NorthWest Stone Sculptors Association

Penelope Crittenden, ‘A Dream of Wings’, chlorite on steatite and , 29’’ X 20’’ X 10’’ NorthWest S culpture uy - July

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I Stone 2010 Camp Silver Falls Symposium Petra The Rose-Red of City Ramparts, Part II The Ventura Spotlight Artist

t p e S Penelope Crittenden John Lafortune Gudrun Ongman nside: Quarterly

0 1 0 2 NorthWest Quarterly is published every ere we are in that delicate time I mean the fabled desert town carved three months by NWSSA, NorthWest Stone Sculptors In This Issue between fond memories of out of living , not our very capable Association, Camp Brotherhood and the NWSSA Treasurer, Petra Brambrink. Joe a Washington State Non-Profit Professional Letter From The President ... 3 Hanticipation of seeing again our friends Diedrick will show us some close-ups of Organization. at Silver Falls. Not a bad place to be, writ large that he saw on a Letter From The Editors ... 3 really. Somewhere between these two recent trip to Israel and Jordan. CONTACT annual events we have to take a breath Carmen Chacon, who was seen working P.O. Box 27364 • Seattle, WA 98165-1864 This From Chuck Shepherd’s to regain our equilibrium. Okay, breath FAX: (206) 523-9280 taken and hopefully some sort of balance every day at Camp B wearing a Utilikilt, has some insights for us on her time at Website: www.nwssa.org Newsoftheweird.com ... 3 is regained. General e-mail: [email protected] camp. This issue of The Quarterly Trivia Question - Answer ... 3, 15 From The NWSSA OFFICERS is again packed full of all Gerda Lattey, President, (250) 538-8686 President... things stone. Carole Turner, Vice President, 503-705-0619 Kentaro Kojima is back Petra Brambrink, Treasurer, (503) 975-8690 oday after a particularly long day with his second offering Carl Nelson, Secretary, 425-252-6812 of problem solving and cutting stone, I found myself pondering on the Ramparts of Ven- tura. We have certainly NWSSA BOARD Tmy sometimes-conceptual arts com- enjoyed learning about the Al Mangold, 206-282-6593 munity and subsequently you: the good traditional Japanese stone Seth Friedman, 206-755-8422 folks of NWSSA came to mind. While attending Camp B I had several oppor- mason team that came to Ventura to build some- PRODUCTION STAFF tunities to reflect on a field full of dusty, From Artist Spotlight: Gudrun Ongman, John unique individuals divided only by tarps thing never seen there Penelope Crittenden, Co-editor, (360) 221-2117 before. Lane Tompkins, Co-editor, (360) 320-8597 LaFortune, Penelope Crittenden ... 4 and functioning as a whole. The Editors... While the sharing of knowledge, ideas, And standing in our Artist DESIGNER inspiration, jokes, hugs and beer is Spotlight this time are two Adele Eustis paramount for our kind of function - it artists that few of you know and one that So, nothing left to do, but kick off your is the rarity of our community, and the many of you know. For the first time in shoes, and settle back and listen to some PUBLISHER genuine spark that this collective pos- the Quarterly you will meet Gudrun folks who love stone as much as you do. Nannette Davis of PrintCore, (425) 485-5570 sesses, that keeps me coming back for Ongman and John Lafortune, each with more. Thankfully, I get to witness this a sculpture carved at Camp B. While WEBMASTER miracle one more time this year - at Sil- long-time member Penelope Crittenden Your Editors, Carl Nelson ver Falls. I’m looking forward to seeing shows us something she finished early [email protected] you all there. this year. 425-252-6812 Lane and Penelope The Rose-red City Half as Old as Time... 6 -Gerda And, hey, how about Petra? This time Membership...... $70/yr. Subscription (only)...... $30/yr.

