Aiseki Kai Newsletter

The California Aiseki Kai newsletter is now out. It is one of the best, if not the best Suiseki only newsletters out there and I look forward to it every month.

As I mentioned below, after the Stone symposium, I was asked to write something regarding my approach to stones, so I did. You can find it in the newsletter which I think is a worthy read here

Here it is on my site though....

Over thinking and under feeling: a difference in approach from West to East

After my experiences at both the 2008 and 2010 ISAS symposia and along with reading much of the discussion and debate on the internet, it is obvious that the approach many people take to Suiseki differs greatly. It is not my place to criticise or denigrate opposing points of view but rather explain the why behind mine and hope that it helps others to understand their own. After a few years involvement within the Bonsai and Suiseki world in the west, both European and American, I have noticed that there is one particular topic which is very rarely discussed. Many enthusiasts and professionals wax lyrical about what is or is not a Suiseki and how to understand it in simplified terms and conditions; however I have yet to find many people who talk about why they do Suiseki. Although there are many reasons and none is superior to any other, we are all entitled to our opinions and tastes yet we are seemingly afraid to openly discuss our motivation.

My initial experiences of Suiseki were entirely in a Japanese environment and I was lucky enough to be exposed to very high quality stones in a traditional environment. At first I found it strange that lumps of rock could be revered in such a way however as time passed I began to truly enjoy the appreciation of Suiseki in a deeper and philosophical way. After coming into contact with Bonsai and Suiseki I began to reconsider the logic which I had previously studied during a degree course in Physics as stones spoke to me of a world beyond my immediate comprehension. Suiseki is, to quote from the new Matsuura book, “anything but scientific” and allowed me to “feel the poetics and beauty of all things in nature.” Stones which have a provenance of over 500 years can tell us many stories but more importantly, if approached with the correct mind they can give us an insight into ourselves and the way in which see the world around us.

Many of the Japanese aesthetic ideals are concerned with the passage of time and an implicit understanding that death is inevitable yet not to be feared. We are impermanent and the universe continues with or without us and Suiseki is a reminder of this. A stone which was created before humanity and will outlast us, yet in this infinitesimal period of time has been appreciated by many, creating a chain of linked experience and shared history which varies according to the individual who gazes upon it. Therein lies the rub, the problem of the individual, and in the case of the appreciation of an Eastern practice through Western eyes, a significantly different mindset.

The logical mindset of the West at times has difficulty embracing the Eastern approach where less emphasis is placed on the quantification of reality and is more interested in the understanding of it through experience, observation and empathy. Rather than seek to define what is observed and conclude an eternal and universal truth, it accepts that “while I see this as x, tomorrow it may be y and for another viewer it may be z.” While a Japanese viewer may see a red mountain stone which reminds him of Mt. Wakakusa, an Italian may see Mt. Sassolungo in the autumn and another viewer may see himself walking through the hills surrounding his Pennsylvanian childhood home. It is true that all viewers see a mountain but in different contexts. This can be taken even further with more abstract stones, particularly object stones. In one figure stone different viewers can see dragons, dogs, people or whatever takes their fancy. An individual and particular appreciation of stones without the limitation of explicit names, either poetic or categorical, is a large part of the enjoyment of Suiseki.

For me the beauty of Suiseki is the lack of Aristotelian logic and the limitless possibilities a stone can offer the viewer. Without mystery and ambiguity, the beauty of a stone is lost and it becomes a rock, a geological formation with value only as a curio. The Japanese are well renowned to favour black and smooth stones with a quiet and simplistic appearance. Such a stone creates a blank canvas in which the viewer can see a rich tapestry of internal feelings which are destroyed by external considerations such as the geological composition or the positioning of the signature on a scroll.

Approaching Suiseki through an either/or logic limits the ability of an enthusiast to appreciate Suiseki. There is a greater depth to the practice of Suiseki and whilst classification of stones is an important entry point into the deep and mysterious world, it is just that, an entry point. Others of a more spiritual or artistic bent will look to take further steps along the path provided by Suiseki to a deeper and more personal, particular understanding. As I stated at the beginning, I firmly believe that no one reason for doing Suiseki is superior to any other, for many the joy of collecting is the sole motivation and for others the classification and naming of stones brings pleasure. As you have seen in Wil’s excellent series of notes from Japan, the umbrella of Suiseki is wide and varied, however the motivation of each group and school of thought is clear, distinct and evolves over time. Each can exist peacefully next to each other as they are all different viewpoints of the same thing. It is unfair to expect everybody to sit meditating in front of stones to get a deeper understanding of the nature of the Universe (this is something which very rarely happens in my life); equally I feel that it is unfair to force everybody into the same way of thinking and interpretation which is something that taxonomy and the literal naming of stones does.

