SUISEKI STONES: NO ORDINARY ROCKS, THESE SPECIMENS LOOK LIKE ... JUST ABOUT ANYTHING.

Byline: Heesun Wee Daily News Staff Writer

Once a month, about 30 men from the San Fernando Valley gingerly wrap rocks in towels and tow their precious cargo in bags and backpacks to a local restaurant or home.

There, while nibbling on Asian food and sometimes gulping cold beer, the men - mostly Asian and in their 40s or older - proudly unveil, examine and chat about their treasures.

Unusual, yes. But these are no mere ordinary crags you might find walking along a dirt path. These rocks, sometimes shaped like mountains or islands, are viewing stones, an ancient Asian art form that dates back centuries.

Viewing stones are found in deserts or surging rivers, anywhere wind, water and other forms of natural erosion slowly smooth and shape stones over thousands of years. The end results are stones of unique, recognizable shapes such as humans and animals.

Many Asian countries prize the stones as natural artwork. There, members of the upper class buy them for as much as $50,000 apiece or more.

On Jan. 3 and 4, the Huntington Library in San Marino will host an exhibit of about 175 Japanese viewing stones called Suiseki, or ``water stone.''

``I've always thought stones were magical,'' said Don Kruger of Sherman Oaks, a member of California Aiseki Kai, a Los Angeles-based viewing stones club that's sponsoring the show.

``It's about perceiving stones as an in-scale version of our world,'' Kruger said.

Viewing stones' origins can be traced to China, where literary scholars collected them with the belief that nature was an artist creating unpredictable forms. Their choices leaned toward the dramatic. The vertical stones seem to reach for the heavens. Chinese viewing stones still are referred to as ``scholar's rocks.''

Gathering viewing stones then spread to Japan, where collectors hoarded more graceful, subtle rock forms. In Korea, viewing stones are called Soosuk, or ``water rock,'' and tend to boast strong and hearty shapes.

Nearly all Korean viewing stones are discovered in rivers that create silky-smooth surfaces, caressed by water over thousands of years. Chinese and Japanese stones can be found not only in rivers but deserts and other dry-land environments as well.

Nature's artwork

Steve Yong of Reseda has been collecting and studying viewing stones for 14 years, drawn to them by their one-of-a-kind quality, artwork courtesy of nature.

He was a schoolboy in the South Korean city of Kwangju when a teacher introduced him to viewing stones. They instantly captured Yong's imagination.

When he immigrated to Los Angeles in 1982, he brought his self-described obsession with him. He began scouring California's rivers for prized stones.

Nowadays, Yong runs a restaurant with his wife, Jane. But for the avid collector and member of California Soosuk Club, weekends are devoted to his passion for rocks.

Several times a year, Yong and a fellow club member or two pile into a car and head toward some of California's mightiest rivers - the Kings near Fresno, the Yuba near Yuba City - to spend a weekend searching for stones.

Choosing the right one

The hunt begins early in the morning. By sunrise, they're already knee-deep in a river, looking hard at stones underneath glistening currents.

``My eyes always are looking at something,'' Yong said. For every stone he selects and stows in his backpack, he picks up and discards dozens.

At 40, Yong is the youngest member of the Valley club that has been meeting for seven years. Many are older and retired. They have time to travel and search for stones. Yong hopes one day to spend more time trudging through rivers outside California.

Picking out high-quality stones among ordinary rocks takes a keen eye, collectors say. ``You become totally attuned to looking at the landscape,'' said Jim Greaves of Santa Monica, an exhibit organizer.

Yong, of course, has opinions about high- and poor-quality stones. Good ones are be smooth, he said, with no cracks or broken edges. They should be rich in color, the darker the better.

Museum of stones

Although Yong prizes his viewing stones collection, he won't show them to just anyone. He has to like you, get the feeling that you take viewing stones seriously.

If you make the cut, Yong graciously will show you into his two-story home in a cozy cul-de-sac. You'll slip off your shoes at the door as traditional Korean custom dictates.

Yong's living room resembles a museum of viewing stones. There's no sofa or requisite coffee table. You're encouraged to stand, walk and admire.

Several bookshelves Yong made himself line the walls. Each shelf displays a viewing stone, each nestled in sand or resting in a custom-made base. Some stones lie in sand because it gives rough-edged stones the appearance of level bottoms. Other stones with even surfaces are attached to oak bases Yong shapes with electric tools, a painstaking process.

And if Yong is in the mood, he may escort you up carpeted stairs into his study, where he stores his favorite stones. He grins often in this room, also lined with homemade shelves. One stone looks like the Grand Canyon. Another resembles a mountain, complete with clouds and a setting sun. And another looks like a bird or a seal, depending on your point of view. He has three stones that each resembles a mother cradling a child.

Yong estimates about 1,000 people in the United States, if that, collect viewing stones. That's a paltry sum compared to an estimated 200,000 rock collectors in China, 2 million in Korea and 3 million in Japan.

The art form still is catching on in the United States though.

``Some people, they get it,'' said Kruger, who has been practicing Suiseki for 15 years. ``Other people go, `Well, a lot of rocks.' ''

THE FACTS

What: ``Suiseki Show.''

Where: The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino.

When: 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 3 and 4.

Tickets: Admission to the exhibit is free with museum admission: $8.50 for adults, $7 for seniors, $5 for students and free for children ages 12 and younger.

Information: Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

5 Photos

PHOTO (1--Cover--Color) Don Kruger's monk stone.

(2--Color) The strata in this rock has it on a pedestal.

(3--4--Color) At left, Steve Yong sits with one of his favorite rocks on display in his Reseda home. Above, shelves of rocks line the walls.

(5--Color) Don Kruger, left, and Jim Greaves with some of the viewing stones they've collected.

Tom Mendoza / Daily News