very much. I also like the daiza.

The last stone is particularly nice and the daiza are becoming more practised. Google Sean Smith's daiza images to see how an acknowledged master makes them.

Very nice, what sort of timber did you make the first two daiza out of. Thanks.

Hi Marco...

Thank you for sharing several nice stones & an interesting variety of daiza.  I like that you've kept feet for each stone at the same width, which promotes lightness & deflects focus from each wood seat to the stone.  I am impressed at the close fitness of the daiza.

I'd like to learn the base wood & finishing technique on the first daiza-- the suiseki looks Japanese and the daiza finish looks like suri-urushi on keyaki wood.  That is a very elegant wood & finish combination more often seen on teaware saucers & trays than suiseki daiza.  I agree with you that this daiza is too large in mass, which makes the stone appear less prominent.  The elegant finish of the daiza which enhances the beauty of its wood grain also, arguably, draws attention from the stone.

Kev Bailey's recommendation to review daiza by Sean Smith is sound.  Here is a thread {linked HERE} with several of Sean's stones mounted by Sean.

We also have had an Eastern European daiza carver (IBC identity: "PeterBrod") offer excellent advice on IBC.  You can search the IBC archives using a search box on the IBC Homepage.  A search on "daiza" or "wood seat" design could be exhaustive... :-)

For me, your most successful wood seat is the flat-faced, sharp-angled example under the blocky stone. Its close fit and well-proportioned inner wall with 'height (almost) equaling width' is superb. To master that profile reveals talent.  The stone's top-heavy mounting required a broad base for stability.  The daiza is functionally minimal (no larger than it needs to be) & aesthetically harmonizes with the stones flat sides intersecting at sharp angles.

Taller stones typically require taller daiza for balance-- arguably, some daiza supporting your standing stones are too shallow & broad.