2025-26 Downtown Sculpture Gallery – City of Auburn, WA
NWSSA Staff
December 18, 2024
"The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor's hand can only break the spell to free the figures slumbering in the stone." - Michelangelo
We invite you to join us at the Cascadian Center at Camp Brotherhood for eight days of playing with stone, communing with nature and fun with old friends and new. All meals are provided and no household chores – now that is freedom! Each year this pastoral venue (complete with emus, alpacas and a donkey) is transformed into a field of tents with smiling people covered in stone dust. And if the day turns unbearably hot, the swimming pool is right there waiting.
Instructors are available for everyone from beginner to expert, and sharing ideas and advice is something we always do.
There are slide shows, informational talks, and wonderful campfires in the evenings. Our Auction to raise funds for education is a night of hilarious fun, second only to our last night party. Another highlight is our Sculpture Walk on Saturday, July 20th, open to the public.
“The best artist has that thought alone which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor’s hand can only break the spell to free the figures slumbering in the stone.” – Michelangelo
We invite you to join us at the Cascadian Center at Camp Brotherhood for eight days of playing with stone, communing with nature and fun with old friends and new. All meals are provided and no household chores – now that is freedom! Each year this pastoral venue (complete with emus, alpacas and a donkey) is transformed into a field of tents with smiling people covered in stone dust. And if the day turns unbearably hot, the swimming pool is right there waiting.
Instructors are available for everyone from beginner to expert, and sharing ideas and advice is something we always do.
There are slide shows, informational talks, and wonderful campfires in the evenings. Our Auction to raise funds for education is a night of hilarious fun, second only to our last night party. Another highlight is our Sculpture Walk on Saturday, July 20th, open to the public.
Accommodations: You choose; the amenities are varied. The Camp has lodges, which provide motel style rooms accommodating 2-3 individuals with a bathroom in each room. If you prefer, private cottages may be available at an additional cost, but only if our reserved lodges are full. If you’d like to commune more closely with nature, space is provided for pitching a tent.
Scholarship Auction: Thursday evening, July 18th, 2013. A very, very fun and entertaining event for a very, very good cause. The auction supports our education goals by funding work-study and scholarship positions for new and emerging artists. Bring something to donate, we’ll buy anything and have a great time doing it.
Field Mentors: Most of our members have years of experience and work with various types of stone. If you desire individualized guidance or support, field mentors: Tracy Powell, Tom Small, Tony Angell, Will Robinson, Meredith Earls and Gerda Lattey will be available. Both parties gain from the experience.
Sculpture Show on the Meadow: We also have our now-famous Sculpture Walk on the last Saturday. It is a great opportunity to show your work in a supportive and appreciative environment. We encourage everyone (experienced and beginners) to bring your finished piece of work to display. Invite your friends and clients to come. Some pedestals are provided, but bring your own if you can. A 30% sales commission supports NWSSA.
| Workshop Schedule (subject to change) | |||
| Workshop | Instructor | Days | Time |
| Small Scale Jade Carving | Deborah Wilson | Tues – Sat | 10 am – 4 pm |
| Acclaimed contemporary jade and granite sculptor Deborah Wilson is one of the few remaining veteran jade artists in Canada. Her work reflects her love for organic forms and her ongoing interest in utilizing the characteristics that define this “stone of heaven.” She has recently been participating in an international effort to revive the art of carving jade, and continues to hold workshops from her home-based studio in Vernon B.C. Deborah will be sharing techniques for small scale jade carving. Tooling and equipment ideas (ie: how to make your own point carver) will be discussed and demonstrated and a good selection of precut Canadian & US jades will be for sale. While the focus will be primarily small-scale carving, Deborah will have an unfinished larger freeform sculpture in jade on site for interactive participation. | |||
| Figurative Sculpture | Claire McArdle | Sat – Wed | 9-10 am |
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An internationally recognized sculptor, Claire moved to Italy in 1988 , after earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts, to work with the master carvers in Carrara and continues to travel to Italian quarries to rough out her travertine and marble work. Her works are in private and public collections throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Japan. McArdle’s commissions for public, educational, and religious institutions include monumental works for Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL, Marian House, Baltimore, MD, The Holton-Arms School, Bethesda, MD, St. Bede, Williamsburg, VA, Holy Trinity Church, Washington, DC, Holy Redeemer College, Washington, DC as well as many private commissions. |
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| Large Scale Granite Sculpture | Norbert Jaeger | Tues – Fri | 9-10 am |
| For 25 years, Norbert has worked primarily with marble and granite. Some time ago he attended sculptor education schooling in Frankfurt, Germany and received the National Prize for sculpture. His subjects are nature, people and space. Norbert’s engagement with the material is important, so that ultimately a communication takes place. Jaeger supports the stone’s character and works his sculptures with figurative symbolic, contrasted with geometric forms. Norbert’s works do not give answers, but rather ask questions about our existence. | |||
| Beginning Carving | Ruth Mueseler | Sun – Tues | 9 am & 1 pm |
| Ruth is one of our valued staff instructors. Self taught, her art runs the gamut from the tiny to monumental, from humor to eulogy. As an instructor she is thoughtful in her manner and respectful of those yearning to learn stone. She will teach you about the stone and the tools and how to use them. She comes highly recommended by her former students.. | |||
| Beginning Carving | Tamara Buchanan | Wed – Fri | 9 am & 1 pm |
| Tamara has been sculpting stone for 25 years. Featured in many shows throughout the West, her work has won several awards. She loves sharing the process of carving stone and has been teaching at her studio on Lopez Island for 10 years. | |||
| Basing, Pinning and Sleeving | Arliss Newcomb | Tues – Sat | 1-2 pm |
| A wood carver for 25 years, met a stone sculptor in 1988 who gave her a first piece of stone and she hasn’t carved wood since. Since joining NWSSA in 1990, she has traveled to workshops around the world, learning from some of the best. She shares her extensie knowledge leading this workshop. | |||
| Design Basics | Meredith Earls | Sun – Tues | 1-2 pm |
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Principles of design are what are applied to design elements to bring those together in a piece. Design is as critical to the success of a sculpture as knowledge of tools and materials. Using examples and hands-on projects, Meredith will demonstrate many of these design basics, make them relatable, and explore how our minds play a part in translating them. |
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| Evening Schedule | |
| Sunday (14th) 7pm | Guest Artist Slide Show |
| Monday (15th) 7pm | Guest Artist Slide Show |
| Tuesday (16th) 7pm | Guest Artist Slide Show |
| Wednesday (17th) 7pm | General Meeting, Election, BOD meeting to follow |
| Thursday (18th) Tues-7pm | Scholarship Auction. FUN for a CAUSE! Bring anything that might sell – Anything! |
| Friday (19th) 7pm | DANCE PARTY!!! Yippee! |
Stone & Tools
Massage Therapy
Carolyn Anderson’s “Magic Fingers” restore alignment and health to those stressed muscles. Phone 360-698-2198
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To download a PDF of the registration form – click here
To download a PDF of the 2013 Brochure – click here
For Symposium registration, pick one of the following. Your transaction will be handled on Paypal’s Secure Web Servers:
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The simplest choice: STAY ALL WEEK! |
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Member – Partial Week Attendance |
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Non-Member – Partial Week Attendance |
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