President’s Message Jan-Feb 2019
NWSSA Staff
January 11, 2019
“What an honor I’ve had the last 2 years to be your leader, cheerleader, and listener (the last 5 years as a Board member). NWSSA is truly my adopted family. Since 1987 (the 1st symposium) I have learned so much about stone, sculpture, and myself. My deepest friendships have been the greatest gift.”
Dusty Cheers,
Tamara Buchanan
President of the Board, NWSSA
“What is important for me about being a board member? For me, stone has always been a passion. NWSSA has provided many years of community, learning and friendship. It is a place for our stone community to gather and learn as we continue to grow. With this in mind, as I have retired from my day job, it’s time to give back. Community. What I love most about this organization are the amazing people that make this community. Go Dusty Friend and see you soon.”
Carmen Chacon, Vice President
“I started carving for the texture, that tactile feedback that I craved. I was taking time away from rock climbing due to an injury and I just missed touching the stone. The softer stones that my teachers urged upon me didn’t have the intensity of texture that I wanted, so I was drawn to harder varieties. Which meant power tools – I was down with that. I love roughing pieces out with fret cuts, bashing the fins off with my 30-year-old chisel. I love polishing by hand or machine – it’s meditative. I love it when I get a whiff of stone dust – it tells me I need to tighten my mask or replace the filters. But it means I’m making dust, which is so cool”.
Ken Barnes, Treasurer
“I was an unlikely person to be drawn to stone carving. I was creating in the fiber arts world, which is soft, warm, cozy and clean. Then in 2019 I signed up for a hand carving workshop taught by Kentaro Kojima. I was hooked! Carving stone and making dust became a new passion. When I heard about Pilgrim Firs, I signed up and headed my car south to stone camp, not knowing a soul. My wonderful roommate, Sharon Feeney, introduced me around and I was instantly welcomed into the NWSSA community. How fortunate I have been to have learned so much from all the wonderful carvers that shared their skills and talents. I continue to be extremely grateful to be a part of NWSSA and am happy to serve on the board”
Karen Walsh Roe, Secretary
“For me, NWSSA continues to be a safe haven for expanding my creative energies, to learn from other more advanced sculptors in a non-judgmental welcoming environment. How fortunate I feel to have found this amazing, ever-expanding community of extremely generous creative spirits. Looking back, I am reminded of how I was encouraged to even call myself an artist. So many folks helped me see the possibilities of moving from wood as a medium to stone. NWSSA has provided so many opportunities for me to grow as an artist and to show my art and support others. Being on the board has given me a chance to give back to this community that has given me so much and allows me to share ideas, and in a minor way to support, influence the direction of NWSSA and help sustain and grow the association.”
Markos Weiss
Nominations Committee, Events Committee
“It’s hard to put into words what carving means to me. In most other mediums, I work fast, I tend to get a lot done in very little time. Stone is different. It forces me to slow down and pulls me into a meditative state. I feel more grounded knowing it takes real dedication to move material over the course of days, weeks, or even years to finish a piece. The real reward has been to find NWSSA and a community of fellow ‘stoners’ who actually get it. There’s nothing better than putting on some music and hearing the collective tinging and buzzing of others working on their rocks to know you’ve finally found your art family.”
Aerin Sizelove
Tech Liason, Events Committee
“For me, sculpting always begins with the story in the stone. As a geoscientist, I am drawn to look at every stone I see, I touch, I think about carving; first as unique physical piece of the universe. I think about where if may have come from, how it may have formed, how old it is:
Only after I get an understanding of its origin story am I ready to shape it…but not too much; its story must not be lost to time, when its finished form stands ready to view.”
Michael E Yeaman
Financial Committee
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