Holiday merriment is emerging as the late fall rain chases away summer dustiness. The holiday party will be here before we know it, with a chance to reconnect with carving buddies, share potluck, and talk about our sculpting plans for 2005. We will also be electing some board members, but you need not worry about having your right to vote challenged at the polls. Don’t forget to bring a small sculpture to trade.
We had a nice get-together at Karl’s and my studio in late October. We talked about stone, stood up a large piece that Karl is intending to start, discussed a maquette that Jim Heltsley is developing, and generally chatted about sculpting life. We will repeat this event at another studio after the first of the year. Watch your e-mail if you would like to attend.
Chances are good this is my last Prez message, as my term limit is approaching and we need to initiate new leadership. I have enjoyed getting to know the organization and its members in my role, and will continue as a board member until kicked off.
Carve well, have fun, and wear a good respirator,
It has been a very good year for the Association. We had our best ever Whidbey Symposium in terms of both participation and energy level. Camp Brotherhood was similarly well-received, with our biggest ever crowd and a Sculpture Walk that drew an estimated 600 people. I just got back from a short visit to the Silver Falls symposium and was amazed at the number of tents and wonderful artwork in process. This is the core of our mission; teaching about stone sculpting through hands-on experience.
While our mission will always be education, we have benefited from a very strong exhibition year. As I write this our September Kirsten Gallery show in Seattle is in progress. The Lake Oswego Arts Festival was an extraordinary success. As the feature artistic organization, NWSSA artists sold more collective art than any other feature group in the Festival’s history. As of last count the sales were approaching $50,000, including sales at the Festival, follow-up sales, and commissions. The Sculpture Walk at Camp Brotherhood also generated nearly $10,000 in sales for participating members. As one of the recipients of sales proceeds I am very happy to pay my $50 for next year’s dues.
The next time I will see all of you I will be happily sampling the pot luck trays at the Holiday Party, and dreaming already about sharing carving days under tents at the next symposium. Hope to see you there.
Carve well, have fun, and be safe,
The first e-mail was polite. “It is time for your President’s letter for the Journal.” I responded that I could not do it right then, because I was getting ready for Camp Brotherhood. The second e-mail was a bit more insistent about finishing the President’s letter. “Are you kidding” I responded. “I can’t do it now, I am at Camp Brotherhood.” The voice mail reminder today had a hint of pleading mixed with frustration. “But I have only just returned from Camp Brotherhood.”
Camp Brotherhood is the anchor of my summer, and in some ways of my year. I get to see old friends, find new ones, and make gravel from the new stone that I bought. It also gives me a fine excuse to escape from my other responsibilities in life to focus on art. We do not go there to fulfill these other responsibilities, though they do sometimes follow us. We go there to create art. The week at Camp Brotherhood was amazing as usual in that regard. I gulped in amazement to walk out of the dining hall and hear the grinders and chisels of 125 sculptors creating 125 unique works of art. What a wonderful world we live in.
Carve well, have fun, and be safe,
A friend left me a voice mail last week accusing me of placing a rock on her front porch. She knew I was nuts about stone. I explained that I collect stone to sculpt, not to move around in a raw state, depositing it like some glacial erratic on friend’s porches. I did offer to take it off her hands, if it was a nice piece. This is the first time I have been charged with stone abandonment, but I do get accused of any number of lesser crimes, including making gravel, dusting up the neighborhood, or sinking the local terrain with the mass of my “waiting to be carved” pile.
I suspect we are all viewed with a combination of bemusement and curiosity. “Do you really enjoy carving stone?” (as in “what is wrong with you?”). That is why I was so amazed when I attended my first symposium. Here was a whole pack of people who could not stop talking about stone, and yet they all seemed normal… I am still amazed at the people, stone, tools, and good fun I have each year at the one or two symposia that I get to attend. Hopefully all of you will join us for at least a couple days of this experience this year at one of our three symposia. The Whidbey Island retreat will happen before you receive this copy of the Journal, but Camp Brotherhood and Silver Falls should both be excellent events. I look forward to seeing you all there.
Carve well, have fun, and wear a good respirator and protect your eyes,
