ISAS 2010 Lectures Critiques Workshops

For Additional Information visit: www.stoneshow2010.com
Glenn Reusch (540) 672-5699
Sean Smith (717) 957-4172

E-mail: StoneShow2010@aol.com

The ISAS policy is to allow silent observers in the ISAS 2010 workshops of Smith, Valavanis or Skolnik, but not in the Doyle or Morimae workshops.
Jim Doyle (one of the organizers) is leading a stone collecting trip. Obviously, silent observers tagging along behind Jim and the paid participants on their way to the collecting area, and while collecting, will not be welcome. Secondly, Seiji Morimae is conducting a workshop with a very personal touch assisting participants in choosing the best display method for their own stones. It would be disrespectful as well as distracting to allow silent observers in this session.

I look forward to seeing you all in the fall.

Think stones!

Happy hunting,
Glenn Reusch
Registrar, International Stone Appreciation Symposium

excerpt form Fontastic Stones by Arthur Skolnik
"If you’re crazy for stones or want to learn more about them (or want to try something more enlightening that beer) a show devoted exclusively to stone appreciation will take place in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , September 30 - October 3, 2010. The International Stone Appreciation Symposium is the name of this fascinating, educational and inspirational symposium designed to be the most comprehensive event of its kind. The 6 organizers (Jim Doyle, Glenn Reusch , Marty Schmallenberg, me, Sean Smith and Bill Valavanis ) love Bonsai but are passionate enough about the world of Viewing Stones we have, for the 5th time, undertaken the role of hosts.
Our goal is to promote the pure joy and beauty of Stone Appreciation. This will truly be a unique learning and sharing experience. Each of the past 4 shows has been successful on all levels and the 6 of us have, after each of the last 4 shows, been thanked, sometimes overwhelmingly by registrants for the quality and quantity of information and insight we’ve been able to deliver. We, in turn, have the speakers and registrants to thank for making the shows fulfilling and enjoyable for us all. The list of speakers this time includes Rafael Monje Garcia from Spain, Kemin Hu from China / USA, Seiji Morimae of Japan, Larry Ragle from the USA and Peter Warren from the U K. There will be displays, workshops, demos, critiques, vendors, raffles, a connoisseur’s auction, lots camaraderie and plenty of fun. The only complaint we’ve had in the past, “There’s too much information, too many demos, not enough time to relax between events”. Well, we can live with that kind of complaint. Have you ever been to a show where there was too much information about a topic you loved? For a complete list of events, scheduling and registration information go to www.stoneshow2010.com
Beer anyone? Or will it be stones. See you at the International Stone Appreciation Symposium and we’ll have both."

full text at pfmbonsai.com/newsletters/AprilTWIG.pdf (pg2)

Fontastic Stones by Arthur Skolnik

The first time I saw Viewing Stones or Suiseki on display was at a Bonsai show in Tokyo . Many magnificent trees had companions, Suiseki, beside them. I’ll never forget the feeling I experienced while looking at one particular stone. It was low, smooth, subtle, unpretentious and profoundly quiet. In one instant I became initiated. It breathed life into all the other stones. I started seeing and real ly appreciating the rest of the stones not in a passive sense, but as an active process. I was overwhelmed by this new found awareness and connection and then real ized all the other people gazing at that stone were being transported too, to nature, mountains and the vast expanse of the human imagination. I knew we couldn’t all be moved to the exact same place in each of our minds but I marveled at the power of suggestion the stone had to split our focus… it transfixed our physical gaze and at the same time conjured memories and scenery and a kind of peacefulness. How powerful I thought. I could hardly wait to start searching for my own stones and turning my friends on to this new sensation.
Outside of work, I’m the only landscape designer-contractor / Bonsai person in my large group of friends. It has astounded me that so few of my friends are passionate for stones or even like them more than to ask about them when they visit, to be polite. “Nice rock, where’s the beer?” One friend is a professional athlete, another bar-tender and yet another is a criminologist. Other than a juggler and zoologist, I have friends whose jobs cover all the letters of the alphabet. That’s a pretty wide base of experience and exposure yet only a small group of them regards Suiseki as enthralling as I do. I don’t understand. Shouldn’t everyone?
By now we’ve all become familiar with the arts and crafts that adorn the walls and floors of our museums, concert halls and homes. We’ve learned to appreciate how art moves us and how much time is often required to produce a finely constructed craft. The art of appreciating the sensations a beautiful stone can evoke, is without question as much of an interactive experience as any other artistic experience. A great mystery to me will always be why so few of my friends and people in general are not as crazy for stones as those who are.

So, why are so few into it? I think it’s because the object of this art, a stone, has not been shaped, altered, embellished or otherwise improved by the hand of man. This in turn requires two forms of appreciation (obviously not the sort of ability available to the uninitiated). The first is implicit. If the stone commands respect because it’s shape (or suggestibility) captivates the viewer’s imagination and springboards it into the ether, it is art, similar to many other forms of art. The second is explicit. The art object is merely a stone. To us, the stone is understood as the medium. To those who see the stone but don’t see the art in the stone, they can’t get past this fact, and see only a stone. Then they ask where the beer is.

