President’s Message – May/June 2006

After my hue and cry in the last Journal, I am happy to say that I received a nice long email from Lee Gass up in the Northern latitudes. He was instrumental in getting the SLC Zimbabwean group turned on to NWSSA and their attendance at the Hand Carving Retreat this year.

He said that e-mail remains a rich contact for him, but doesn’t hear from many members of NWSSA. For those of you who have the time in the wee hours, email is a great way to stay in contact.

About the time you receive this Journal, you will be getting your BOD ballots in the mail. Please take a couple of minutes and vote. It’s your board – help to make it a good one. What does the BOD do? It makes policy and decisions that directly affect you as members – some you may agree with and others not. The choice is yours.

Now, one decision we made at the last BOD meeting was to institute weekend workshops. We do not have an agenda yet, but it is a pilot program that will be held at Marenako’s Stonearium in Seattle.

There is a lot of traffic at the Stonearium both of people wanting stone and of people who wander in from the garden business at the corner. These people are interested in learning about stone and not in just building steps. It is my hope that these workshops will increase both our membership and interest in the art of stone.

If this pilot program takes off, I envision satellite programs in those communities that have strong arts programs and where we have members who could be instructors. The fact that they would be short workshops could greatly reduce the cost for new people. I have great expectations for this program.

Another thing the BOD is responsible for is scaring up grants and I use the word scare because the getting of grants is no easy matter. We could use a little help with this from anyone out there who has the skills and can spare a little time.

The BOD is also responsible for the financial health of our Association. In this regard, you need people who understand both the strange world of business and that metaphysical realm of artful human relations which is vital to our heart health.

These are just a few things that the BOD does. Have I convinced you to vote! If you’re not sure whether someone would make a good BOD member, contact a person you trust and ask for their input.

Camp Brotherhood is drawing close as you read this. This year we are beset by higher costs in most everything. The price of oil affects all businesses whether it ‘should’ or not.

World events have put us in that difficult spot between the rock and the hard place. I hope you all understand this. I know fuel prices this summer will affect those of you coming from great distances. Please try not to let that influence your attendance on the Field of Dreams!

Give up a McDee, come and enjoy your fellow sculptors and our great team of instructors for this year.

Paul Lindhard from Art City is coming for the first time in 10 years, and bringing his expertise in lighted columns – très exciting! The water feature classes are something everyone should attend. They do sell when other pieces of art may not and they are fun to do both for yourself and for others. Our figurative program is greatly enhanced this year because of your requests.

We will have a general meeting while at Camp. This is an opportunity for you to raise your hand and be heard about the kind of instruction you want or other issues.

If public speaking is not your cup of tea, I am always available on the field, stop me, ask me and I’ll try to make sure your questions are answered. Looking forward to seeing all of you, you are what I am about!

Your Prez,

Elaine