The new year is off to a great start with the opening of the show Sculptore '98 at the Washington State Convention Center. Many thanks to the members who have been working so hard to put the show together.
I would like to thank the outgoing board members Pat, Sudha, Tamara, and Tracy for all their efforts and I hope we will still be able to calion their experience. Although Rich Hestekind is retiring as president, we are very fortunate to have him continuing on the board with us new folks.
In my three years in the NWSSA, I've seen the great variety of approaches, esthetic interests, techniques, and experience our members bring to our joyous enterprise _ the creation of stone sculpture. This diversity gives US power as an organization but also provides us with a major challenge in serving the interests of all our members, as does the physical fact that we are spread across parts of more than three states and a province.
The long-range planning task force will present proposals at the February membership meeting that are intended to deal with this challenge. I see the main focus of this year's board to be implementing any changes approved by the members. I hope that everyone who can will make the February meeting.
On a personal note, I hope this year I can get to some of the symposiums besides Camp Brotherhood. For one thing, Silver Falls has really cool T-shirts.
Happy carving, and see you in February.
Greetings!
I hope each of you is experiencing an abundance of creative productivity with your sculpting.
This past symposia period is a time of reflection on the many events of the year. Certainly we, as an association, have much to be proud of in our accomplishments. I wish to thank each of you for your contributions. The dedicated time, energy, and financial resources you provided makes what we do possible. Your willingness to share insures the momentum of each event.
A special thanks to Kevin Pettelle for his willingness to coordinate the sculpture show at the Seattle Convention Center. Also, a thanks to the members of the show committee: Anastasia Miller, Nicky Oberholtzer, Vic Picou, Patty McPhee, and Sabah Al-Dhaher.
The weekend of November 15 was a planning retreat addressing the short term and long term future of the Northwest Stone Sculptors Association. It was led by Kay Moquin and Jim Paget and held, thanks to Tamara Buchanan's generosity, on Lopez Island.
Attending were the existing Board, new prospective board members and a number of members with particular interests. The information sheets you submitted were important elements of our focus.
Anyone interested in participating in the Flower and Garden Show planning committee team, please contact me. If you have sculpture of a large scale, 24" and above, and you would like to display in the garden, or 12" and above for the display booth, send me a photo, description, and dimensions. Thank you. I look forward to seeing you at the holiday party.
My address is: 3500 Talbot Rd. S., Renton, WA 98055. Phone: (425) 204-0237
Rich
Greetings,
What a wonderful NWSSA symposium season we've had A full schedule of four events and the unique offering of each has been most bountiful. I hope each of you has been inspired and received the materials and tools to actualize your sculptural goals.
Increasingly, opportunities to display our work are occurring. The show at the Bellingham Festival of Music on the Western Washington University campus was enthusiastically received An invitation was given for next year. Camano Island is seeking, through their Chamber of Commerce and the History of the World Part IV Gallery, sculpture for display and sale. A show for the Oregon members is being planned for the state capital. A call for sculpture is being made for a show at the Seattle Convention Center in January, February and March 1998.
The Northwest Flower and Garden Show and our presentation in a display garden and booth will be in February. For the garden, 1 am requesting larger pieces (24" and larger). Please send photos and descriptions for selection to Rich Hestekind, 3500 Talbot Rd S., Renton, WA 98055).
To be more responsive to your needs and desires ~s Association members, we are requesting your suggestions for NWSSA. The current Board and new Board nominees are meeting for a planning retreat in November led by Kay Moquin and Jim Paget. Your input is critical for our future.
The next general membership meeting is Oct. 11 at Manakos Rock Center (Preston/Fall City exit off of 1-90) from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. In addition to a tour of the facility and a workshop on masonry techniques and stone carving, we will discuss your ideas and what our future should look like.
See you there.
Rich
It's Tuesday, the 22nd of July, and I'm sitting in the tree-surrounded amphitheater at Camp Brotherhood listening to the sounds of our Tenth Annual Symposium. The purposeful whir and scream of grinders and saws blend with the rhythmical cadence of hammer and chisel at this distance from the work field. The auditory composition is complex, yet unified in its relentless pulse.
I feel so charged, even at this point in our event. The excitement of new sculpture emerging, more stone and learning opportunities everywhere clearly reveal another successful symposium.
I wish to thank each of you who attended for what you have contributed I also would like to thank the faculty, the workshop leaders, the lecturers, the administrative team, the work study force, the committee and director for a wonderful event.
This year we are creating a video tape documenting this symposium. The purpose is to describe what we do, how we do it, and who we are in our symposia. The tape will be a valuable means to promote future events, solicit support and to provide a persouaJ recording of a meaningful event.
I ask for your support in this project by pre-purchasing and ordering the tape and/or contributing to its production costs. Most of the financial support for this comes from an outside contribution dedicated to a project such as this. However, more is needed to pay for its completion.
As board members, we seek more interactive support from our membership. Each of you is welcome to attend our board meetings. We ask for input on issues at hand, projects in motion, or new ideas and proposals you might have.
Our next event on the horizon is the third annuaJ Vancouver Island Stone Sculptors Symposium. This extraordinary opportunity at beautiful Lake Cowichen is five days of instruction, stone, camaraderie and exceptiouaJ food A special thanks to Sandra Bilawich and Daniel Cline for all the planning and work they have done to make this available to all of us.
I'll see you there.
Rich Hestekind
