Page 13 - Tạp chí bonsai cây cảnh BCI 2014Q2

ollecting and appreciating stones as natural Top; This stone will be taken
to Ken’s home for further
objects of art in western countries is relatively cleaning and to determine its
Cnew, a phenomenon that has been developing suitability as an acceptable
slowly, especially since the 1950s. Stone appreciation, stone for collectors. On a good
like the art of bonsai and penjing, has been strongly in- day of collecting, Ken will find
fluenced by Chinese and Japanese traditions in North several suitable stones.
America, Europe and other Western countries. Bottom; Makenna, a large
115-pound Bernese Mountain
The development of stone appreciation hobby out- dog cooling herself in the river
side of China and Japan requires several essential while Ken searches for stones.
components: basic information and expertise to guide Makenna accompanies Ken on
development; the availability of suitable material; and his forays into remote areas in
opportunities to share through exhibits, publications, search of stones.
and web sites. While a few Chinese stones were intro-
duced first in North American in the early 1900s and,
perhaps, Europe; Western countries have been more
strongly influenced by Japanese guidelines for collect-
ing, evaluating, and displaying stones.
Japanese Americans were among the first to begin
to explore some of the river systems in California in
the early 1960s. They were soon followed by a number
of Caucasian Americans who were interested in rocks,
minerals, and in Asian stone appreciation. Small clubs
went in search of Japanese-like stones for the fledgling
stone appreciation culture in North America. Most
of the stone collecting was individuals searching for
interesting pieces for their personal collections. Much
of the initial collecting occurred along the western
coast and western mountains of North America. Many
wonderful, dark, landscape type stones were found in
the Eel River in northern California. Some of these
serpentine or basaltic stones resembled in shape, the
beautiful stones found in some Japanese rivers. People
located in less suitable areas for finding quality stones
or who were unable to search areas, were largely left
out of opportunities to acquire stones as a hobby. This
limited the supply of North American stones and also
limited the growth of the hobby of stone appreciation. Ken, a talkative and gregarious outdoors man, lives
This article focuses on one of the essential elements in a rustic home in the lower western foothills of the
needed for the development of a stone appreciation Sierra Mountains in Sonora in northern California.
culture; that is, the availability of suitable raw materi- The home and entire front yard are filled with stones,
als—stones and how professional stone hunters have piles of them. Along with his wife, Cindy, they share
contributed to a North American stone appreciation their home with several large Bernese Mountain dogs
culture. It was the emergence of professional collectors and many parrots. Before becoming a professional
and sellers of quality viewing stones that a much wider stone hunter and vendor, Ken owned and operated
range of people could participate in this hobby. This a series of pet stores. He and his wife are still active
article is about North America’s most prolific collec- in dog and parrot breeding. His love for hiking and
tor and purveyor of native stones—Kenneth McLeod. fishing in the Sierra Mountains goes back to his early

April/May/June 2014 | BCI | 11