Here is some information from “working-class” people about how we can make this country work for all of us and reasons why it does not do so now.

For more information please log on to:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/06/09-1

Join our fight to raise standards for America’s working people

With the erosion of living standards for many, and new attacks almost daily from Wall Street-funded politicians, all Americans need a new contract, a binding relationship for their security, for their families, and for future generations. To achieve these goals, National Nurses United is launching a new campaign, for all:

1. Jobs at living wages to reinvest in America.
2. Equal access to quality, public education.
3. Guaranteed healthcare with a single standard of care.
4. A secure retirement with the ability to retire in dignity.
5. Good housing, and protection from hunger.
6. A safe and healthy environment.
7. A just taxation system where corporations and the wealthy pay their fair share.
What’s behind the attacks on working people?

The modest pensions and health benefits we have earned, the pay that supports our families, the improved conditions for our patients did not deplete public treasuries or jeopardize the survival of our employers. The banks and other financial giants did — and were rewarded with bailouts and bonuses while our communities pay the price. Over the past 30 years, while wages have fallen or stagnated and insurance premiums and other basic costs skyrocketed, wealth has been shifted from working families to Wall Street. It’s not shared sacrifice when only working people make concessions.

* Corporate taxes are at historical lows. Yet $1.6 trillion, corporate profits for the third quarter of 2010 were the highest on record.
* Hospitals nationally recorded $34 billion in profits in 2009, the second highest ever.
* 42 percent of U.S. companies paid no U.S. income taxes for two or more years from 1998 to 2005.
* The average CEO who was paid $27 for every dollar earned by an employee 25 years ago now gets a ratio of about $275 to $1.

Fred and I have been engaging in Wii activities to keep trim during the long winter nights. Please enjoy the following stills and check out who got the high score!!!
High score 100 points!

2011-12 Call to Sculptors For Submission of Work!

Rhonda and Paul Foshay connect with Tuck Langdon’s bronze piece “Resting Dancer”, installed in 2010. In the back ground is Ann Morris’s bronze “Lion”

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art and Sculpture Park invite you to submit work.
Over $40,000 of Sculpture sold during the final months of 2010!
Improvements for the Sculpture Park will double this amount in 2011.

The San Juan Islands Sculpture Park is located on over 19 acres in the San Juan Islands adjacent to the Roche Harbor Resort on the shores of Westcott Bay.

The Sculpture Park has become one of the Northwest’s major cultural destinations. Located within the Roche Harbor Resort property, thousands of boaters visit the Park from their berths, on their way through the inside passage of the Salish Sea. Over 40,000-plus regional, national, and international tourists come through Friday Harbor or Victoria B.C. every year. San Juan Island, just a “stone’s throw” from Vancouver, Seattle, or Portland has become a ‘must see spot’ for travelers to the Pacific Northwest.

In 2010 over 30,000 people visited the park, which exhibited more than 85 works by some of the region’s best known and emerging sculptors. A self-guided tour map features work in the park with prices and signs indicating the artwork is available for purchase. We are continuing to enhance the garden, and look forward to your work becoming a part of the Park as the 2011 summer park activities unfold.

Criteria: Sculptures submitted should be suitable for outdoor exhibition, able to withstand high winds and weather conditions. Criteria for selecting the sculpture include: quality, durability, safety, appropriateness for the park & setting, and aesthetic appeal. Submission of site-specific and conceptual art proposals, as well as interactive work proposals, are encouraged. See sjima.com for further criteria.

Submission & Entry Requirements: Artists may submit up to four entries with two views of each piece, via digital photograph or slide. Include a single page resume, a one-paragraph narrative for each entry, and a completely filled out Entry Form with a one-time $20.00 administrative fee. Digital photographs may be sent electronically to the attention of: Stewart Luckman, Co-Director and Curator, IMA Sculpture Park at luckydog@rockisland.com
See sjima.com for further submission & entry materials and requirements.

Deadline for Accepted Work: March 11 for early submissions and April 15 for late submissions. Early submissions and installations are encouraged. The IMA Sculpture Park Panel reviews and selects submissions for the Park. Artists will be notified on or before Wednesday, March 16, 2011 for early submissions; and on Wednesday April 20, 2011 for late submissions. Sculptures will be exhibited from June 2011 through the time of sale or artist removal. See sjima.com for deadlines.

Installation of Accepted Work: April 24-30, Sunday – Saturday, & June 12-18, Sunday – Saturday, 2011: Sculptures are installed by the artist and need to be secured by bolts and/or the weight of the piece. Overnight accommodations provided by Roche Harbor Resort while the artist is installing the work. Travel stipends and “out of pocket” expenses are available. Artists or their agents are responsible for transportation and installation of sculptures to and from the IMA Sculpture Park on the designated dates agreed to with Co-Directors.

Agreement, Copyright Information: Exhibited work is insured for 50% of the value by IMA. IMA reserves the right to reject work that differs markedly from that depicted on the accepted photo. See sjima.org

Publicity & SASE Envelope: Slides, photos, and digital images of selected artwork will be held through the duration of the exhibition and may be used for publicity purposes. Provide SASE envelope, large enough to accommodate a CD, for return of slides or digital photographs. See sjima.org for additional information.

Submit Entries to: Stewart Luckman, Co-Director and Curator, IMA Sculpture Park, PO Box 339, Friday Harbor, WA 98250 or luckydog@rockisland.com See sjima.org for entry materials and application forms.

Thank you for giving the San Juan Island Museum and Sculpture Park your strongest consideration for showcasing your work. A binder at the Park Gatehouse and at the Museum in Friday Harbor (IMA) on Argyle Avenue will be available for the public, which includes artist bios, photos and prices of the work. Also, during the summer, the park office is staffed for tours and to answer questions and promote sales.

The San Juan Islands Museum of Art and Sculpture Park is a non-profit organization. The inside Museum is located at 285 Spring Street in Friday Harbor. 360.370.5050

On San Juan Island, there is a little known jewel of a sculpture park located in Roche Harbor, across the road from Roche Harbor Resort, called the San Juan Islands Museum of Art and Sculpture Park or better known by locals as IMA/Sculpture Park. The sculpture park represents over 80 artists and displays over 100 artworks on 19 acres of Roche Harbor Resort land, some of which surrounds a picturesque pond.

With it’s three foot paths and two trails winding throughout the fields, woodlands and to the Westcott Bay, this sculpture park is a wonderful way to pass time with the family, a group of associates, or to explore on your own.

As visitors explore the park, they will discover that natural beauty lives alongside manmade objects of art. One can walk along the paths and experience wildlife or possibly an artwork that is so real as to make one second guess. Is that two otters playing or is it Mike Hollern’s bronze sculpture, “One Otter or the Other”?

The styles of artworks range from abstract like “Lion” by Ann Morris to realisam like “Fox” by Ann Gerber to impressionism like “Heart of Darkness” by Pam Hom and site specific installations like “Wind Whisperer” by Mary Coss. Many of the pieces are functional too. For example, “Duo” by Nicky Falkenhayn which is a bench with a solar powered light that can be seen at night and “Bernard’s Bridge” by John Zylstra. The media used are also varied from bronze like “Windstar” by Ross Matteson to wood like “Emergence” by Lavelle Foos, stone like “Arc of Intentional Influence” by David Hasselett and mixed-medium like “Green-Tailed Wanderer” by Lee Proctor.

The artists represented are from a variety of locations and levels in their career. “Vulcan” by Gerard Tsutakawa and “Treseder” by Julie Speidel , both Washington based, are earlier pieces while “Totem to the Salish II” by Ric Walton-Smith from California and “Resting Dancer” by Tuck Langdon from Indiana are newer artworks.

Local artists from the San Juan Islands are well represented too. Pete Welty from Orcas Island with “Angel”, Tom Small from San Juan Island with “Reflections” and “Areon” by Don Moss from Waldron Island to name but a few.

New works are juried in each spring by a “call for submissions” which can be downloaded from IMA’s web site at www.sjima.org. The call goes out in Jan and closes in March. Selected art pieces are installed by the artists in late May and the artists leave their artworks in the sculpture park for two years. All works are for sale with 70% of the fee going to the artists.

Every summer IMA produces “Family Art Days” on the weekends. The program encourages family members to create art together, it is free and lead by local artists. Each weekend a different artist and medium are featured. This is a fantastic way to better understand art and to get closer to your friends and families during the summer.

The Sculpture Park is ran by IMA and funded by donations. A $5 donation is requested upon entering the park but not mandatory and children under 12 are free. It is a bargain considering all the art and nature one enjoys while walking on the groomed trails and visiting the artworks.

To get there, my favorite way is Kenmore Air which has flights daily into Roche Harbor. http://www.kenmoreair.com/

If you want to drive there from the mainland, the Anacortes-Friday Harbor Ferry has several scheduled daily runs. http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/Schedule

If you drive on, take the Friday Harbor – Roche Harbor Road, it is about an 14 mile drive. If you walk on there are several taxi services and the ride one-way is $20. There is a bus service in the summer that charges $5 one-way and runs about every 20 minutes. Another option is Suzie’s Mopeds, a fun way to see all that the island has to offer.

Make a weekend of it and stay at Roche Harbor Resort, they have variety of accommodations to suit everyone’s budget and needs. http://www.rocheharbor.com/

There is also a variety of places to stay in Friday Harbor and B&B’s located throughout the island. Check out the Chamber of Commerce’s web site. http://www.sanjuanisland.org/

Living on an island for this past year has been a wonderful thing. In the solitude I have found profound curiosity and wonderment. It is my new year wish for all who read this blog to find their own delights in the coming year and to be able to celebrate the bliss of living life well