2026 Washington State International Stone Carving Symposium
Registration is Open Now!
July 11-19, 2026
Hosted at Pilgrim Firs Camp & Retreat Center in Port Orchard, WA
The Symposium
We invite you to join us at Camp Pilgrim Firs for eight days of stone-centered activities and carving with your fellow stone enthusiasts. Bring yourself, your creative energy, your tools, and a favorite rock (or four!). If you’re new to this whole thing and don’t have stone or tools, we have the Dojo set up for beginners with everything you need to start.
Visiting Guest Artists
Collaborative Stone Carving – Amy Brier, John Fisher, and Sharon Fullingim
These three master carvers have been working together on large public sculptures for many years. Though they live in different areas of the country, they travel to work together will be tackling an approximately 4’ x 5’ limestone slab during our week at camp, demonstrating their techniques and process along the way.
Amy Brier has a BFA in sculpture from Boston U and has been carving since traveling to Italy and falling in love with marble and carving. She worked for 6 years in the carving shed of the stoneyard of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. She co-founded the Indiana Limestone Symposium and has taught workshops and classes in the US and Europe. Amy is the first woman to be President of the Stone Carvers Guild.
John Fisher has carved over 550 figurative sculptures that vary is size from hand held to monumental. He lived in Italy for 20 years perfecting his craft. Now he has lived in Northern California for 20 years returning yearly to Italy to renew contacts and purchase tools and stone. He teaches a method of carving he calls Profile Carving. It emphasizes looking behind the chisel, sending the chips flying away from the eyes. He is also an advocate for improvising and intuitive carving. For John composition is king, no amount of good carving can fix a bad sculpture.
Sharon Fullingim sculpts in both bronze and stone, with a focus on North American wildlife. She is a Signature member of the Society of Animal Artists, Master Signature member of the American Women Artists, and served as the Director of ILS (Indiana Limestone Symposium) in Ellettsville, IN, where she taught hand and pneumatic stone carving.
