Two years ago, Barbara Lynch took on the task of editing Sculpture Northwest. The Board of Directors greatly appreciates her work on our behalf during this time . Not only is putting out the newsletter a time-consuming task in itself. it also meant Barbara had to spend extra time learning publishing techniques. Thank you very much, Barbara, for all of your time and effort in helping us carry the newsletter forward.
This issue is a transitional one, published by office administrator, Nancy Enselman. The newslener comrnittee is currently searching for a publisher outside the organization and we should have one in place by the May/June issue.
During the last 3 years we have had decreasing attendance at the membership meetings (and good anendance at the symposia). Many of us, of course, live outside the greater Seattle area and attending is difficult or impossible. Still, the NWSSA needs to provide opportunities for as many of us as possible to get together informally to network and exchange information. We've decided to decrease the number of meetings this year and advertise them better so that people can plan on getting together for a fun time. We'll get together with munchies to discuss tools, stones, ideas and whatever, keeping the business aspect of the meetings to a minimum. Some of the meetings will be replaced with workshops where we can do hands-on leaming. So, I hope to have a good time with you at the meeting on June 15, getting ready for Camp Brotherhood. I also hope we can start hearing more about activities in Oregon and Canada in these pages: we'd all like to know what's happetting around our far-flung art world.
Don't think of it as incessant rain, think of it as an excuse to go in the studio.
Welcome to a New Year of stone sculpture!
We've kicked off the year with a great juried show in January at the Seattle office of the American Institute of Architects. I'm always excited by the variety of quality work that our members do.
The Board of Directors had its orgamzmg session in January with the election of this year's officers and the planning of this year's budget. Jim Hallstrom, one of our newer members who was attending, volunteered to update the Sourcebook for reprinting this year. Apparently listening to three hours of discussing budget line items is more inspiring than I thought I The offer is greatly appreciated; the more of us who help out, the less work there is for each of us and the less chance that people who have given a lot will burn out. Board meetings are always open to the members. The dates will be listed in the newsletter and you can call the office for directions.
The most exciting part of our coming year is, of course, the symposia. Due to scheduling changes, the Whidbey workshop moves to Memorial Day weekend and Silver Falls will be in August. Planning for all of the symposia are underway; the Camp Brotherhood committee already started work last year and I understand we're getting a number of proposals by potential instructors. It should be a great year to get together and increase our knowledge while having fun.
May inspirational ideas pour dovm like the winter rains!
Kirk
With the season of giving thanks upon us, I'd like to express my appreciation for everyone who has worked for the NWSSA this year. We've been able to put together a strong series of exhibitions and symposia this year due to many people joining their hands and minds in a collective effort. Sometimes I think, "How wonderful! All these people put in this effort just so I can grow as a sculptor and have a good time as well." Thank you all.
This year's Board of Directors has borne more of a load than usual with a major revision of the bylaws and producing written policies for our activities coming on top of the usual business. I'm grateful for all their hard work, as well as their patience with a president who's been learning on the job. Some of the directors will not be coming back next year and we will miss their contributions. Anastasia Miller helped us this year by taking one of the newly created positions, as well as working hard on several projects. Bill Laprade and Ward Lynch have served four years, helping in a number of key roles and especially assisting this year's Board with their experience.
Vic Picou is also leaving the Board after serving ten years, seven of them as president and three as symposium director. Vic has put in a tremendous amount of time and thought over the years towards furthering the NWSSA and I think we owe a lot to his efforts.
I hope everyone has a happy holiday season, with the opportunity to see lots of arts, carve lots of stone and maybe get that special tool you've always needed.
Being on the Board of Directors has been an on-going education in the mechanics of running an arts organization. Dealing with budgets, meetings, and organizational planning is not really, however, why I belong to the NWSSA. My first experience with the Camp Brotherhood symposium was one of the most energizing experiences I've had as an artist and I still get a tremendous lift from attending. I also lose sleep and am generally burnt out by adrenaline overdose by the end. What I find to be most enjoyable is quieter: hunting the wild rock with fellow sculptors, seeing other people's shows, finding out about new ideas and techniques from casual meetings.
An all-volunteer group such as ours depends on the informal networking of its members to sustain itself. Being a semi-shy guy, I've taken a while to get to know people. (Election to the Board of Directors has sped things up-new members might want to try this approach). One of the ideas from the Board retreat last fall is to have a way to bring new members into our activities. We are working on having our membership committee find out members' talents and interests so we can get you involved in one of the committees soon after you join. This way you will have a direct voice in what we do as well as a chance to get to know your fellow sculptors better. Our membership has a wide array of talents besides stone carving and I hope we can use them to continue to strengthen our group.
