From the President.... 

Dear Sculptors,

I am enjoying the afterglow of our Virtual Symposium. As I write this, we still have a last day of events with a closing campfire. It has been just so great to see everyone’s face, trade ideas on studios, stone, or tools, and get to tour the carving spaces of friends. I really appreciate Cyra for raising the idea and then following through with the team of Ellie, Renee and Trevor.

Last night we had a really good general membership meeting. I almost preferred virtual to our in-person membership meeting, since I could see everyone’s face up close and it was easy to hear questions and comments. There have been two things that we can’t replicate so far – the hugs and the auction. If you have virtual ideas for either, please let Cyra or Ben know! 

At the general meeting Bob Leverich proposed that we change the name of our Washington symposium to the Salish Sculpture Symposium. The membership approved this change and the Board is researching this possibility. Bob and Rick Johnson also raised the issue of organizational diversity. We will be reaching out further in order to diversify our membership and attendees. If you know good candidates, please send them our way. We’ll turn them into stoners.

This will be my last Prez letter. I have reached the end of my term limits and we will have fresh leadership. I have enjoyed being part of the team and contributing what I can. I got involved with this group because each of us are so caring and sharing. I felt enveloped in love when I first arrived at camp 23 years ago, not a stranger but a new dusty friend. This is such a unique organization for this exact reason.

The new leadership team is Ben Mefford as Prez, Denny Tsang is VP, Trevor Contreras as Treasurer and Ellie Hochman as Secretary. We have a strong board and I feel good that this team will continue on the best course.

Many of us renew our membership in conjunction with one of the symposiums. Our system sends out reminder mails but sometimes these go to your spam folder. If you are uncertain about whether your membership has expired, please email the office (email is on our website) and we can sort things out. We are still producing the Journal and have reduced but still ongoing administrative expenses even though we are not producing revenue from our events, so your dues will help us pay for this.

Carve well, have fun, wear a good respirator and stay safe!

Ken Barnes

--- Ken