Symposia season is upon us. To go or not? Given the clouding of the economic picture where to go for a clear one? Well, I always read my horoscope, just covering all my bets. My recent prognosticator read "life is like art and often requires collaboration." And I knew immediately what I wanted to convey to you.
It's about us, working in isolation; sometimes the muse that drives us deserts us or goes into hibernation. Other issues take on a priority, or we bambi up, look around at our own little shop and convince ourselves not to participate. There is no doubt that it's easier to work in your own designed space instead of packing up everything and driving to camp, to just keep on keeping on. But wouldn’t it be better to take a few days hither and yon throughout the symposia season for myself and go, as in life, for collaboration? Most of you have experienced the influx of enthusiasm and creative energy that flows within a symposium, the Mother's milk of our lives as artists.
"No man is an island" is what the stars told me, but of course I would probably come close to the begging, borrowing or whatever, to attend our symposia. I'm always, always learning something new, a problem shared in conversation gets resolved, or a new path for old ideas is spawned whilst listening during the thunder of meals.
But, it is also that which occurs in the quiet interstitial spaces of a symposium, intangible but knowable. I am not alone in the pursuit of my passion, I am amongst. It is sustainable only in our memory and heart, not easily communicated to others and cannot be achieved by self alone.
Some stars shine brighter than others, some fade from view, new ones are calving in distant galaxies, but when seen together, they form our constellations; they're special, we name them, they guide us. That's us, the constellation of NWSSA.
Sculpt Proud,
Your pres,
Elaine
Harbingers of opportunity to gather with your mates in the fields of Dreams have arrived. Robins and meadow larks singing, seed catalogs in the mail, potting soil in the stores and daylight savings time all portend our first symposium, the Hand Carving Retreat at the Pack Forest Conference Center near Eatonville, WA.
The subtle sequence of hammer to chisel to stone evokes the ancestral roots of our art – the thoughtful and imaginative process of creating art from stone. To this is added the magic ingredient – that of your fellow stoners. They've been winter shut-ins or else hardy souls laboring in the not so warm and sunny climes of the great Northwest. Talk of stone and tools and an eagerness for old friendships is to renew a stoner's soul: the engine of creativity.
I understand the expense of gasoline and resultant increases in the cost of most everything we purchase might compel many to Bambi up and try the, "Go nowhere, do nothing" diet. I ask you to consider the wisdom of feeding the creative side. And of course the government is here to help you out just in time.
Rebates! Help save the country, spend it. Indeed do, spend it on a symposium and help save the country and NWSSA. Fuel prices this summer will be high for you and for our three symposia.
Remember that spending to attend a symposium is an investment that provides assured dividends and the viability of NWSSA depends on your support. We have up-front expenses at every symposium that we are locked into. If you do not support the organization, we as an organization cannot prevail in this economic climate.
If there are things you wish to know about how the organization operates, come to a BOD meeting. There will be one at Pack Forest. Your voice will be heard.
Your Pres, Elaine
I’d like to talk about a new mission statement. As an organization matures it becomes necessary to evaluate the core of its mission. Who we are, what we do, why we do it. I asked members of the board to work on a mission statement that answered these questions in a short, sharply focused statement. Karl Hufbauer took the issue to heart and the board agreed that the word "nurturing" is the underpinning of our core mission. It answers the questions and is the kernel that binds us together.
The lion's share of our members have learned the technicals of working stone, so why do we every year spend time, money and effort to attend symposia? We go because we are sustained and invigorated, never having concerns that the eyes of our partners in conversation will glaze over in discussions about stone. We give freely to each other, how it's done, best tools, “Oh wow what a piece.” This is unique, kind of Carly Simon like. We have no secrets.
Over time it has become apparent that we rendezvous for deeper reasons than just to sculpt stone, though we do it with un-bridled passion. It is this passion shared by all the members who have stepped up, volunteered and attended symposia that fills our individual hearts. Sometimes we only see each other once a year and yet that sustains the friendships. So in a word, "Nurturing" is the sum of who we are, what we do and why we do it. It’s as clear as mud to a mud hen. We nurture each other. And it is our mission statement for the future.
Sculpt Proud in 2008., your pres,
Elaine
Late fall, early winter, the time of feasting is upon us from Halloween to New Years Day. With a bit of trepidation, I donned costume paraphernalia and attended NWSSA's Fall Fest at the symposium. I needn’t have worried. We had a DeWalt angle grinder, a nymph in white, a core drill (big one), and 2 Chinese pottery warriors just to mention a few who really used their time and creativity for costuming. I believe everyone had an enjoyable time. Not being tied down in a sitting position, the conversing was fluid, roaming from room to room amidst the stones. Good times.
And now we move on to that great gastronomic epic: Thanksgiving. We Americans do, that is. I extend a belated Thanksgiving wish to our Canadian pals who celebrated theirs on the second Monday of October, in this case the eighth. Here in the lower half, we extol it as Columbus Day. My copious research on the Wikipedia assured me that both countries celebrate the same sort of thing: food, family and friends, focusing on a universal human sense of well being whilst giving thanks for being alive and being well fed. It's a good thing for those of us who have it.
Next we move on to the month of Dec. where we celebrate various religious observances and secular ones as well. In this particular season of late fall and early winter, whether the dates differ or the reasons for celebration, there remains a constant - food. The giving and receiving and the food ends in New Year resolutions to loose the food and become svelte. It’s kind of a shame, in a way, that with higher intelligence we seem at our best metabolizing a feast and only as peaceable as the lion pride after its feast. There has to be something we're missing with the food thing.
Peace and food thoughts for the New Year,
Elaine
