President's Letter and Editor's Quote

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

Hello Sculptors!

I joined the ASV in the 1990’s. Back then we held the Annual & Awards Exhibition in city foyers and monthly meetings in the Ola Cohn Centre in East Melbourne.

With only one exhibition each year sculptors pursued their various other lives - commission work, solo sculpture careers, small group exhibitions and other careers.

The meetings, held nearly every month, were full of valuable information, contacts, inspiration and kept us in touch with the mechanics of running an association. Just as important were the casual, face to face encounters over coffee or in the courtyard as we left the meeting - more information exchange, technical advice, tips on suppliers and everything that friendship and common purpose can enable.

With our Annual & Awards Exhibition we are not only face to face with each other but also with our visitors. Not all of us are extroverts who seek to engage with all and sundry in presenting our work - it is indeed a vulnerable position to put heart and soul into a sculpture and stand it up in public. Take courage! It is the personal, heartfelt nature of unique and limited edition work that attracts other humans to engage with our art. I invite all artists to take the opportunity to sit the exhibitions, to attend the meetings and to engage to build Sculptors Victoria as a cultural community.

This year we have received some sculptors tools - let’s call them heritage tools - for wood carving and some stone working tools to be passed from one working sculptor to another. This has happened before and back then we awarded a prize of the tools to an exhibitor at the Annual who showed promise and might benefit. The committee has been discussing ideas for heritage tools in the hope that we might set up a tradition of help and inspiration. So this year and likely in future years, tools in appropriate bundles can be applied for by members by an expression of interest process at the AAE and the committee will award the tools to a sculptor who can make use of them - and maybe pass them on in 40 or 50 or so years.

We’ll have further information at the exhibition - with provenance acknowledgements and pictures.

In the meantime - paint your plinths!

Happy sculpting 

Jenny