I want to explain it to my uninitiated alphabetized friends this way. Why do fonts speak volumes? Is it memories or life experiences that fabricate these feelings? Why do bubbles rise up from our sub-conscious and tint our perception when we look at words that have been embellished by specific fonts? At some level we’re obviously making associations with the font and connecting it with the context of the text it was chosen for, and at that deep level, imperceptible to our awareness of it, we give fonts the ability to influence us. Most of us have not had font recognition training and not made mental associations with the power a particular font has to heighten or enforce the impact of the written word. Look at the following examples. Impact, Chiller, Harrington, Broadway, Freestyle. Don’t each of these font names and styles work well together? Now look at the same words in Ariel, Impact, Chiller, Harrington, Broadway, Freestyle. They don’t have the same ‘taste’. It’s not that the second group is boring, (although the font does lack distinguishing features,) the first group is alive with character.

I think it has to do with connection, connotation, context and nuance and I also think it has to do with memories and life experiences. Before learning the different names for the different classifications of stones the Japanese have come up with depending on which feature of the landscape they represent, the uninitiated stone viewer needs to learn how to see with his eyes and emotion.“ “The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time”. - Henry David Thoreau.

If you’re crazy for stones or want to learn more about them (or want to try something more enlightening that beer) a show devoted exclusively to stone appreciation will take place in Harrisburg , Pennsylvania , September 30 - October 3, 2010. The International Stone Appreciation Symposium is the name of this fascinating, educational and inspirational symposium designed to be the most comprehensive event of its kind. The 6 organizers (Jim Doyle, Glenn Reusch , Marty Schmallenberg, me, Sean Smith and Bill Valavanis ) love Bonsai but are passionate enough about the world of Viewing Stones we have, for the 5th time, undertaken the role of hosts. Our goal is to promote the pure joy and beauty of Stone Appreciation. This will truly be a unique learning and sharing experience. Each of the past 4 shows has been successful on all levels and the 6 of us have, after each of the last 4 shows, been thanked, sometimes overwhelmingly by registrants for the quality and quantity of information and insight we’ve been able to deliver. We, in turn, have the speakers and registrants to thank for making the shows fulfilling and enjoyable for us all. The list of speakers this time includes Rafael Monje Garcia from Spain, Kemin Hu from China / USA, Seiji Morimae of Japan, Larry Ragle from the USA and Peter Warren from the U K. There will be displays, workshops, demos, critiques, vendors, raffles, a connoisseur’s auction, lots camaraderie and plenty of fun. The only complaint we’ve had in the past, “There’s too much information, too many demos, not enough time to relax between events”. Well, we can live with that kind of complaint. Have you ever been to a show where there was too much information about a topic you loved? For a complete list of events, scheduling and registration information go to www.stoneshow2010.com
Beer anyone? Or will it be stones. See you at the International Stone Appreciation Symposium and we’ll have both.


“The humane person takes pleasure in mountains.”
- Confucius 551-478 BC
Top 20 reasons to pursue Suiseki as a hobby…
1/ can be purchased or found making them eminently collectable.
2/ great mementos of trips to far away lands.
3/ no import or export regulations on ‘geological specimens’.
4/ can become family heirlooms.
5/ great stocking stuffers at Christmas.
6/ show you are in touch with your need for inner peace and solace.
7/ astonish your friends with your extensive knowledge of an ancient Japanese art form.
8/ show you have a broad imagination.
9/ can double as a paperweight, door-stop or ballast.
10/ require no maintenance other than an occasional dusting.
11/ can be displayed in dark areas at home or office.
12/ do not depreciate with the passage of time or through neglect.
13/ can capture and hold your memories for decades.
14/ are springboards to contemplation.
15/ can lead to a greater insight about the universe.
16/ great spot to place gift prizes found in Cracker Jacks or ce real boxes.
17/ can lead to writing poetry.
18/ win bets with friends when you tell them you know what the pawn broker will say… “You want how much for it? You’re crazy, it’s just a rock.”
19/ are fun to dress up and disguise for Halloween.
20/ make great substitutes for eggs at Easter.

by Ina Schwartz guest reporter International Stone Appreciation Symposium, Hershey, PA 2002 -
"A few years ago six men, each described by their loving family and friends as having “rocks in his head”, met at a restaurant. They wanted to organize a Stone Appreciation Symposium in the United States. They knew of S.A.S. conventions in other places around the world, but weren’t sure if anyone would come to such a meeting in this country. On a (by now) famous napkin, which should have been saved for posterity, they pooled their ideas, plans, hopes, and money on a gamble. The very first U.S.A. International Stone Appreciation Symposium was born and held this October in Harrisburg, PA, and 165 participants came from many countries of the world.

What a delight it was for everyone to meet others just like themselves - people who have been searching for and collecting stones because of an affinity many couldn’t explain in words. In addition to the tactile, permanent quality of the stone, there was agreement that the near and distant views of mountains, waterfalls, glaciers, and pools could make memory come alive again. Each stone, set in a form - sculpted wooden daiza or in a suiban selected for display. The miniature world set upon it became an object of the imagination and a beautiful metaphor for the wholeness of nature. It was not “just a rock” at all."