Please Note: Only full memberships at $70/yr. include This from Chuck Shepherd’s voting privileges and discounted member rates at newsoftheweird.com symposia and workshops. ew Zealand’s Waikato National Contemporary Art MISSION STATEMENT Award in September went to Dane Mitchell, whose The purpose of the NWSSA’s Sculpture NorthWest entry consisted merely of discarded packaging Quarterly is to promote, educate, and inform about stone Nmaterials from all the other exhibits vying for the prize. sculpture, and to share experiences in the appreciation Silver Falls Symposium ... 8 We know why the word angle is in and execution of stone sculpture. Mitchell called his pile “Collateral.” (Announcement of the , but what is the word die The Anoh-shuh-zumi Ramparts of winner was poorly received by the other contestants.) © 2010 NWSSA doing in die grinder? At a Christie’s auction in September in New York City, All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be Ventura, CA, Part I I ... 10 reproduced without the consent of NWSSA. London artist Gavin Turk’s empty, nondescript cardboard Stone Camp 2010 … 13 box (the size of an ordinary moving-company box) sold for $16,000. (Actually, it was a sculpture designed to look Classifieds, Announcements & Calendar ... 15 exactly like an empty, nondescript cardboard box.)

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 2 3 www.nwssa.org Gudrun Ongman Artist John One day while helping me, Serena LaFortune looked at some of my drawings and t amazes me that it has Spotlight said that she really liked this one taken me this long to find few years ago, while in the drawing. It was an abstract shape stone as my favorite me- midst of several operations much like a two-sided heart. I told Idium. I loved painting, draw- for a severe back injury, I her that if she ever married Cole, ing, and sculpting in other Awrote this: I carve not to become maybe I could make them a sculp- mediums because I could be Penelope rich or famous. I carve for pain ture. Long story short, their wedding fairly direct, emotive and “im- therapy. The more work I sell the is getting close so I decided to turn patient.” I feared that stone, more pain therapy I can afford. the drawing she liked into reality. with all its protective gear and Crittenden “chipping away” methodology, would be incredibly frustrating. Imagine my shock when dur- Once started, I won’t say that the ing an introductory workshop carving just zipped along, I am not with Tamara Buchanan, hours a zippy carver, but it did progress… passed unnoticed. Over and over the only thing that brought and that’s one of the beautiful parts me back to the outer reality of the 90º day was Tam’s gentle of carving: When things are going insistence I get rehy- forward. drated and stretch. Is British Columbia chlorite is a hard- it the timeless quality ish soft stone; it responds well to air of the stone? Is it the tools, grinders and rasps. But what contrast of soft mus- I really love about it is the natural cles and hard stone? Is quality of color variation that can it having the outside be achieved through the use of world muffled by ear- varying textures. It can polish to a plugs? Whatever, this dark, lustrous color, or be a muted collaborative process gray. This piece incorporates just has me hooked. about everything: the natural stone, some highly polished stone, and the almost white, muted gray left by the ‘ rasp. L ‘‘A Heart of Two’, Canadian , 27” X 14” X 6” Nymph’ ‘A Dream of Wings’, chlorite on steatite and limestone, 29’’ X 20’’ X 10’’ Having gotten a piece of red marble ‘Heart of from Randy Zieber at Neolithic by Gudrun Stone, I started the sculpture on the Not Just “Wings” Two’ first day of Camp Brotherhood this Ongman year, and had the rough shape done but by in two days. A seven inch grinder And one of the best worked wonders, and the air ham- John LaFortune mer with a few carbide to things about NWSSA ‘A Dream of Wings’ and going to a sym- work the rest of the shape were the posium is the oppor- The sculpture that I created at right tools to use for this piece. It tunity to learn from by Penelope Crittenden Camp B is for two very special took 3 days of shaping and wet sand- and watch others who people who came to live with my ing to get the final finish. dance and speak with wife and me in 2007. That year I had two operations keeping me in This sculpture has given me great stone. “Quarry Nymph” ears ago at Brotherhood, a slab of chlorite bed for much of the time. I spent satisfaction to carve for two people is only my second stone on one of Randy’s palettes said to me a lot of that time doing rough who absolutely deserve it. This sculp- sculpture to near com- ‘Wings.’ ‘Swell’, I said back, ‘I love wings.’ sketches for future . ture is titled “HEART OF TWO” for pletion. I like to think For such an obvious message, the details were Y Serena and Cole were young, but two people with the biggest hearts I she emerges from the slow in coming. I hauled that 75 pound piece willing helpers. Their being there know. I hope they enjoy this sculp- stone depths in order around with me for about 6 years, until finally made all the difference to my wife ture as much as I enjoyed carving to feed my new addic- one day, it didn’t just say ‘Wings’, it said “A Dream b ‘Quarry Nymph’, and me. It is for them that I carved it. I am honored to have carved this tion. of Wings.” Ah ha. I could do that. O Limestone, 24” X 6” X 6” this sculpture. piece for them.

