Lynn Ledbetter is inviting persons interested in getting together to share ideas and experiences related to all apects of working with clay. Those attending will determine the agenda, so bring lots of ideas. The meetings will take place on the second Thursday of each month beginnning January 14th at 6:30PM . The location will be at Illahe Gallery at the corner of 4th and "B" Streets (technically called 215 Fourth Street) in Ashland . This is a wonderful opportunity for all levels of "expertise". If you have any questions call Lynn at 541-482-3784

Caroline Bouwense of Ashland

Everyone is no doubt very busy with preparation for the coming holidays or still recuperating from the show. In any event there is much space in this addition of the newsletter that I have the editorial liberty to fill. I can think of nothing better to fill time or space (when not in the studio of course.) than with books, the old fashion paper-and-printed-word kind of books. So here are reviews of three very different books that have inspired both creativity and self-expression.

The Creative Spirit
by Daniel Goleman, Paul Kaufman and Michael Ray

Side-bar from the book : Thirteen year old Chester Greenwood may be making youy life a little warmer. Like a lot us nineteenth century Americans, Chester ice skates at he old pond with his friends and got pretty sick of having cold ears. Unlike other people, Chester is doing something about it. With some wire, cloth, padding and his grandmother's help, Chester has made a contraption to go over the top of his head. When he recently showed up at he pond wearing his invention, his friends laughed at how silly he looked, calling him "moose ears" repeatedly. But as it go colder, the children stopped laughing; they had to go inside. Chester kept on skating. Now they're the rage. The jury is out on what to call them … Ear Fluffs?

Wabi-Sabi For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers
By Leonard Koren
ISBN 1-880656-12-4

Wabi-Sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. It is a beauty of things modest and humble. It is a beauty of things unconventional.

Excerpt :

The suggestion of natural process. Things wabi-sabi are expressions of time frozen. They are made of materials that are visibly vulnerable to the effects of weathering and human treatment. They record the sun, wind, rain, heat, and cold in a language of discoloration, rust, tarnish, stain, warping, shrinking, shriveling, and cracking. Their nicks, chips, bruises, scars, dents, peeling, and other forms of attrition are a testament to histories of use and misuse. Though things wabi-sabi may be on the point of dematerialization (or materialization) - extremely faint, fragile, or desiccated - they will possess an undiminished poise and strength of character.

Choosing Civility : The Twenty-five Rules of Considerate Conduct
By Dr. P.M. Forni
ISBN 0-312-30250-9

Excerpt : Speaking with consideration and kindness is at the heart of civil behavior. To speak kindly you need to be aware constantly that you are speaking to living, breathing, vulnerable human beings. Don't discount the power of your words. The thought that they might cause unnecessary hurt or discomfort should inform every conversation. When you speak kindly to others, you manage to keep them in mind as you speak—which means keeping at bay, at least for a while, the pressing demands of your own needs. By speaking with kindness you will improve the lives of those around you. Your words of kindness can inspire others, rescue them from despair, and reconcile them with life. Or, at the very least, you will lift their spirits and make their day more endurable.

The Spirit of Clay A Classic guide to ceramics
By Robert Piepenbury
ISBN 0-9628481-2-3

Excerpt : Play, in any form, is intuitive creativity in action. Inherent in our being is a vast plurality of feelings, images and intuitive responses that originate from the deepest levels of our inner knowledge. Through the freedom of play we are able to penetrate these levels and tap into the guiding force of our own knowledge, our own creative self.

"Trust that still small voice that says `This might work and I'll try it'"    ~  Diane Mariechild

"Imagination is more important than knowledge"    ~   Albert Einstein

As postage continues to increase, please consider getting your newsletter via your computer. It's fast, fileable, printable and cheaper. If you aren't able to get it electronically, then please enjoy the hard copy that will arrive in your mailbox!!