SSNC Dissolution

Dear Suiseki Friends, we regret to inform you that we have made the decision to dissolve the SSNC.  This decision was made necessary by the lack of enough volunteers to carry out the duties required to maintain the club as an organized group.  The last club activity will be the 30th Annual Member’s New Year Party in January, 2023.

You can however continue to learn about suiseki, and find others who share your interest, through the websites and Facebook pages listed below.

Phat Vo’s Suiseki Blog: https://suisekiblog.wordpress.com/

Sam and KJ’s Suiseki Blog: https://samedge.wordpress.com/

Suiseki Art by Janet Roth and Mas Nakajima: https://suisekiart.com/

There are two English-language Facebook Groups devoted to Viewing Stones and Suiseki: “Suiseki & Viewing Stones” and “Viewing Stone Appreciation“

Note that Janet plans to add a calendar to her site noting any suiseki events around the world that she is aware of.

Lastly, the California Aiseki Kai in Los Angeles has resumed its in-person monthly meetings with some Zoom participation.  The club’s monthly (emailed) newsletter is always educational and informative.  You can find information about the club, and many years of newsletters on their website: https://www.aisekikai.com We hope that you will use these resources and that we will see you at exhibitions and perhaps “on the river”.

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2022 Schedule

It’s been a long time since we’ve been able to really gather – but we were finally able to meet in person for our New Year pot-luck luncheon. Our new president, Alise, provided excellent main dishes with the rest of us bringing the sides and desserts. Several people brought great suiseki for show and discussion, and we all enjoyed a walk over to the Bonsai Garden afterwards.

The 2022 Schedule includes

  • Weekday evening Zoom meetings
  • Weekend daytime gatherings at member homes for shared food and lots of suiseki “show and tell”.
  • Weekend stone collecting trips around Northern California.

We hope that this mix of events will allow as many people as possible to participate and enjoy the club.

Eel River Trip

We have an Eel River collecting trip planned for July 11th 2021. The water level is low and the rocks are hot. Final details are still being worked out. If you are interested in joining us email Brent at williambmeran@hotmail.com. We need to have 2021 membership dues paid and have the SSNC liability waiver filled out beforehand.

The club is following the states current guidelines for Covid-19 safety protocols. Getting the vaccine is great to reduce risk but is not mandated for participation. If you are not vaccinated, keeping a social distance can prevent transmission of the flu. If you are not feeling well please do not attend club functions that could put others at risk.

I hope to see many of you out there.

2021 A New Hope

With vaccines becoming more available there is a chance we will be able to resume meetings later this year. The city of Oakland has closed down the building for meetings at this time. It is likely we will be able to resume an in person collecting trip before meetings.

For now we’ll rely on our newsletter and Zoom to communicate what is going on with the club. We have a few Zoom meetings under our belt and I feel that by the time we all get good at it we will be able to meet in person again.

We would like to plan an online show this year. This would give everybody the opportunity to prepare and photograph their Suiseki for and online display. We need you to fill out your Photo Copy Release Form so we have the ok to use your images on our website. You can send those to Rick or Alise.

Stay Safe

Brent

COVID-19 Update

Please note that we have cancelled all planned activities and events through June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  All activities after June are considered TENTATIVE and we will evaluate as we get closer to the second part of the year based on the current situation, the California Shelter-in-Place requirements, and the preferences of the smaller communities near our collecting sites.

We all very much hope to at least get out on the river together sometime in the summer or fall (6 feet apart !), but do not yet know if it will be possible.

Be safe, enjoy your suiseki and the memories they evoke, and see you sometime on the river!

 

Intoducing the Suiseki Societies of Northern California

In order to strengthen the study of suiseki in Northern California, the San Francisco Suiseki Kai and California Suiseki Society have decided to join forces, choosing the new name of Suiseki Societies of Northern California. The mission of this expanded club is to advance education in the art of Suiseki (Viewing Stones), its aesthetics and relationship to Japanese-American cultural history in California, and natural geological history through meetings, exhibitions, collecting trips and classes. SSNC will be an umbrella organization which can provide the basic infrastructure for multiple regional study groups.  San Francisco Suiseki Kai and California Suiseki Society will remain as study and hobby groups under the SSNC, minimizing costs from various group memberships and using volunteer availability more efficiently.  The new structure honors and acknowledges the history of suiseki in the Bay Area while creating a strong organization for the future. SSNC will be open to other Northern California suiseki clubs and newly created study groups which will benefit from improved communication regarding meeting dates, shows and exhibits and collecting opportunities.

San Francisco Suiseki Kai was founded in 1982 by a group of issei Japanese-Americans led by Eiko and Mike Iwasaki.  The first teacher was Yukikichi “Keiseki” Hirotsu who had previously founded the Kashu Suiseki Kai in Palo Alto, which was the first suiseki club in North America. (SFSK was the 2nd suiseki club followed the next year by California Aiseki Kai in Los Angeles). At that time SFSK was based at the Japan Center in San Francisco and held all meetings in Japanese. In 1993, Felix Rivera, then a member of SFSK, founded the English-speaking California Suiseki Society, based in Oakland, in order to spread the knowledge of suiseki in the English-speaking community. During the 2000s SFSK made the transition to being a bi-lingual club and now conducts all activities in the English language (with side-conversations in other languages as needed!).  Both clubs hold meetings and other activities primarily in Oakland, and many members belong to both clubs – so common sense finally prevailed over inertia, leading to a merger of the two clubs.

Suiseki Societies of Northern California elected the following officers: Brent Meran as president, Eorl Carlson vice president, Alise Offeman Secretary and Rick Offeman Treasurer. Candace Key is newsletter editor and will be modifying the format to include the schedules for meetings, tanseki and events for all suiseki clubs and study groups under the SSNC umbrella. Meeting days and event timing will soon be posted on the new website SuisekiNorCal.wordpress.com. Dues were determined to be $25 for individuals, $30 for families.

Planned activities will include:

  • Group stone collecting trips
  • At least one annual base-making workshop
  • An annual club sponsored exhibit plus support for other opportunities for members to exhibit their stones
  • Regular meetings both on weekday evenings in Oakland, and weekend daytime in other Bay Area locations.

The new officers determined the major club show date will be June 13-14, 2020 at the Lakeside Garden Center in Oakland, CA. In addition, club members may be exhibiting stones at the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco’s Japantown April 18-19, and the REBS bonsai show August 22-23 in Santa Rosa, CA in 2020.

Anyone with questions can email suisekinorcal@gmail.com.  Over the coming weeks additional information will also be added to this website.