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 4 5 www.nwssa.org The Rose-red City Half As Old As Time

By Joey Diedrick Pretty common for colors for the walls and ceilings of the caves

he abandoned city of Petra, located in the middle eastern Tnation of Jordan, is not the easiest place to get to. In order to most easily access it, you must travel down Wall detail highlighting a narrow gorge, (al-Siq in mineralization Arabic) dodging Bedouin donkey carts and throngs of tourists. The shade it Joey in Petra provides is a welcome from the searing hot sun you endured you descend, you come across the Architectural detailing on your way down from the visitor’s occasional evidence of what man The narrow walls of the gorge center. Nature has done her part carv- has wrought. The one constant is leading down to Petra ing the walls that tower overhead. As a waist-level trough that was used Upon closer inspection though, the walls and ceilings have a huge array to bring water into the city. of colors to gaze over. Jealousy sets in as you think of the people who have lived here before that saw this all the time. Thousands of years of exposure The crawling pace would be more to the elements have weathered the city. You wonder what it looked like at bearable were any of the tour lead- its height, with freshly carved columns, 20,000 Nabataeans filling its streets ers around you speaking English. and sleeping in its caves. With eavesdropping not an option, you take to weaving in and around For any person appreciative of stone or architecture or history or adventure, w the larger, slower groups to make Façade in slight disrepair it is well worth the trip. your way through the pack. Then you see it. The Treasury stands just a hundred yards away. A mas- sive breath-taking façade carved from the Cambrian that makes up the entire valley. It stands alone, both in location and preservation, above the rest of the ancient city. A short camel ride delivers you deeper into the city where you can crawl amongst the mineralized rocks and studio apartments cut into the cliffs.

From afar, the valley appears monochromatic as you would ex- pect from such an arid landscape. Ruins on the hike Studio condos, views of the Irrigation channel delivering down to Petra whole valley water to the city Some of the larger buildings in the valley

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 6 7 www.nwssa.org Silver Falls Symposium

Aug. 28th - Sept. 1st

he trees are green, the falls are silver and the time is now. If you’ve got the yen for Tsome stone carving now is the time to sign- up for five days of nothing but stone - morning till night.

And we have some wonderful people to show us how they do things. John Fisher from California will be there carving stone with a furor that’ll make you think Register on-line at nwssa.org you’re in a second . or mail it to Lane’s address. Lane Tompkins New to NWSSA workshops will be William Pickerd, an artist Questions? Contact Lane or Tom: (360) 320-8597 from Eugene, Oregon who turns translucent on a lathe Tom Urban [email protected] like you wouldn’t believe. He will be doing that right in front of (541) 741-4117 673 Third St. us every day. [email protected] Langley, WA 98260

John Fisher carving limestone

William Pickerd turning alabaster Rich Hestekind will be there telling us about his successful work in using stone to move water, as well as giving us demos on flaming stone with a torch. Fire and water. What could be more elemental?

And for all of our tool questions, Tom Urban will show us the answers on the tools, including core drills diamond chain saws and the unbelievable ring saw.

David P. Miller is also making a one day appearance with his hand tool magic and his winning personality.

