Board Notes

BOD tidbits

2022 BOD Officer Announcement

Hello All,
It is with great pleasure that we announce our roster for the NWSSA Board of Directors.

Here is the 2022-2023 roster:

Ellie Hochman - President
Tamara Buchanan - Vice President
Cyra Jane - Treasurer
Jeremy Kester - Secretary
Pat Barton
Rick Johnson
Julianne Kohn
Stephen Taplin
Denny Tsang
Deborah Wilson
Markos Weiss

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to email us.

Meet the Board - Member Profiles

Ellie Hochman,
Board Secretary

I have LOVED this organization from my first involvement at Camp Brotherhood in 2016. As my involvement has grown by coordinating the Women’s Hand Carving event (year 4 this past June), and then joining the Board of Directors, I have been honored to be involved in learning how this community works to make events happen year after year. It is truly awe inspiring.
I am now mostly retired from my psychotherapy practice, and look forward to having more time and energy for carving as well as continuing to be involved in this community of artists. I have developed many deep relationships with folks in this group and have also been mentored by so many. For this I feel deep gratitude. This art form has led me to hearing my own voice in a very different way.
My goal for my board contribution this year is to help facilitate opportunities for each of us to learn more from one another during the winter months. Not sure yet how to do this, but am always open to suggestions.
~ Ellie

Denny Tsang,
President

Hello Members,
As we head into summer, we have a few things to look forward to. Sunshine, being with friends outside. We have our symposia in Washington and Oregon. And we have Board of Directors elections! Thank you all who participated or will be voting for members of the new board. This past year has been a pleasure to serve as your Board President. I could not have done it without the support from each of my fellow colleagues.
Truly an honor!
See you all out in the field this summer!
~ Denny

Eirene Blomberg,
Board Member

It was not until I was dealing with a medical condition in 2012 that I really opened up to art in my life again. In the process surrounding my condition I thought a lot about the finite reality of life, and the dreams I still wanted to manifest. Sculpting stone was high on that list, so I contacted Tamara Buchanan, a local stone sculptor and long-time NWSSA member. We scheduled a class a few weeks out. As soon as I put chisel to stone I was hooked, and have been carving stone ever since. Working with Tamara Buchanan, taking classes, participating in symposia and being a member of the NWSSA have all played key roles in my development as a stone sculptor.
A Lover of Earth, I am passionate about creating with natural materials. Inspired by the living world and my experience of the feminine, I carve stone, weave willow, and incorporate other organic materials in my sculptures. I enjoy engaging in sensory dialog with a variety of marbles, alabaster and other hard and soft stones.
My work is inspired by the spark that brings life to it all and by the ancestral land of the Coast Salish peoples that I have lived and worked on for over 25 years. I believe in the power of beauty to make the world a better place. I feel that beauty and function should go hand in hand. My work isn’t precise. My garden beds aren’t perfectly organized, and I weave with a “rustic” style. But rather than see these as less-than-perfect, I prefer to see my work as a process of the integration of beauty and function. I tend to create objects that are more solid in nature; stronger, and able to withstand everyday life, while still holding a beauty about them. I endeavor to share the beauty that I see in nature through creations that have a place in everyday life. A landscaper and gardener for the past 25 years, trees and plants heavily influence my work, as does the spiritual relationship between humans and the natural world. What guides me is opening up to the creative forces at work, and reestablishing a personal connection to the earthly world we are all a part of.
~ Eirene Blomberg
www.eireneblomberg.com

Board and Committee Updates Dec 2021

BOARD MUSINGS:

NEXT MEETING is January 18, 2022 @ 6:30pm on ZOOM
This is your board. If you have ideas that you want the board to consider, please let us know and we can put you on the agenda. Members are always welcome to come to the meetings and listen in. It is easy since we have our meetings on Zoom. Please contact our Prez, Denny Tsang at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. He will send you a zoom link.
We are continuing to work on ways to get members involved. Let us know what ideas you may have!

JOURNAL COMMITTEE:
Barbara Neswald is chairing this committee and working with Maya Kilmer and Arliss Newcomb. They are planning on sending out the journal on a quarterly basis and expect to have their first copies out in early spring.
Ben Mefford, who has been our Journal editor for about the past 3 years is retiring from this job but hopes to publish the last copy of his tenure before January 1st. That is dependent on the ability to get paper (which he said is now in short supply due to supply chain issues).
Thanks Ben for putting together a great journal that we have all gotten to enjoy!

LEGAL GUIDANCE COMMITTEE:
The Legal Guidance Committee is: Patty McPhee (chair), Bill Weissinger (volunteer) and Tamara Buchanan (liaison to the board.) This committee is currently working on connecting to a legal service that specifically specializes in working with non-profit arts organizations. The focus of the work now is reviewing and updating NWSSA documents and forms for events.
If you have info that might help them, please contact Patty McPhee This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Board and Committee Updates April 2022

BOARD MUSINGS:

NEXT MEETING is April 19, 2022 @ 6:30pm on ZOOM
All members are welcome to sit in and observe. You may get inspired to join the board. Contact Denny at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a ZOOM invite if you would like to attend.

BOARD NOMINATIONS COMMITTEE:
Looking for New Board Members

Now is a pivotal time to make a difference in the future of the Northwest Stone Sculptor’s Association. With the societal shift brought on by Covid-19, we are at a crossroads with the organization and looking for people to strengthen and support the health and long-term wellness of NWSSA. Help carry this transition successfully by offering your skills to build strength in these new times to keep NWSSA thriving.

Our organization has a solid pool of enthusiastic donors but only a handful of volunteers. NWSSA would greatly benefit from your unique perspective and skills. We offer the only stone carving symposiums open to all skill levels sharing interest and passion for stone sculpting. The inclusiveness offered by the community gives all the opportunity for growth and development as an individual, in the NWSSA community and as a stone sculptor. Through NWSSA offerings professional sculptors carve and share wisdom side by side with newly inspired stone carvers this unique opportunity has been fostered over the 30 years of its existence.

Currently, all NWSSA Board meetings are on Zoom, so location no longer limits your involvement. Please consider reaching out to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make a difference by serving on the NWSSA Board of Directors.

2021 BOD Officer Announcement

Hello All,

It is with great pleasure that I get to announce our roster for the NWSSA Board of Directors. For those of you who do not know me, my name is Denny Tsang and I have been attending the Symposium located at Suttle Lake for the past few years (when possible!)

I will be your new Board President for this year. A massive thank-you to Ben Mefford! I've learned a lot from watching you lead. I hope that we, as a Board, can continue to serve all the members of NWSSA in fostering this community we all love.

Here is this year's roster:

Denny Tsang - President
Tamara Buchanan - Vice President
Trevor Contreras - Treasurer
Ellie Hochman - Secretary
Eirene Bloomberg
Rick Johnson
Julianne Kohn
Stephen Taplin

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please do not hesitate to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thanks!
Denny

BOD tidbits

2022 BOD Officer Announcement

Meet the Board Fall 2022

Board and Committee Updates Dec 2021

Board and Committee Updates April 2022

2021 BOD Officer Announcement

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