Announcing the Viewing Stones of India Contest

The ancient Asian art of appreciating beautiful and unusual stones originated in China and spread to Korea and Japan. Collecting, displaying, and viewing rocks for their aesthetic qualities expanded globally in the last five decades. Indian stone appreciation followed the introduction and development of bonsai. This project aims to encourage the art of viewing stone appreciation by producing digital book of quality stones and stone displays that originated in India.

This contest is sponsored by VSANA and jointly coordinated by Thomas S. Elias and Sudhir Jadhav. 

Types of stones that can be entered: 

Any type of natural stone can be entered, provided it evokes feelings of something greater than the stone itself. Stone sculptures that no longer appear as natural rocks are not acceptable.

Viewing Stones generally fall into one of the following broad categories: 

• Landscape, pattern, structure or object, and abstract. 

• Enhanced stones—ones that have been altered in some way, such as bottom cutting, grinding, shaping, chemically treated to darken and developed to resemble natural-looking stones. 

• Minerals can be submitted if they suggest something in nature. 

• Meteorites and fossils are acceptable. 

Displays: Participants are encouraged to develop displays that reflect Indian culture and arts.

Submissions can also follow traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean traditions.

Do not submit an image of just a stone.

• An individual stone should be in a base, in a tray, on a board, or another type of holding and orienting device. 

• The base may be carved wood, metal, clay, or other material. 

• Stones can be displayed in trays, typically ceramic or metal, with or without sand and water. 

• Stones can be displayed on flat boards, slabs, bowls, or other holding devices. 

• Stone displays can be traditional or contemporary in style. Example of contemporary presentations.

• Accessory items, small figures, plants, pottery, and art can be used if they complement the stone and contribute to the message or messages the stone conveys.

Provenance: Basic information about the stone’s origin and ownership is requested.

Who can enter: The contest is open to anyone regardless of where you live; however, the stone must be native to India.

Entries must be submitted using the form provided on this website. Link to Form.

Submitting entries: The contest is open for submission until midnight on October 31, 2024.

Judging:  An independent judge will evaluate the entries and select those for publication in a digital book, Viewing Stones of India.

Photographs: Only high-resolution digital images are acceptable. Each image must be at least 300 dpi or higher and 4 x 8 inches (10 x 20 cm). They must be in sharp focus. Pay special attention to the background. We recommend a light to a black background unless the background is part of the message the owner wishes to convey to a viewing audience. Use natural light or photographic studio lights to obtain the best results.

Altering Photographs: The focus is on the natural stone, not a work of art created by a digital artist. Leave ample background around the stone or composition. Do not crop the image too tightly. The color and exposure of the image may be adjusted to accurately represent the stone's true appearance. Altering the color, texture, proportion and pattern is unacceptable.