Featured Article of the Month

When a rock is set in a base it becomes a viewing stone. The base, whether it is a traditional daiza or suiban or a contemporary display, is the signifier that the rock has become a cultural object to be appreciated for its evocative qualities and formal properties. A rock without a base may harbor unlimited potential but it requires a base or a tray to realize its promise. The cost of traditional bases, especially carved wood diaza, can be prohibitive and it can be difficult to find someone with the skills and experience necessary to mount a rock in a carefully fitted base. Carving your own diaza is laborious and time consuming. Not only do you have to master the many steps of this demanding process, you have to invest in a workshop of hand tools and power tools. A practical alternative, however, is to employ alternative objects and materials as bases for your stones. This requires an open-minded, innovative approach to thinking about bases. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

One place to begin is to think of the material aspects of your stone—its color and texture. Does it appear hard or soft, rugged or smooth? Is it craggy or rounded? Choosing a material that complements these perceived qualities can be a simple exercise in understanding your stone. There are many options. An easy choice is a piece of fine-grained hardwood which you can then sand and stain if you so choose. Weathered wood, driftwood, a cross-section of a tree, a tangle of roots, a branch are all possibilities as well. Engineered wood products such as high-density fiberboard and particle board also have qualities that may suit your stone. If you don’t have power tools of your own, you can usually have your chosen material cut to size at the store. You don’t need to stop with wood and wood products. Home improvement stores also sell materials like floor tile, carpet squares, fiber-cement board, concrete pavers and bricks that can be handily adapted as platforms for your stones. A visit to more specialized outlets such as a metal supply shop or a plastics store will expand the range of possible materials. Take your rock with you as you explore. You never know what unexpected matches may occur. If you find a material that you like but that doesn’t quite work, there is always the possibility of coloring the base with stain or paint, distressing it to give it a more irregular texture or sanding and finishing it with a clear sealer or a glossy resin or rubbing it with oil. 

A second approach is to use a ready-made object as a base. In some ways this is easier than choosing a complementary material for your base because you don’t have to consider the option of modifying its size or shape. On the other hand, finding an existing object that is the right size, proportion, color and material for your stone may take a while. A good place to start shopping is stores that sell household goods like kitchen supplies, trays, dishes, vases, etc. Shallow baking pans and serving trays spread with sand can become suiban. Plates can be used to stage stones. Cutting boards also make handsome platforms for stone display. Small pots and vases are useful for displaying vertical stones. Placemats, napkins and pieces of fabric can be used as colorful stages for single or multiple stones. Remember that each ready-made object has a character of its own and myriad associations that you and others bring to it depending on its place in a home and its former life as a utilitarian object before it became a viewing stone base. 

Beyond home improvement stores and stores that sell household goods there are numerous specialty shops to explore— bookstores, antique stores, thrift shops, pet stores, etc. Keeping an eye open for a potential base can make even the most mundane outing interesting. And then there’s also your personal trove of objects to consider—anything from an item sitting on a shelf in your garage to a treasured family heirloom could be used for a viewing stone base. You might even consider using another one of your stones as a base.