When approaching the discussion of Suiseki, the motivation of others as well as one’s own motivation for doing suiseki must be considered. While I find the debates created by adherence to rigid systems on both sides of the argument both counterproductive and circular, it is not in keeping with the spirit of Suiseki to add fuel to the fire or ridicule anybody else. Self improvement is not achieved by pushing others down, but rather by examining one’s own position. I do not look to speak for the Japanese and my personal approach to Suiseki is something which is rooted in both West and Eastern thinking and feeling. I have found in Suiseki aesthetic ideas which resonate within and allow me to see through different eyes. Over time and without a conscious thought process, philosophical questions posed in quantum mechanics lectures began to explain themselves in ways which I am yet to fully understand. Only through further study and dedication will it become clearer.

Just my humble opinion like...

Back from some wandering again...or was it just wondering

I said in my previous post, which was over a month ago that I would be more prolific with posting but that clearly hasn't happened. I hope anybody that follows this is actually still there. I feel it is necessary to post stuff to help people to understand what I do and what I am thinking but, like my dislike of living life through a lens, I have been more focused on learning and experiencing new things...some of which have been incredible and given me a different outlook on Bonsai, others simply good fun.

I have just returned from a month long trip to the US which took in two major conventions and plenty of private work and clubs in between. The first convention was one which is very close to my heart as it is the only purely stone orientated convention and it is run by a good friend and spiritual brother of mine, Sean Smith. This year I was invited to speak about Japanese Suiseki Aesthetics, a topic which made me think greatly and do some academic research into things which I had taken for granted or simply accepted. I was very worried that my talk would be dry and too academic but it was warmly received, particularly by those people who are much more learned than me. The world of Japanese Aesthetics is a very vague and indistinct one, the concept of beauty for the Japanese is something difficult to define and comes from the heart more than the head. It was good practice for me to try and make it come from the head and along with a lot of the discussion that took place at the event, I wrote an article for the California Aiseki Kai newsletter which will be published soon. I will link it here when it goes up.

Mr. Morimae of Wabi fame also came and spoke and I had the honour of translating for him for some of the time, if you can call it an honour, it was a trying and difficult ordeal but I made it through relatively unscathed. He talked a lot about many of the things I had spent the summer thinking about. This is not unsurprising as he is the organiser of the Genkoukai, the group who put on a very special exhibition in Kyoto at the end of January. At the end of January I had seriously considered quitting Bonsai for various reasons which need not be discussed here, but after visiting their small but refined exhibition and speaking with several of the key figures in the group and also taking time to sit down with the Chief and discuss why we do Bonsai, I decided that my short term annoyance with the shady side of Bonsai was not as important as having a grand view of things and the necessity to concentrate on the path rather than the goal.

After a few months of ruminating on this, Mr. Morimae spoke at great length of the importance of approaching Suiseki with the correct heart and mind. Rather than looking to criticise and look for the negative, it is better to be more accepting and appreciative of the effort that has been put into it. This was something that I had felt at the Newstead exhibition in the middle of September. Whilst the overall level of quality of individual trees had decreased slightly, the overall level of effort and spirit had increased dramatically. There were many new names and faces who were trying hard rather than resting on their laurels. This would feature again later in my trip

After the show I spent a few weeks on the North East coast, mainly with Sean Smith but also up in Rochester, NY and also down at one of the greatest single collections of Bonsai in the west, the Kennet Collection. During my time with Sean, we spent many a night discussing the future of Suiseki in the west and how we can both best serve the small but dedicated number of enthusiasts. The Cuba Libre's certainly helped the conversations flow but it was refreshing to speak freely and openly about the problems and the positives that come up. Sean also taught me a few new techniques and it was incredible to watch a true craftsman at work. I commissioned him to make a new box for an antique scroll I purchased. I was very happy not only with the final result but also to have been able to watch him in action. It also gave me another insight into why rather than simply how.

One of the other highlights of the trip was the fact that I got to experience an American Halloween for the first time...including carving my very first pumpkin. Staying with Sean meant that I got to hang out with his daughter who, along with most girls/women I meet, seemed to enjoying making fun of me, calling me "Accent Boy" and moking my clear and perfect speech. I did get even though by beating her at pumpkin carving and the Disco numbers on Just Dance on the Wii. I challenge anybody to beat me on it...my rendition of "Ring my Bell" will go down in history.

