A simple box

A simple box may have four sides and a top and bottom but are things really all that simple? There are a huge range of techniques involved as suggested by my students as they exercise their own creative inclinations. I will have a three day class in October.

I am currently working on a few  (28) boxes to sell though galleries and online.

Make, fix and create...

 

Three tiny Tiner

Three of my tiner arrived safely in Stavanger, Norway, while the ship replica of the Restauration, departed there for a voyage to America celebrating the immigration of Norwegians in America. The Restauration was the first ship carrying Norwegian families to America. This is the bi-centennial year. 

Tiner is the Norwegian plural of tine, meaning cheese box, and rather than them being used in the making of cheese as they once were, they've taken on a ceremonial role as gifts for weddings and special events. They are useful as well for keeping beautiful and useful things.

The tiny tiner are shown on a candle stand made from a piece of twice recycled Douglas Fir that had arrived in Stavanger as drift wood (a mast), then spent years as a barn timber before being crafted into a work of art.

The Restauration is expected to arrive in October.

Make, fix and create..

 

Today, happy 4th

In the shop I'm inlaying 27 boxes while out back folks are regrouting the flagstone patio, and playing ethnic music. I am thankful for skilled workers as we all could best be. How do we change things so that all would be afforded the dignity they deserve? Let's welcome all those who work to make the world and their own (for it is ours too) a better place.

Otto Salomon had suggested that the manual training Sloyd had two effects. One was economic in that it made us better workers. A second effect was formative, meaning that it had more general effects in making us more human. For that reason, it was offered to all people, including those going on to advance degrees, or jobs in religion or politics, for it would generate a respect for all labor, and sense to assess whether or not it was suitable work. As John Ruskin had said, Plane a plank or level a brick in its mortar and you'll have learn things that the lips of man could never tell. Though here, I'm making a feeble attempt  to tell.

Are you worried about the world? Do something about it. 

Make, fix and create...

twice the effect

The hands play a particularly important role in the development of human intelligence in that they are both sensory and active. We see and hear and that's basically the end of things for some folks. We might see something or hear something and be changed within, but the hands have the power to change the external reality of things. We touch and things are disrupted and transformed by our touch. 

If the purpose of schooling is only superficial, we do that quite well. If we are looking for deeper effect, we know how, and that is to make certain that the hands are engaged creatively in learning... that they are allowed to respond creatively with the hands to what the other senses have allowed them to feel.

ESSA, our Eureka Springs School of the Arts, has become one of my happy places because it is full of people learning to their deepest effect and are happily transformed be the experience. We may grow tired, and frustrated on occasion but the joy of creation wins out. We do things that we did not know that we could do, and in the process make the world a better place.

The photograph is the work of a friend and Arkansas Treasure, Hank Kaminsky. The words spell peace in a number of world languages, and as the globe spins  our hands and fingers tell us we are living with the same hopes. 

Make, fix and create...

small cabinets

I finished a five day class on making small cabinets at ESSA despite having had a stroke on December 1. It was a test for me of both endurance and temperament with it being the first 5 day class post stroke.

Fortunately my students were both productive and forgiving. A number of small cabinets in various student designs were made.

Make, fix and create...

Why woodworking can be a political act

This is an attempt to explain why woodworking is a political act.

A democracy cannot endure if a large segment of its population is denied access to education which has relevance and meaning to its life. . . . This is one of the reasons why we must provide vocational education. What is more important, it is one of the reasons why we must have a valid conception of what vocational education is and what it isn’t. – John Dewey, 1919

A 2024 article titled “AI, Misinformation, and Manual Training," by noted woodworker Doug Stowe claims that eliminating shop class and  related courses teaching a mix of manual and mental skills has left today’s students without the tools they need to combat misinformation in an age of artificial intelligence. Stowe’s argument is persuasive, and he makes it based on broad learning from texts ancient to modern plus decades of teaching woodworking at a progressive school in northwest Arkansas and blogging about the experience.— From a paper by Connie Goddard, "Lessons on Industrial Education." 

In some situations folks are insufficiently experienced to see their connections with others. One of the primary lessons of Frobel's original Kindergartens.

Tomorrow I begin a five day class in making small cabinets. The photo is from my book about making small cabinets. 

Make, fix and create...

I was asked...

In response to a reader question, these are the next steps in making inlaid boxes. I cut stock at about a 6 degree angle so the lids will be of sufficient depth at the back edge for the hinges, but sufficiently thin at the front edge. It would be bulky design-wise if not cut and the angle adds interesting effects to the box. The process also allows for cutting two lids at the same time from the original stock. Thrift comes into play. 

Next, I'll inlay the pieces of walnut and linden using the patterned stock I'd prepared in earlier steps. (These are shown in the photo and in my books.) 

I was asked to leave politics out of my posts. All things are political in nature, including the choices we make in the woodshop. We try to make things that are beautiful, useful, and lasting in the hopes that they will live beyond our times and be beautiful, useful and lasting in subsequent generations. That's political. We may not aways be successful. That's where forgiveness comes in. Self then others. 

 Make, fix and create...

Yesterday and next steps...

Yesterday I cut the mortise and tenon joints for 27 inlaid boxes, using the tablesaw and router table. The joints are barely visible in the finished box, but have lasting effects. The joints and floating panel bottoms (also prepared) will give the boxes (if cared for) a long life. