Shop Design; workshops

["William J Weissinger" <Bill@zzzzzzzzzzzzzz>]

First, my thanks to all of you who have contributed to answering my question
about shop design.  I've enjoyed reading the variety of responses.  As a
result of your very helpful suggestions, I've changed some of my design
ideas [moved south-facing skylights to the north, for example, and raised
the height of my I-beam].  I've also increased the size of my studio by a
few feet, and designed it to that it can be expanded later.  I hope to
summarize the information everyone provided on shop design over the next few
weeks, and once I'm done I'll be glad to provide the summary to anyone
interested.

Second, as to Susanna Williams' question about stone carving symposiums, I
can't speak about others, but I did find the two-week symposium at Camp
Brotherhood (near Mt. Vernon, Washington) very useful.  It is run by the
Northwest Stone Carvers Association in July of each year.  More information
at http://www.nwssa.org/ .  Basically it is lectures in the morning (for
those who want to attend) and free time for carving in the afternoon,
another lecture late in the afternoon, and then typically slides or another
lecture in the evening (followed by talk around campfires for those
inclined).  More than one hundred carvers attended last year.
Accommodations are basic, but the participants are open and friendly.
Little in the way of one-on-one instruction, but a lot of invaluable
information for someone like me new to carving.  Many carvers have been
going every year for a decade or more.

At the symposium, I was impressed by the openness of everyone to everything.
No one much cared about external factors upon which one is traditionally
judged in society: Republican or Democrat, male or female, gay or straight,
rich or poor, expert or novice, none of that mattered as long as you cared
about carving stone.  After reading the contributions to this site, that
openness seems to be a common thread here also.

Finally, as to Susanna's concerns about masks fogging up, a friend of mine
has recommended a system called Hobbyair fresh air breathing system, which
for about $375 provides a small compressor, a 40' hose and a half-mask.
Goggles don't fog, and it is much more comfortable -- and safe -- than a
traditional filtering mask.

Bill Weissinger