Thetis Island: 5th Annual Vancouver Island Stone Sculptors’ Symposium – Nov/Dec 1999

The hosts of the 5th Annual Vancouver Island Stone Sculptor’s Symposium on Thetis Island, B.C., served up another helping of great fall weather. This was the second year that the Symposium was held at Camp Columbia, right next door to organizers Simone and Peter Weber-Luckham. The sun shone warmly for the five day event, Sept. 14-19, 1999, and by all accounts, everyone had a great time.

The event kicked off Tuesday afternoon with a local radio interview of Simone Weber-Luckham, who did a fantastic job of promotion, and handled the interviewers questions with finesse. As the successive ferries landed, more and more sculptors arrived with excited greetings, and the creative energy rose.

This year the power tools were set up on the playing field, and the hand tool area was nestled in the woods, near the beach. Carol Way and Sandra Bilawich again held their popular diamond bench grinding workshop in the boathouse. Andrew Pothier came over to the Island in style on his yacht, and brought his wonderful candy store of carving supplies and tools. Jim Gill supplied raw stone, and Dan Cline introduced a newly discovered blue-hued marble now being quarried near the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

The many workshops held were well attended, and broadened everyone’s experience. George Pratt and I shared a quiet smile as, yet again, some sculptors, adamant about hand tools on Wednesday, came creeping around to the power tool area by Friday, rubbing their weary arms, and having second thoughts over an air hammer. They were all greeted with a chance to try. Our scholarship fund allowed Tara Jackie, of Vancouver, and Andea Van Dyke of Ladysmith, B.C., to attend (this was Andrea’s first introduction to stone carving – and she’s a natural!). The farthest-from-home award goes to Yolanda Spinola Elias, who came from Seville, Spain. (I surrendered a treasured piece of Brain-Berman-delivered ribbon basalt to Yolanda, and she did it far more justice than I could ever have.) When we got too sore from carving, Carolyn Anderson’s and Anastasia Miller’s hands of wonder were able to get the kinks out.

On Saturday, we were visited by a large group of school children, who got a first hand look at the art of stone sculpting. The press was also in attendance, and articles appeared in the newspapers as a result, adding to stone sculpting’s exposure. The fundraising auction that evening was again successful in adding to our scholarship fund. A thank you to all the generous donations, and to the generous bidders!

The food was good, made better by great conversation with friends new and old around the meal tables. Gulf Island life seems so idyllic, especially to a city boy. There is a palatable ambiance you can sense immediately upon arriving. And we all made the most of it. Afternoon swims in the ocean, canoeing, sunset boat cruises, campfire singalongs under the stars, fresh caught crab and cod made into scrumptious cakes, harvested oysters on the half shell, and a Saturday night performance art “happening”. The phosphoresceots were in and six swimmers “painted” the dark waters off the camp dock for the enjoyment of a large audience. All part of what makes the Gulf Islands a special place.

Does it make you want to come next year?