Collaborations at the Echo Lake Conferences:
The First Ten Years

About Collaborations at the Echo Lake Conferences: The First Ten Years

Echo Lake is an annual event that started in 1999 in Bucks County, PA with Dave Hardy, Mark Sfirri and Bil Sticker planning and coordinating the event. The name is in recognition of the model for collaborative creative events, “Emma Lake,” a biennial event in Saskatchewan, founded by artist Michael Hosaluk. The objective at Echo Lake is to bring together a diverse group of artists for several days with few expectations other than people working collaboratively and creatively to make things. New skills and new friends evolve during these intense days together.

Over the years, internationally known artists have participated in Echo Lake. This has included 24 artists from the Wood Turning Center’s residency program, the International Turning Exchange (ITE). The mix typically includes 30-40 wood turners and carvers, furniture makers, painters, glass, and metal workers – and creates a diverse group for three days of collaboration, community, and fun.