I have just written another page of text but due to the wonder that is windows and this stupid blogging tool, it has been lost. I am an analog person. I need to sleep so I shall add to this again later.

It has been a while since my last blog entry. I have had a lot on and also been thinking a lot about various different things. A lot has happened in the interim period, a lot of workshops, a trip to Poland, Newstead show and a lot of research for my talk at the Stone Symposium next week.

I am leaving for the US soon for a month or so but I will have lots of updates while I am away...trips are always interesting and I always discover a new aspect of Bonsai.

My work with Bonsaibasho.com has continued, Phil has put more videos up, rather than link them all here, just follow this link to find them http://www.youtube.com/user/bonsaibasho. We have done one for wiring as well which Phil is getting all giddy about. I look forward to that series. It did involve me wiring a tree all day which is something I am not used to doing any more.

I had a trip to Ibuki Bonsai in Poland recently to work with Mariusz there, it was a very interesting trip and we worked on some good trees. Not the greatest pics but we had fun and got on very well.

This is a wonderful mugo pine which I tweaked and put on the road to an exhibition. I cannot claim much of the credit here, all we did was refinement work...but the small touches are some of the most important ones...a tiny bit of space here, the uncovering of a root or a branch and the whole tree changes.

The exhibition at Newstead was a great weekend. John Hanby did a great job with the show as always and there was a great atmosphere in the place. A lot of people commented on it. A lot of new trees as well, not all to the highest standard in the world, but well presented and lots of new faces which is great for the Bonsai community. The Shohin was of the highest quality, I give massive credit to John Armitage for promoting shohin via the BSA and for such talented people as Duncan Hield and Mark and Ritta Cooper for putting on the best Shohin display I have seen outside of Japan. Many of the trees have come from Japan but most a long time ago. I was very happy to see a fully developed and well ramified Zelkova that was brought over five years ago as a stump, when I first met Mark and Ritta in Japan, I am very much looking forward to the Shohin event in March 2011. We have a thriving Shohin scene in the UK which is, in the most part, down to the hard work of John Armitage.

Suiseki has been playing a large part of my life for the last few weeks, as has Japanese Aesthetics. I have been doing a lot of research and preparation for my talk. I even went down to the British Library to read over some old books. Made me feel like an unwashed student again. It was great to learn some new things and read in words and solidify ideas that I had experienced with my eyes and thoughts. It has pushed me closer to the ever elusive book. I will be discussing that with the Chief in November. More as it comes.

For anybody that loves ceramics, please check out Stone Monkey and his tea bowls. They are outstandingly good and I bought one yesterday as a present for myself. He goes from strength to strength with his works and will certainly take on the mantle of the UK's greatest potter as the current generation begin to wind down production.

Must try harder on the blog front....

A long journey finished, another begins...

Apologies for not posting anything recently, most of the recent stuff has been a bit off on a tangent anyway, sorry for that, seems to have bored most people into silence. One of the reasons for my silence is that I have been on a bit of a trek recently, physically as well as mentally. 3000 miles in three days solid driving...nice. It has taken me a week to get over it! More on that later. you can find out a little back ground detail in this new article here

More of the Bonsai Basho videos have gone on line....part one of a series on tools. It is for beginners mainly I guess but there will be something in it for anyone who uses Bonsai tools. I know I go on about it a lot and it now means I have to practice what I preach.



Just yesterday I worked on a phenomenal collected yew that a student of mine had picked up for an absolute bargain price. I wish that I had gotten to it first....as per usual I didnt have my camera with me so I will wait for him to send me some pictures. We will get round to sand blasting it over the winter or next year. I am in the process of building a sand blasting kit, so expect some pictures of that soon. Have four days of workshops from tomorrow so will get some pictures there as well. I really need to work on this self promotion thing....

Pesticide problems

Phil over at Bonsai Basho towers has been a busy boy. He has finished the video for the azalea transformation. It can be seen here on You tube or if you pop over to www.bonsaibasho.com and register you can see them both plus an exclusive bit of text explaining what is going on.

We also did a video about the problem that has been facing a lot of people up and down the country this year, spider mites on Junipers. The video misses out a bit of the explaination of the problem so I will be adding text to it asap. but here it is. Please excuse the poor quality of explaination. It was all one cut stuff and some of it was unusable due to back ground interference.

