Artist Spotlight - Karl Hufbauer Nov/Dec 2006

LT: Please tell our readers a bit about yourself.

KH: I was born in San Diego to parents who had recently completed architecture degrees at UC Berkeley. I developed by my mid-teens into an avid rockhound, olla hunter, and rock climber. Successful in school, I eventually earned a Ph.D. in the history of science from Berkeley. Along the way, Sally Brannon and I got married and had three children, and I secured a job at UC Irvine. I taught there for more than three decades. Upon my retirement in 1999, we moved to Seattle so we could be near our elder daughter’s family. I have affiliated here with U of Washington, joined a rockhounding club, and gone into stone sculpting.

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Artist Spotlight - Tom Francis

Editors: Sit down somewhere comfortable and take a little trip through the strange world of Tom Francis. The views stated below are not necessarily those of the editors, since all of the answers and even the questions are the sole creation and responsibility of one, T.F.

LT: Our featured artist this issue is Tom Francis. Tom, who are you?

TF: Rumors and innuendo. That should be "alleged" artist, those charges haven't been proven. What is this, Twenty Questions?

LT: Thirty-two actually. What is your life history as it relates to being an artist?

TF: Alleged.

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Artist Spotlight - Mark Andrew July/August 2006

Editor: Mark’s first interview was taken by Steve Sandry, and appeared in the March/April 1999 issue.

Mark: Let me start this interview by expressing my appreciation to association members past and present for their considerable efforts to promote stone carving and community. Together we have created a rare and wonderful organization. I salute those who have taken leadership roles, which like carving stone, takes real effort and patience. My thanks to you all.

SN: Who are you?

Mark: Like all of you, I am crazy about carving, utterly captivated! I’m so captivated that I’ve worked at crafting a lifestyle where I can carve every day. Realizing this goal has been a marvelous journey, now in its 34th year. Currently my sculpture studio is seated in a happy family nest. It is surrounded by organic gardens and orchard, enjoying full southern exposure between meadows and sky while surrounded by forested ridgelines. From this location I send a voice. All the creative energy flowing through me is translated into stone, bronze, and wood every day. I’ve made choices all my adult life that have brought me to this desired outcome: sculpture has become the cornerstone of my life’s work.

Artist Spotlight - Nicky Oberholtzer

Editor: Nicky was previously interviewed by Barbara Lynch for the July/August 1998 issue.

SN: Who are you?

Nicky: My name is Nicky Oberholtzer and I am an artist and sculptor. It has taken me 53 years to say that with any authority. I have always been an artist but have only been a sculptor for 17 years.

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Artist Spotlight - The Salt Lake City Gang

Salt Lake City may have been, as most of us probably think of it, a quiet, conservative city in the desert without  much of consequence happening. If so, a single event, in 2002 changed that. An exhibit of Zimbabwean stone sculpture lost its way to a ‘major’ city and ended up in SLC. The exhibit, with its carving classes, drew out a few colorful threads from the ho-hum fabric of that desert community. Those threads have woven themselves into a tight knit carving group that is sometimes called The SLC Gang of Five.

Behold the Gang of Five plus two pictured here in the Artist Spotlight for March and April. Five  of these women will be attending the Roche Harbor Hand Tool Retreat this year on San Juan Island. Silvia, Jonna, and Poonam are brand new members to NWSSA; let’s give them all a warm welcome.

SN: Who are you and how did the Salt Lake City gang get together?

Poonam Soni: Salt Lake City is my home now, but I’m from India originally. Being a beginner in stone carving, I’ve only done four pieces (and I don’t much like one of them) so, I suppose, you’re really going to have to call me a wannabe.

Artist Spotlight - Sharon Feeny

What is your artistic training? How did you begin carving?

SF: My degrees are actually in Psychology and Social Work, and I have worked in the medical arena much of my life. Sculpting in stone began suddenly, surprising me especially. While I do not have any formal artistic training, I have always loved stone and, like many, had the habit of collecting tiny beach agates and large cobbles – as many as I could fit in my backpack and still walk. My entrée into stone sculpting began while attending an unrelated seminar in California about six years ago. In this seminar we were encouraged to partake in massage, energy work, etc. I chose to have a session one-on-one with a guided imagery worker. During that session I ‘saw’ myself sculpting stone. It resonated deeply, brought tears, and made speech difficult. Soon stone began to feature prominently in my dreams. I realize this all sounds rather woo-woo for a sensible, grounded social worker.

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