In addition to all this, we also get gor- geous hiking trails, great food, campfire fun into the night and lots of fun-loving friends, both old and new. f

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 8 9 www.nwssa.org The Anoh-shuh-zumi Ramparts of The art of traditional building The tradition goes through some ups a lot of questions regarding the ratio of runs in his blood. He is the 14th genera- and downs, but around the Sengoku the curve, how to determine that ratio, Contact point tion of the Awata family: the only family period (the civil war era of the 15th and the secret formula, and so on, but the Ventura, California in from wall left in Japan that specializes in the craft 16th century) demand for walls spiked. answers that were given was not nearly as Steeper angle of traditional Japanese walling. Warring generals needed defenses and specific. “The curve is determined by how as you go Their lineage goes back 400 years; that’s they needed them quickly. It is around firm is the ground, how tall the structure Gravel Part II higher longer than the United States has existed this time that the Anoh-group-stacking needs to be and how large the area needs as a nation. becomes famous and highly desirable. to be on the top. It’s a balance.” By Kentaro Kojima Gentler Leveling Angle stone

Ed: We are happy to present here the final installment under Stone depth of Kentaro’s wonderful description of the ancient ground longer than stone Japanese art of Anoh-shuh-zumi drywall construc- height (or face) tion as it was used in the small town of Ventura, California in February of this year. Anoh-shuh-zumi drywall construction diagram

of the strength of the walls and ramparts ‘Therests on the interiorsecret and not the exterior of the structures.’ Left: Tetsu splitting stone with tobi- - Junji (the 14th) ya chisels. MIddle: Donna Hasbrouck, a mason “Basically, a rampart is a big pile from Lopez Island, custom cuts a of gravel encased in woven stone filler stone. walls.” I never thought about it Right: The crew at work. Note the that way, but I guess it can be white tobi-ya marks. simplified as such. Makizo Awata (the 13th) was awarded Even with this long tradition, the Awa- When pressed for more specifics, the Shun continued. “So, if you the National Treasure Award, the high- tas told me of their concern when they answer was, “You need to see many have slabs of stones standing est honor you can receive from the Japa- accepted the invitation to come to the walls and build many to develop your on edge facing the walls that nese government. Junji is said to be on workshop and teach in “the west.” They taste. You will get used to it the more is not much of a support. You the list of future recipients as well, but were well aware of the long tradition of experience you have.” The answers were need long stones to reach deeper when asked, he just shakes his hand in using stone in buildings in “the west,” slightly frustrating, but they seemed to into the core of the rampart for front of his face and says, “never, never.” so they did not know how they might be neither evasive nor aloof, they were stability. That’s why if you find Suminori (the 15th) told me that he very contribute to it. (I am thinking they just telling it the way it is. yourself using the biggest face of often gets compared to Makizo. “I will lumped Europe and USA together as the stone facing out, you have to never compare to this giant,” says Sumi- “the west.”) The curve of the wall started gentle and think it over and choose another nori, who was trained by his grandfather came to be perpendicular toward the To start, you need to dig two big stone.” This made a lot of sense Makizo and not Junji his father. “Maybe “The curves, we thought that might top. If you imagine the inside of a wok, holes. to me. And then I understood after I die people will give me a break,” be something we could contribute,” you get the rough picture (the walls even Then you need a lot of rock. better what Junji was trying to he said, laughing. they said, referring to one of the most curve concave ever so slightly). tell me. extraordinary elements in the rampart It is said that the Anoh group par- - the curving walls that when looked in Another hot topic was about the wedges When Junji speaks of stones the Japanese masons brought. These hat you see is not the I was starting to understand a little about ticipated, directly or indirectly, in about profile, give a very sophisticated and el- and walls and building walls, he is very wedges were called mame-ya (pea-arrow, whole story,” Junji con- the need to “weave” the stones and how eighty percent of the existing large egant grace to the structure. So much so gentle and patient in explaining things. because they are small) or tobi-ya (jump- tinued, “You use the you start with the cornerstone, but there ramparts in Japan. This combined with that when I get caught up in the beautiful One can feel that this is a man who loves ing-arrow, because they jump out of the smallest face of the stone to face out. Say, were still many things I could not grasp. the Awata’s long family history, creates curve, I almost forget that it is made of “W his trade and is very, very experienced. hole if you don’t use them right.) They if you have a rectangular parallelepiped One of those was the importance of the an incredible situation where Junji got to big, rugged, unruly boulders. But, because of his deep understanding used these to split stones very effectively. (a long boxy stone) with the smallest face depth of the stones. participate in a historical castle restora- of the art and his tendency to be efficient, tion project in 1963 of the famous Azuchi And contribute they did. When the ram- I found these wedges fascinating for their measuring one square meter, you want, sometimes he says so much in a short While doing laundry in the hotel, I put castle in Omi (present day Shiga). Junji parts were done, I was very impressed efficiency and rarity, but even more for on average, two meters of length that sentence that it is only afterward that I the question to Shun, the young appren- knows his ancestors helped built it from with the curves and the masculine grace the almost primitive satisfaction of split- extends toward the inside of the wall.” realize what he is talking about. tice, and he explained it to me this way. 1576 to 1579. they emanated. As expected, there were ting stones without power tools. u

