The Symposium 

We invite you to join us at Camp Pilgrim Firs for eight full days of playing with stone, communing with nature and enjoying the camaraderie of fellow stone enthusiasts. Bring yourself, your creative energy, your tools, and a favorite rock (or four!)

If you’re new to this whole things and don’t have stone or tools, we have an entire space set up for beginners with tools and instructors. Stone and tools will be available for purchase by our vendors.

The Campground provides cabins and lodges that are connected by walking paths through the forested grounds and three full meals a day, so you’ll have the ultimate freedom to delve into carving and building friendships. Evenings are filled with slideshows, informational talks, a riot of a fundraising auction, a music-filled final night party, campfires and even nighttime swims in the lake.

Accommodations
The Camp has a lodge with a shared common area and bathrooms; it features multiple dorm-style rooms that sleep 2-3 people each. There are also 11 duplex-style cabins with private decks that sleep up to 3 per side. For those who like to commune more closely with nature, limited space is available for tents or trailers. No pets are allowed during the week.

Sculpture Walk on the Meadow

We’ll host an outdoor art gallery that’s a perfect opportunity to show your work in a supportive and appreciative environment. We encourage everyone to bring a finished piece to display and to invite your friends! Bring pedestals if you have them. NWSSA takes a 20% commission.

Guest Artists and Workshops

		Close Contact: Junctions Between Forms and Materials - Stephanie Robison The sculpture of Stephanie Robison plays with multiple oppositional relationships. Her latest series of work combines traditional stone carving and the process of needle felting wool. By merging incongruous materials such as wool and marble, she works to synthesize and fuse: hard and soft, organic and geometric, natural and architectural, handmade and the uniform industrial. During the week, Stephanie will be discussing overall design, formal relationships and junctions between forms, and balancing compositions.
		Expect the Unexpected - Candyce Garrett Working with granites since 2001, Candyce excels in contrasting the heavy material with lightness and fluid form by implying motion. She explores the illusion of movement through explosion, implosion, and piercing and plays with surface textures to create a piece that will evolve with the changing ambient lighting to be something new, exciting, and different each time it is viewed. She will be demonstrating various surfacing techniques that achieve these goals in the afternoons as well as discussing inlays and giving a presentation on her momentous body of work
		Elegance in Jade - Deborah Wilson Acclaimed contemporary jade and granite sculptor will be offering a workshop in jade. Her work reflects her love for organic forms and her ongoing interest in utilizing the characteristics that define this “stone of heaven.” A good selection of precut Canadian and US jades will be for sale to create small scale sculpture and pendants. Class limit is 10 people, so register early and watch your registration confirmation for details.
		Beginning Stone Sculpture in the Dojo  For the entire 8 symposium days, Ruth and Tamara will be hosting a beginners workshop focused on safe tool usage and introductory instruction. During the workshop, beginners will have a table and stone of their own and use of an extensive selection of the NWSSA beginner tool library. Ruth is a conglomerate of art education teacher, silversmith, art foundry worker and 29 year stone carving veteran. Her heartfelt work ranges from miniature to monumental. As an instructor she is thoughtful and will engage you with humor and respect. Tamara has been sculpting for over 30 years. Featured in many shows throughout the West, her work has won several awards. She loves sharing the process of carving and has been teaching at her studio on Lopez Island for over 12 years. Click here to learn more about participating as a beginner at our symposium

Workshop and Event  Schedule (subject to change)

Workshops	Instructor	Days
Elegance in Jade	Deborah Wilson	Mon-Fri
Close Contact	Stephanie Robison	Sun-Sat
Expect the Unexpected	Candyce Garrett	Sin-Sat
Beginner's Stone Carving	Tamara Buchanan & Ruth Mueseler	Sun-Sat

Events	Evening
Candyce Garrett Artist Presentation	Sunday
Stephanie Robison Artist Presentation	Monday
General Assembly and BOD Meeting	Wednesday
Live Scholarship Auction with Al Mangold	Thursday
Dance Party!	Friday

Our Vendors
Stone and tools will be available for purchase by our vendors;
Neolithic Stone – If you have specific stone requests, please contact Randy ahead of time at www.neolithicstone.com 604-736-5201
Bronzestone - Various sizes of polished granite bases. www.bronzestonebases.com
Richard Secrist - Rejuvenating deep tissue massage, providing 60, 90, and 2hr massages throughout the week.
Washington Jade - Supplying West Coast jade for sale. www.washingtonjade.com
Carolyn Anderson and Georgia Peterson - Restore alignment and health to stressed muscles.

Field Mentors
Most of our members have years if not decades of experience and have worked with various types of stone. If you desire individual guidance or support, field mentors will be available. If you’re interested in being a field mentor, please contact the director. All parties gain from the experience of sharing information.

Financial Aid
Thanks to our generous members and the Scholarship Auction, funds are available for both work-study positions and scholarships. For information, contact Cyra Jane, Symposium Director, at 206-406-0711 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Registration
Register On-line:  [Click Here]
or via SnailMail: download [ 2022 Registration Form ] send with with payment to NWSSA, Attn: Cyra Jane, Symposium Director, PO Box 27364 Seattle, WA 98165
Upon registration, you will receive a package of information including directions to Camp Pilgrim Firs and a list of things to bring.