Pacific Northwest Viewing Stone Club
- part of Puget Sound Bonsai Association

Appreciation of Viewing Stones

Viewing stone appreciation originated as an art form in China more than 1,500 years ago, and later expanded to Korea and Japan. But appreciation of viewing stones as natural or found art has existed in the Western World for only a relatively short time. In Japan, viewing stones have a long tradition of being displayed with bonsai. Today, stones are frequently exhibited in formal exhibitions with bonsai to complement trees and are treasured worldwide by collectors.

What are viewing stones? They are stones shaped by the forces of wind, water, sand, and ice. The cascading action of water, sand and other material in swift flowing rivers or coastal wave action are the elements that create many viewing stones. Stones found in the deserts of the western United States and elsewhere are now sought after by collectors. These ventifacts are created by the elements and many have a high polish caused by a chemical reaction.

There are many categories or classifications of viewing stones. The largest and most commonly collected category are scenic vista miniatures of mountains, or Mountain Stones – some endowed with waterfalls, lakes, pools, snow and terraces. Shore Stones represent seascapes, islands and other scenes found along coastal areas. Desert landscapes are often depicted in ventifacts. A second major category is Object Stones, stones that resemble objects including humans, animals, plants and even a few man-made objects such as boats and huts. Celestial Stones represent images found in the heavens including the moon, stars and deep space while weather pattern stones represent meteorological events. Still other stones are sought after for their color, images embedded on their surfaces, or their abstract patterning or shape.

 Stones are most often displayed in a wooden base custom-carved to snuggly fit the bottom of the stone and preset the stone in an optimal viewing position. Stones that are seen in the context of water or desert sand may be displayed in ceramic or metal containers filled with water or complementary colored sand. Stones with a flat bottom that will stand in a desired viewing position may be placed on a thin dark-colored board. Alteration of the visible surface of a stone is to be avoided as some collectors believe cutting a stone kills the “spirit” of the stone. However, a single cut on the bottom of a stone has become accepted to allow it to rest in an optimal viewing position, but the cut edge must be out of view in a carved base or sand.

Coming up: Stone Images XV

Stone Images 14

For the last several years the Pacific Northwest Viewing Stone Club has put on the Stone Images viewing stone show at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. This is year 14. We are soliciting for entries into this year’s show. Please enter your viewing stones. To qualify stones must:

• Not have been shown in a previous Stone Images show

• Be displayed on a daiza, ceramic suiban, metal doban,
  or on a wooden jita or dark pillow.

See the Stones

about us…

Bonsai and viewing stones are two art forms that complement each other.  Collecting and displaying viewing stones have a rather short but fruitful history in the Northwest but its roots go back to ancient China, Korea and Japan. In China these objects are known as scholar, in Korea they are called suseok,  the Japanese call them suiseki and in the United States we refer to them as viewing stones. 

 A small group of Californians is known to have searched for stones in the Stillaguamish River in the early 1990’s.  In 2006 a handful of PSBA members formed the club as an informal study group to foster appreciation and collect stones. Viewing stones are prized for their shape, colors, or an embedded image or pattern on their surface.

In addition to staging an annual exhibit at the Pacific Bonsai Museum, club members go on summer and fall outings to collect stones and regularly display new stones at PSBA meetings. The club also educates members on how to find, evaluate and display stones. It also has held workshops to teach members how to carve custom wooden bases that fit stones when they are displayed.

For more information about the group please contact us.

See our photo gallery: Viewing Stone Gallery

See our show: Viewing Stone Exhibition - Stone Images VII
Pacific Bonsai Museum, Tuesday, November 1st, 2022 through Sunday, January 8th, 2023

Scales of a mythical dragon, rugged black mountains soaring to one inch and a hungry bear fishing for a tasty salmon are among more than 30 viewing stones that will go on display in the pavilion at the Pacific Bonsai Museum in Federal Way starting Nov. 1 and running through Jan.8, 2023. The show, Stone Images 12, is being staged by the Northwest Viewing Stone Club which is a study group of the Puget Sound Bonsai Association.

By popular demand the club’s Viewing Stone Petting Zoo will return on Saturday, Nov. 5, and young stone lovers can learn how to polish new life into a dull looking stone. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Appreciation of viewing stones as a natural art form dates back at least 1,500 years in China, Japan and Korea, but only started to spread around the world late in the past century. Japan has a centuries-long tradition of showing viewing stones in formal bonsai displays. In China these stones are known as Scholar stones or gongshi. In Japan they are called suiseki while Koreans call them suosek. Today these stones are prized by collectors and there are viewing stone clubs on every continent except Antarctica.

Viewing stones are shaped by the forces of nature. The powerful action of water, sand and other stones in swift flowing rivers and streams over time create many viewing stones. So does the pounding coastal action of waves. Stones found in the deserts of the western United States are called ventifacts and they are shaped by wind-blown sand, frost and colored by chemical reactions in harsh desert environments.

There are numerous categories or classifications of viewing stones. The most commonly found are miniatures of mountain vistas, some which are enhanced by waterfalls, lakes, pools, snow and clouds. Shore stones represent islands and rugged coastlines. Celestial stones copy images found in the heavens including the sun, moon, stars and deep space. Object stones depict human or animal figures while abstract stones include fanciful shapes, patterns or color combinations. When displayed a viewing stone sits in a custom-carved wooden base called a daiza. Stones also can be set in a sand-filled ceramic or metal container, on a fabric pillow, or on simple board

The Pacific Bonsai Museum is located in Federal Way near the old Weyerhaeuser Corporation headquarters building and is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

For more information go online to http://pacificbonsaimuseum.org