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 10 11 www.nwssa.org The gaps between the stacked stones I have leaned so much in the 10 short got a lot of attention as well. Some par- days I got to work with the Japanese Stone ticipants were ambivalent about the gaps crew. I think this feeling was shared by and the way the Japanese masons didn’t all the participants. I got a renewed sense Camp 2010 seem to be very concerned about them. of respect for the traditional world of The gap fillers are more decorative, they Japanese and an almost restless would say. sense of curiosity. by Carmen Chacon

The contact points of the stacked stones I will be visiting the Awatas next time are about 4” to 8” inside from the wall I am in Japan (whenever that may be, came to brotherhood this year eager face. And the weight of the stones rests sooner rather than later, hopefully). to reconnect with old friends, make there. So the filler stones are not nec- Maybe I will get to share that experience new friends and to nourish my love of essary. When the walls and ramparts on this forum. Istone carving. This year I participated as needed to go up fast, say in between R a work study student and was fortunate wars, they didn’t even bother shap- Thank you for reading. to be able to stay the en- ing the stone much or filling the gaps tire week. I assisted with diligently. “In fact,” Sumi- camp set-up and take- nori said, “some masons down, and can attest that The Stone Field would intentionally stick the logistical expertise in a loose stone as a filler demonstrated by our or- toward the top, so who- ganizers is impressive! create visual harmony. I am continually ever was trying to scale it amazed by the process of transform- might grab it and fall.” We, The session started with ing a stone into a thing of beauty. The at the workshop, diligently lunch (or was it dinner?) individual studio tents on the field cre- filled the gaps with very followed by a well received ated the visual boundaries by which to tight stones. evening talk. (These eve- observe the sounds and rhythms of each Top: Shun Nomura and Suminori ning talks, given by a dif- of us, sculptors, creating. People would There was another trick Awata placing a stone. ferent artist every night, stroll and visit with each other discussing Suminori told us. “A Bottom: “Basically, a rampart is a were to be a regular and tools and techniques or just admiring the mason would stack the big pile of gravel encased in woven valued part of the camp emerging works of art. stone walls.” stone just so lightly jut- experience.) ting out from the bottom President Gerda Lattey and team Stone camp also had its quiet moments, Tetsu, the master monument and tomb stone. Creating an under- loading stone usually when it was time for lunch or din- stone carver, demonstrated how fast one cut, which makes it harder ner, when the field was empty of people. to climb.” Then he told us could split a stone with these wedges. We got to work on Sunday morning At those times, I would wander through of an anecdote. “This sho- The staccato sound of his hit- with a drawing class followed by a clay and reflect on the day’s activities. u gun was having a rampart ting the special chisels and the way he figure class. The afternoon was reserved built for his castle. When had no hesitation on plunging into the for carving and the rampart was nearly stone with furious, but precise impacts for observing finished, he came to the were breathtaking. It was impressive, other artists, as site to inspect. He called obviously he had a lot of practice, but as were the follow- the master mason and asks far as the sandstone we were using went, ing afternoons. him, ‘Is this wall difficult to he was as fast splitting the stone in that There is much scale?’ ‘Damn near impos- method as if using an electric drill with to be learned sible, only I know how to feathers and wedges. by watch i ng scale it,’ says the mason. The others at work, There were many questions asked about shogun tells the mason to engrossed in how these worked. First, you use a point show him how. The mason t he c re at ive chisel to start your holes. Then once you goes down the ramparts and process. have the holes going, you use a progres- takes out two short bars of sion of chisels that are made with the metal, then proceeds to stab We have all ex- same angle, same profile as the wedge. them into the gaps of the perienced the Finally, after you get the desired depth stones and climb the wall intense concen- and correct angles, you drop the wedges that way. When he got to the Top: Finishing out the second tration, focus and pound them evenly, just as you top of the wall the shogun rampart. and sheer will would with feather and wedges. chopped off his head and Bottom: Some work days ran long. Blacksmith and stone carver, required to re- Carol Turner cutting curves in limestone said; ‘Now it is a secret.’” Al Mangold, making a chisel move mass and