Now the pesticide problem is one which I alluded to in my last post and it one which prompted a response regarding DDT. Now before we start I will state that I am all for the environment and living in close relation to the earth, I do not agree with widespread and unrestrained use of agro chemicals, I wish we didn't live in a world where demand for cheaper and standardised produce was driven by profit obsessed behemoths such as Tesco...that said, the myths and junk science that surround the DDT are legend showing us the fundamental difficulty with such issues. The problem lies with the burden of proof that is required by scientists, but not by environmental campaigners who are happy with anecdotal evidence and the policy makers who are at the mercy of lobbyists and voters. Sadly I fall somewhere between the two camps, I require a certain amount of proof, and in the case of the egg shell thinning of birds, for every research paper proving DDT was the cause in the dec line, there is another paper to prove that it wasn't.. A very good article can be found here which links to much of the evidence both for and against.

What is abundantly clear is that the anecdotal evidence of the post-war decline in predatory birds can be attributed to, but in a purely scientific way, it cannot be proved beyond doubt that DDT was the singular cause. The ban of its use on a widespread and unrestrained scale in the western world is a good thing, as shown by the increase in numbers of predatory birds throughout the world since the DDT ban.

This leads me to the point about Defra and the banning of pesticides seemingly at random. The lack of scientific rigour and common sense in their haphazard way of deciding what is good and what is bad is astounding.

Take the case of Bifenthrin, recently banned in the latest cull of chemicals. It was the active component of Rose Clear 3, a very useful contact pesticide. Bifenthrin is a Pyrethroid, a synthetic version of Pyrethrin, an organic chemical obtained from Chrsanthemum flowers. Both Bifenthrin and Pyrethrin are of low toxicity to mammals, but high toxicity to aquatic life. Neither are carcinogenic.

Bifenthrin was banned in the cull, but Pyrethrin is still available on the shelves of garden centres up and down the country. If Pyrethrin gets into the water system, it will just as fatal as Bifenthrin...just as fatal as bleach or Jeyes Fluid. If both build up in humans through consumption of crops which have been sprayed with it, neither will be dangerous. Apart from the slightly longer half life in soil of bifenthrin, what is the difference? Perhaps the word organic? More importantly, what is Rose Clear 4 now made from?

Careful examnation shows that the active ingredient is Acetamprid, which unlike bifenthrin, is a systemic insecticide, not a contact killer. It is a neonicotinoid, which is a synthetic replacement for Nicotine, a traditional pesticide. The problem lies with anecdotal evidence from France, Germany, Italy and Canada which prove a strong link between the use of neonicotinoids and the tremendous decline in Bee population.

Colony Collapse Disorder has been attributed to may things but there is a strong, yet unproven anecdotal link between the collapse of bee colonies and the presence of such pesticides as Acetamprid, the replacement for the relatively harmless Bifenthrin. As early ago as the 1990's French Bee Keepers made the link between the rise in the use of neonicotinoids and the decline of bees and honey production. Whilst Bifenthrin is toxic to bees if used indiscriminately and sprayed directly onto a colony, it does not have the same effect as Acetamprid.

One the one hand Defra claim to protect the countryside, one the other hand they are a Bureaucratic monster which does no good what so ever, causing more harm. On the decision to ban bifenthrin, from the Defra website...

"In March 2009, the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health voted on the European Commission’s proposal for the non-inclusion of bifenthrin in Annex I of Directive 91/414/EEC. The Commission proposal for bifenthrin did not achieve a Qualified Majority agreement. Under Directive 91/414/EEC a “non-opinion” in Standing Committee means the dossier is referred to the Council, which then has three months to act. If a decision is not taken within three months, the Commission will adopt its original proposal by default."

Which means that because they couldn't be bothered to reach a majority vote either way, and nobody could be bothered to do any research to figure out what was worth doing. Agro Chemical companies couldn't be bothered to shoulder the burden of proof as they have many more toxic chemicals which are yet to be banned left to sell. It is not as if Defra don't have money to burn...£350 million wasted on a computer system that doesn't work , a rebranding and new website. All this while money to allow farmers to create land for birds to nest on and thrive in is desperately needed.

Through a complete lack of common sense and blind following of EU legislation and disregard for true science and direct observation, problems like this continue to occur. When the bee population of this country continues to decline, as more and more colonies collapse, the blame must surely lie with Defra. Their random nature shows a lack of leadership and policy.

