Jasper Stones

Stone friends:

This is about learning.....how best to display a stone ! Some of you intellectualize the process and some go with their "gut" ! I want to hear from both sides.. even if you disagree !! I WILL make the final decision only if the stone's display pleases me.

Chris, thanks for the suiban information.....if you don't mind I will be sending the daiza pictures you emailed; to my friend Chip Sperry. Chip has carved many daiza for club members and his daiza are reminiscent of Sean Smith's.

Ok... what do you think of the suiban I used for this boat stone.....placement?


Norma

Hi Norma... The original matching works-- moving the stone very modestly to the left would leave less pinching of the boat's stern. The stone could not be arranged much to the left without affecting the strong visual flow toward the left which strengthens the feeling of movement & boundless room to wander in the mindscape. A slighty longer & wider tray might allow wider placement choice, but I would be concerned of the tray's visual mass detractng from the stone.

A photo at higher angle would better reveal the stone and its tray placement.

For an arrangement with modest visual mass and emphasizing openness, a shallower tray might be considered. The attached shallow tray illustration might be improved with additional tray width opening area in front of the stone toward the viewer, but I like it well-enough. A doban might be shallower & look substantial covering similar area...

Another boat from IBC archives...

I am happy to find this place and many people who enjoy the art of stones
the display of the stones are different from the way of our Chinese people, but they are really lovely.

Welcome to IBC, Wen. Among the most avid stone enthusiasts are those who prefer Chinese stones, roots & their display. Discussion of Chinese stone appreciation in modern or scholar style is very welcomed, here.

I recently merged two photos for sketching practice. They have been displayed in separate events by Potomac Viewing Stone Group members in Washington DC. Can the spirit of the objects be caught in a drawing? It would be better, perhaps, to draw them from life.

Dear Norma

The boat stone attracks me very much , it looks like a strong boat ,
without being plump .
The abstaction of a natural half-circle gives a comforting and peacefull feeling.

Also the placement in the righthand side of the suiban.
The boat has a world in front and can sail just outside the suiban .

For this reason my thoughts go , as Chris's, to a shallower and wider presentation for the boat stone.
Other reasons like my personal preference for dualisme in shape within one image also.

I made a virtual to show .
The "slab" is flat , made of 2 kinds of wood and thin.
More wideness is made in the broader edges on the right- and lefthand side.
The wood is used in it's natural way , with structures visible .
Shown in the second picture , imagen painted in a blackish color ?
I don't know how such a presentation item is called ,
but Your stone was very inspirational to me .
Thank You !
Kind regard
Morea

Hi Morea... Your tray design for Norma's stone is very engaging. I think of an engawa (verandah) mitigating space between the inside of a shoin-style home and its garden space while additionally extending in each direction beyond entry to the scene.

Marc Peter Keane uses similar construction (though more masculine) for his bontei ("pot + garden"): http://www.mpkeane.com/bontei/bonteihome.html

In the 1960s, Japanese stone enthusiasts mounted garden-size stones in indoor places calling the arrangements sekitei "stone gardens." These were arranged on a series of islands (using a variety of matting, rug or crushed stone bases for each island) & stones (which appeared bottom-cut) as mountains. Recently, I hear such a composition with naturally contoured Chinese stones was mounted in a store window in Fredericksburg, Virginia. (I am hoping to get a photo from the stones' or the store's owner!) Think of "sekitei" an oversized bonseki-style arrangement not limited to the size of its tray. The kanji characters of sekitei are the same characters in reverse for niwa-ishi ("garden stones"), which are related to suiseki in some classification systems (notably the "Ornamental Stone chart" of Saburo Ei frequently referenced by California Aiseki Kai's Larry Ragle).

Perhaps the penultimate garden stone in an indoor setting which I have seen was in the home of I.C. and Helen Su in the mountains just north of Taipei. The stone must have weighed a couple of tons, and it had been placed in the house with a crane during the construction of the house. Unfortunately, I cannot find a photo of the stone.

Hi Morea,

Your creative tray suggestion is something I will seriously consider. With its flair and modern approach it fits nicely in the niche of suiban acceptance. I have recently seen wood suiban offered from Japan and wonder if usage of wood rules out the water settling of sand ? I imagine it could be treated with a sealer ?

Chris, I enjoyed the Marc Peter Keane web site! Oh, if only our art could be shown in galleries for big $$$$


Thanks ,

Norma

Dear Chris
The link You gave is very inspiring and i enjoyed very much
to see the work of this artist .
He has also some very special ceramics !!!
On the web i looked for "sekitei" , this one caught my attention.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harima-ankokuji-sekitei01.jpg
In a BIG TRAY with water around !!

Dear Norma
Seeing the above picture from the link , Your question for water or sand use
gave me an extra dimension and thoughts.
It is not so difficult to be able to use water or sand with a wooden tray.
Underneath one has to cover all with epoxy.
Even the middle part can be made thinner , , because the epoxy will give a
lot of strength to the complete tray.
Yesterday evening i visited the friend who made the table , shown in the picture.
Drew him Your stone and my tray design .
We both had shining eyes and 2 "daydreams" melted to one .

The 3th of June i have to go to hospital because my reumathism
is very nasty and getting worse , after this i "sail with Your boat again"
Kind regards
Morea

Dear Morea... Facing hospitalization for rheumatoid arthritus, you are exceptionally generous to think of us. We think of you, too. Thanks for keeping us among your friends. Thanks for exploring alternatives to common suiban & miniature landscape traditions. Please, keep us in the loop on your recovery!

Liners to hold water, ash et al. are frequently crafted for artistically-crafted containers that would otherwise be porous. I love naturally contoured or woven (e.g. basketry) materials supplemented by a functional liner which make their use a delight.