Editor's Quote and President's Letter for February 2026

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” (Henry David Thoreau)

Are you ready for MIFGS 2026? Is your entry in and your plinth weather proof?

Wrapping up Herring Island had its complications… we have yet to assign the voter’s prize because the first email drew a blank… back to random numbers and the big box of votes…. And a sculpture broke in transit to its new home so we had the soul searching of who owed what to whom…. In the end the broken sculpture remains the property of the artist - but it is all very sad. Packing and posting sculpture is a dangerous undertaking - could your item survive being dropped a metre? I’ve used Pack and Send in the past but for commission work where the customer paid - it works out to a considerable sum - but perhaps we need to value our own work more?

As we speak the new website draws ever closer. The committee has been testing - making fake purchases, sending emails through the system, making pretend donations and checking through our sculptor’s profiles - it is looking amazing - but you are fed up with being told how good it is going to be, right? Just do it, they cry!* We will of course be relying on you to assist with checking the system - after the data transfers of a couple of websites and servers some things are tangled. It will be a lot quicker if individual sculptors can check their entries and prizes and let us know about errors and omissions… fingers crossed. All this means that I won’t have work ready for MIFGS 2026 - but I’m looking forward to a lot less work down the track when the system is in place - so watch out for flying chisels!

Enjoy your work everyone - the market is tight - there’s no doubt - but there are people out there who value your work, who respect the ideas, skill and passion that goes into it - you have a place inspiring future understanding so keep creating and sharing the work!

Pack and send
https://www.packsend.com.au/packing-solutions/art-antiques-packing/
https://www.packsend.com.au/couriers-freight/loss-damage-protection-warranty/

Happy sculpting

Jenny Rickards

*In fact we've done it! As of 4 March 2026 the site is new. Soon we'll send out emails to enable you to sign in and update your profiles - hooray!