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From: Charles Fritchie
Date: 08 Feb 2002
Njowske - I'm not surprised that it is you who has posted the first real appeal to rejuvenate these ISC discussions. Like you, I have revisited the sites periodically over the last year or so, and left without posting because of the lack of activity. I have not said anything myself because of what I see as the complexity of the situation, with ambiguous feelings about what to do. Unfortunately, it seems to me that Russ RuBert, the super-volunteer who has hosted both the managing program and the computer time and space which empower the discussions, is partly responsible for their demise. I have gotten to know Russ by email and other forms pf communication over the last several years, and we have exchanged messages of various types. In essence, ISC itself has played no part in this discussion forum, and Russ has sponsored the whole thing himself, on his own computers. He is a practicing and very active sculptor in Springfield, Mo., who wrote the program to receive postings and organize them into the Internet format you see. After about two to three years of working flawlessly, his program developed a flaw about a year ago, which caused it to add a message from the past, a sort of unrelated "fortune cookie", to each new posting, and this must have confused new users. I told him about this, but his own work and the severity of the problem led to a delay of about six months before he could get a corrected version of his hosting program online. When he put this up, he moved all earlier postings to an "archived" state and it was then that nearly all discussion stopped. I think that people saw the rug being pulled from under them when ongoing discussions vanished overnight, even though technically they still are present. I don't knew what else Russ could have done., and I have to repeat that we would have had no forum at all without him. I stayed away while the "fortune cookie" problem existed, in order not to add to the confusion, and by the time the problem had been corrected I had told myself that actually doing sculpture rather than talking about it was the proper path to follow. You know the rest of the story - everyone stopped posting. I did find the forums very useful, and have new insights to share, so perhaps we can restart the philosophical as well as practical discussions. I am emailing Russ about this posting, so he can comment further if he wishes. We do all owe him an immense vote of thanks for doing something of great value for the worldwide sculpture community.
From: Sculptors Inc.
Date: 02 Jun 2002
CALL FOR ENTRIES Outdoor Sculpture at Montgomery College, Rockville, MD August 2002 through May 2003 Juried by the Montgomery College Outdoor Sculpture Committee $100 Stipend with possible renewal stipend As many of you may know, for many years Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland has annually sponsored and paid for the exhibition of outdoor sculpture on its campus. For the school year 2002-2003, the Art Department has chosen our organization! Under the current proposal, up to 10 artists would be eligible to receive a modest $100.00 stipend for the exhibition of their outdoor sculpture. The arrangement for the August 2002 to May 2003 exhibition is exclusively with Sculptors Inc.; therefore you must be a paid member to be considered. Montgomery College will provide insurance as well as installation assistance -- equipment with operators, concrete pads, etc. In addition, the College will consider extending the stipend/lease for an additional year on a case by case basis. Montgomery College faculty members of the Jury Committee: James L. Brown, Komelia Okim, Kevin Hluch, David Krueger, and Orest Poliszczuk. Entry DEADLINE: June 10, 2002 (Received) ARTIST NOTIFICATION: June 25, 2002 WORK SET-UP: Last week of August 2002 No Fee for S.I. members, www.sculptorsinc.org for membership details or call 410-377-2648. A $25 check or money order payable to "Sculptors Inc." must accompany submissions for nonmembers. Limit 3 entries per artist for consideration. 35 mm color slides (max. two views per work). No proposals. Send Numbered List of Slides, Slides (red dot in the lower left front corner, labeled with artist's initials and numbered to match list) and Entry Fee (as required) to: SCULPTORS INC. C/O MONTGOMERY COLLEGE OUTDOOR EXHIBITION P.O. BOX 65184 BALTIMORE, MD 21209