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