OVERVIEW
ARRIVAL DAY
Arrival day is the day BEFORE the Symposium begins. You can check in anytime between 9:00 – 4:00 to turn in your informed consent papers, collect your t-shirt and name badge, get your carving site set up and select a stone.
DAY ONE
Opening meeting begins at 9am to meet staff, review tool shed protocol, fire escape plan, kitchen use, basic Symposium information and more. This meeting is mandatory and is followed by the Safety Workshop which is mandatory for all first-timers, and offers good review for seasoned carvers. Following that, it’s time to start carving!
DAYS 2-7
Each day you have the opportunity to attend a 10:00am morning and 2:00pm afternoon workshop. The rest of the day is spent working on your sculpture under the guidance of staff instructors who are making rounds to help each participant select and use the tools they need, and employ different carving techniques to accomplish their vision. Our instructors conduct one-on-one consultations and working demonstrations. The opportunity for learning is always available to help participants tailor their own unique approach to stone carving.
WORKSHOPS
Each day open forum workshops are conducted on topics covering all aspects of creating a stone sculpture such as:
- Evaluating and Selecting A Stone
- Tools & Safety
- Roughing Out and Pointing Up
- Texturing and Finishing
- Tool Maintenance and Sharpening
- Lettering and Relief Carving
- Pinning and Mounting
- Moving and Handling
- Cool Tools
- Inspirational Guest-Instructor’s classes and demos.
DAY 7-8
A wrap-up meeting on day 7 begins at 9:00am where we talk about getting packed up and loaded out and you can make arrangements for shipping if necessary. We end the day at 4:00pm to prepare for the Wrap-Up Party! Dinner begins around 6:00pm which is free to carvers and their guests, townsfolk and visitors. After dinner we have a live band with free beer and wine and dancing under the stars.
On the final day of the Symposium everyone is welcome to carve right up until the time you’ve chosen to get loaded out and clean up. Compressors go off at 5:00pm and the Session ends.