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 12 13 www.nwssa.org Classifieds & Announcements

STONE SCULPTORS Y J K SUPPLIES Tom’s Big GUERNEVILLE, CA Summer Sale The bidding got intense at the stone auction Thank you, Pat and Karen ICS hydraulic mini 814 for helping to sponsor John Chain Saw with a 50% Fisher’s first-time attendance A blacksmith came to camp this year and set up his portable Premium chain. at Silver Falls this year. Your shop, and demonstrated the of forging carving tools in Used as factory demo continuing generosity is the fiery heat. And every day we had different presentations by Was $1285. Now $1188. sculptors from pinning and sleeving small pieces to working certainly appreciated. Dies are specialized forming with monumental sculptures. Newcomers get some hands-on instruction shapes used to cut or mold parts from Ruth Mueseler Golz KB 120 Drill Stand for And, in addition, Pat and a hand held core drill. The early morning river walks were a popular event -- if one Karen are continuing their for manufacturing. Dies (usually could be up and dressed by 6 a.m. (I could not, and besides, Near New for $375. discounts on purchases by On the last night of Camp, I looked up into the New would be over $675 NWSSA members. All stone in a hydraulic press) are used to summer star triangle of Denub, Alter and Vega is 25% off unless it’s a special form everything from paper clips shining bright on our band of stone carvers and A few very large pieces of thought how lucky I was to be here to experience or a grab bag. 10% will be Yule Marble. Call for info. the collective force that brings to Camp B the taken off of imported, Italian to automobile fenders. power and passion for creating. S tools (Cuturi and Milani). Diamond Turbo Cup Wheels All other tools are 20% Tool and die makers started Coarse for $33 off. You must note in the comment section that you using these hand-held grinders Tom Urban are a member or call in your years ago to clean up and finish cell: 541-912-2197 order at: 707-869-1666 or 707-869-1021. the metal dies they were making. That industrial usage has stayed Info@stonesculptorssupplies. com with the name, though it seems ironic that we use die grinders to make stone come alive. Carving Calendar Stone neighbors on the field talk it over Silver Falls 2010 I needed my first cup of morning coffee.) While drinking my coffee, I would contemplate the field, looking over the work Silver Falls State Park from the previous day. I saw how each and every one there had Silver Falls, OR Aug.28 - Sept. 1 the gift of transforming stone. I felt humbled and fortunate to be among such creative people. U P U P The weather was warm, but that did not stop the mosquitoes Camp Brotherhood 2011 from finding their way to the skin below the layers of stone dust. At night we socialized by the camp fires where we roasted tiny Mt Vernon, WA TBA Pete Welty pauses for the camera on marshmallows with care. Laughter and group debates following a big lift the day of carving enriched the experience.

Sculpture NorthWest Quarterly Jul/Aug/Sept 2010 14 15 www.nwssa.org NWSSA P.O. Box 27364 Seattle, Washington 98165-1864

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