suiseki
The world landscapes saved in little stones.
What is suiseki? Suiseki is The Japanese Art of Miniature Landscape Stones, art of attempting to represent natural phenomena, from landscape to the grand universe, using a stone only a few inches to a foot and a half in size. The art of suiseki begins with the collection of stones in nature and culminates in a sense of beauty and in an emotional and spiritual relationship between the field collector and the stone. Suiseki revives, refreshes, and enriches the mind. 
A well-proportioned suiseki satisfies the eye, yet inspires awe as, through the process of scaling, it reproduces a famous mountain in miniature. Suiseki's charm and attraction as a hobby lies in its elegant simplicity: a stone in its natural state is admired for its unique shape, color, and mineral properties, or for the way it provokes memories of events and times past. A suiseki can also be treasured as a spiritual and philosophical construct, a metaphor in stone that helps us connect with and understand those things we value in life. . . . 
 To truly understand how Suiseki can be described as an art, you first must understand that none of these stones were crafted by hand. Each stone was scuplted by the hand of Mother Nature. The art of suiseki can easily become a way of life as we plan more and more collecting trips in search of that perfect stone, which, of course, is never found.
In Asia, Bonsai trees (Ying) and Suiseki (Yang)provides the perfect blend in all Japanese Gardens. These stones represents the many seasons of time that will surpass our own lives. Much like a beautiful picture of a mountain range, suiseki aims to grasp the beauty of the land. Bonsai's symbolizes the future and Suiseki our past.

 

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