President's Letter and Editor's Quote

“Art is not a thing; it is a way.” Elbert Hubbard

Sadly this last month we have lost two sculptors - our own, dear Eva Ermer and Bruce Armstrong… the sculptor of “Bunjil” on Wurundjeri Way. Condolences to all experiencing loss. Obituary notes are later in the newsletter.

But as we know - the world rolls along.

So have you put in your entry for Toorak? Are you in the final stages of preparing an entry for our Annual and Awards Exhibition? Choosing which exhibitions to enter is part of the business of being an artist. Deciding on when, where and how to run an exhibition is what we do as an Association. At our committee meeting last Thursday - four people online and five by the fire at my place - we congratulated Paul on the record success of the MIFGS exhibition and then moved on to the planning, plotting and principles of our program for the rest of the year.

All volunteer run organisations rely on membership to undertake their activities - and this is progressively more difficult as our lives become full of different commitments - family, paid work, health, further study and your creative output - in whatever order you can manage. The current committee is getting the job done - pretty well when you look at the quality of presentation in our exhibitions - but we need help, we need a succession plan and we need the prospect that there will be inspired people to carry the organisation forward when we have completed our offering.

To this end we are inviting non-sculptors to join the ASV - as supporters, friends and fellow volunteers with the vision of diverse, resilient and inspiring sculpture practice in Victoria. We will probably advertise on https://govolunteer.com.au/ - eventually - but it seems a cold way to find friends - online dating anyone? Personal friends and family are my favourites where trust is built in and enthusiasm is on fire. We will be preparing material that can be shared online - in the meantime if you would like a copy of the brochure we have already, please contact me on 0418 971 897.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all - be it online or in person - at our May meeting. Darren Gilbert will be talking about his work. We’ll meet at Camberwell Community Centre, Fairholm Grove Camberwell.

All the best and happy sculpting,

Jenny Rickards