NEWS FROM USA
VSANA News 2025
May 24-25, 2025
VSANA will host a live Zoom seminar, Suseok, The Way of Korean Viewing Stone Appreciation on Saturday evening May 24 and Sunday morning May 25. We will be exploring the world of Korean viewing stones, or suseok—how they compare with Japanese suiseki and Chinese scholar’s rocks, their unique history, and how collectors today can find and appreciate them.
Contact us at tselias@vsana.org to register and obtain the link to the seminar.
The Eastern Leaf Bonsai Nursery in Chino, California has recently expanded its scope to include viewing stones.
They are a 21-year-old business owned by Jason and Renee Chan. Eastern Leaf is one of the largest mail-order bonsai nurseries in the United States The selection of stones currently available are small Japanese suiseki from two longtime collectors in Japan. The majority of the stones come with a nice hand-carved base or daiza. The stones can be viewed on their online catalog at https://easternleaf.com/viewingstones
VSANA News 2024
December, 2024
In Memorium
We are deeply saddened by the passing of a dear friend, Chris Cochrane, on December 23, 2024. Chris was an enthusiastic leader and promoter of viewing stone appreciation globally, but especially in North America. Cochrane was on the board of the National Bonsai Foundation for 25 years. He was a founding member of the Potomac Viewing Stone Group and served as its president for 18 years.
I had the pleasure of working and interacting with Chris for many years when I was the director of the U.S. National Arboretum. At that time, Chris and the late Glenn Reusch held monthly meetings of their stone club at the arboretum, and staged an excellent annual exhibition of stones in the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum. Chris was exceedingly friendly, generous, and kind. He would burst into excitement when discovering or seeing an outstanding new viewing stone. We worked closely together for many years to acquire new and older books on bonsai and viewing stones for the museum’s library. I continue to work with Chris during my retirement years and would discuss matters relating to stone appreciation. I along with the North American viewing stone community will greatly miss Chris Cochrane.
May 11, 2024
In Memorium
The viewing stone and bonsai communities mourn the loss of Larry Ragle who passed on May 11, 2024. Larry was an influential leader in North American bonsai and viewing stone communities. Ragle and a small group of like-minded people founded the California Aiseki Kai in 1983 to study and promote Japanese suiseki. This organization held monthly meetings, organized field trips to collect stones, and staged annual exhibitions at the Huntington Library, Art Museums, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California.
Larry Ragle was a leader in the California bonsai community for decades and was president of the Golden State Bonsai Federation, the California Bonsai Society, and the Kofu Bonsai Kai. He served as editor of Awakening The Soul, a book featuring the stone collection of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. Ragle was a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the National Bonsai Foundation. He has served in leadership positions in many other bonsai-related organizations in California.
We will miss his wit and wisdom, but his many contributions will continue to influence current and future generations of bonsai and viewing stone enthusiasts. He was able to accomplish so much due to the support and efforts of his wife Nina who worked side by side with Larry throughout his bonsai and stone appreciation years.
August 1-September 29, 2024
Exhibition, Viewing Stones, A Cultivated Taste
The Potomac Viewing Stone Group will stage an exhibition, Viewing Stones, A Cultivated Taste, in the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum’s International Pavilion at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.