That is why I think Defra are idiots.

Waltzing Monkey

Now that the world cup is finished, the accounts are finished and I have got no more excuses, its back to some good old hard work. I have some Sisyphean cleaning tasks to do which will have me longing for receipts and spreadsheets.

I did promise that there would be some new content via Bonsai Basho...and here it is...in all its embarrassing entirety. I am not camera shy, I am naturally like that.

There will be a full text to go with the second part, Phil at Bonsaibasho.com is finding it difficult to edit my monotone drone. It will get done soon though. This is the tree in question....

During the discussions we had making this, I told Phil that I do not like the use of the word "Master" to describe what I am and it reminded me of a documentary I heard a while ago about the continuing tradition of Wandergeselle, or Journeymen, in Germany and neighbouring countries. It was the second time I had thought of this recently as I am very much a Journeyman and have gone through a similar process.

According to the oracle of Wikipedia...."The word 'journeyman' comes from the French word journee, meaning the period of one day; this refers to their right to charge a fee for each day's work. They would normally be employed by a master craftsman but would live apart and might have a family of their own. A journeyman could not employ others. In contrast, an apprentice would be bound to a master, usually for a fixed term of seven years, and lived with the master as a member of the household, receiving most or all of their compensation in terms of food and lodging."

Since the early days of the industrial revolution apprenticeships have declined in the UK as machines have replaced the need for skilled labour, a trend which continues today. The number of self-service check out tills in supermarkets and B&Q is abhorrent and should be boycotted at every opportunity. The rise of the capitalist industries also destroyed the power of the guild who controlled the progressions of an apprentice through being a Journeyman and who finally decided if the craftsman could become a Master. While the guilds did impose restrictions on trade and who could practice the trade and where, they did ensure a standard of quality which made European craftsmanship of the 18th/19th century a thing of beauty.

There is no guild of Bonsai artists so who determines the Mastery of it as an art or craft? The use of the term Master in the bonsai community is free, unrestrained and in many cases self awarded. We have a culture of frowning upon the sale and subsequent display of a masterpiece tree created by the great artists, so is commercial success a good yard stick for mastery? This is certainly true in the art world where the works created are a commercial product, yet in the artistic Bonsai community this is not strictly true.

Apprenticeships declined in the UK to the point where it was less than 1% of total employment in 1990. I have always felt that we have a snobbish attitude to craftsmen or tradesmen in the UK. The idea that intelligence is vastly superior to skill and ability is endemic in society. During my schooling the entire education system was geared towards academic excellence rather than the ability to create anything and we are now seeing the effect of this in society with our almost non-existent manufacturing industry and our dependence on the service sector...which would make you think that service would improve, but that simple piece of logic seems to have bypassed the current generation of bar staff in most London pubs. I always felt pressured to go to University and was never given any other option, when I discussed my desire to be a gardener at the age of 17, my careers adviser laughed at me and told me it would be a waste of talent. I do not regret it and it was a worthwhile learning experience, however I would not do it now, with the debt burden, possible new graduate tax and 70 applicants for every graduate job. With news today that University applications are at a record level and over 100,000 people will be rejected, what for them? Will the traditional apprenticeship make a return or will the country create more non jobs. I'm sure Defra need a few more idiots on their staff to ban every chemical that is of any use to us.

Anyway....that went off a bit political and I didn't mean for it to. I have recently come to appreciate my status as a Journeyman Bonsai-ist and will continue my years of being a jolly swagman.

The Divine Comedy

Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost.

One of the things the Chief never taught me as part of my apprenticeship was the importance of keeping good records...mainly because he never did. There was one time the tax man came knocking and we shut up shop for two days whilst they went over the books for the last six years...it was not a pleasant time.

Now I am settled and not a non-dom, I am at the mercy of Her Majesty and her Revenue collecting suits. The last week has been sat trying to get to grips with Excel, Receipts from a year ago and looking over my bank accounts for the last year. Where did all that money go?

It is an interesting but very very painful process. I have never felt so grown up. It is like voting for the first time. I have to go to the accountant this afternoon so hopefully what I have done has not been in vain.

A Japanese friend of mine said to me the other day having read my blog...."Philosophers do not make good businessmen". I understand this very much now. I must be serious from now on.

On a lighter note...I will be up Bonsai Basho towers on Sunday so expect some new stuff next week. We are getting the video camera out...so expect some hardcore bonsai.

After that I think its only fair that next week we have a day off....