I had the pleasure of having some free time and getting a chance to visit the Huntington Library during the Aiseki Kai's Annual Viewing Stone Exhibit. It was good to see some familiar faces during the show and getting a chance to catch up. If you never been to the show before its an experience. Viewing stones for me is like looking into an impressionist eye for stones. At time you have to place yourself into the display or look at the title and trying to see what the stone reveals to the viewer. Other times you better darn have a good imagination! This show has a bit of both for everybody. They even have an international stone section this year! The best part of viewing stones is that they are extremely low maintenance, not no maintenance unlike bonsai. Below is a large sampling of some of the stones and trees at this year's show.
Aiseki Kai meets every 4th Wednesday of the Month at the Ken Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena.
In the tokonama is a roster stone representing the 2017 Year of the Roster.
Mizutamari-Ishi, Yuha Desert CA, Uyen Troung
Up close picture of the puddle stone.
Two Peaked Mountain, Skagit County WA, Edd Kuehn
Toofer II, Cache Creek CA, Edd Kuehn
Column Stone, Skagit County WA, Edd Kuehn
Ripples, Nevada Desert NV, Edd Kuehn
Kame, Eel River CA, Uyen Truong
Untitled, Eel River CA, Lis and Phat Vo
Avalanche Peak/Glacial Valley, River in California, Chung and Don Kruger
Untitled, Kern River CA, Lisa and Phat Vo
The Favorite Slot, Mokelumne River CA
Monterey, Anderson Valley CA
Toyama Ishi, Eel River CA, Larry Ragle
Evensong Surf, River in California, Don and Chung Kruger
Shohin Japanese Black Pine
Roaring Falls, River in California, Don and Chung Kruger
Shohin Juniper
Desert Ventifacts - a collection, California and Gobi Desert, Linda Gill
Lenticular Cloud on top of Mountain, California Desert, Ailan Truong
Murphys Stone, Murphys CA, Lee Roberts
Celestial Bridge, Las Vegas CA, Philip Chang
Comfort Figure, Oregon, Freeman Wang
Spring Creek, San Benito CA, Freeman Wang
Shohin Burt Davy-ii Ficus
Embedded Image Stone, Bear Creek WA, Edd Kuehn
A special shout out here! The first time I saw this stone without looking at the title, I shouted out, "Bailey the beluga from Finding Dory!" If you can see it here you have to tell Edd Kuehn.
Really cool accent
Rugged Mountain Stone, Skagit County WA, Edd Kuehn
Uncle, Northern California, Edd Kuehin
Greg Kathol getting in the way of my shot!
Another Burt Davy-ii Ficus, but this one had some serious deadwood which is not very common on ficus.
Island, Kern River CA, John Naka
Secret Forest, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ralph Johnson
Distant Mountain, Eel River CA, Ted Iwaki
Heavenly Plateau, Cornwall England, Ann Horton
Plateau/Hut Stone, China, Ted Iwaki
Mount Kitamura, Murphys CA, Jim and Alice Greaves
Lost Lake, Mojave Desert CA, Peter Bloomer
Flowering Quince Blossom
Cherry Blossom Spring, Elwa River WA, Joel Schwarz
Turtle, Trinchera CO, Karen Higgins
Mountain Range, Nevada Desert, Ralph Johnson
Well, that is it. If you missed the show you have to wait until next year. This year show ends in 2016 and does not cross over into 2017. This is maybe 1/3 of the stones on display. The most interesting talk for the show was Al Nelson walk through on making a daiza for stones. Again, if you like stones this club for you until next time!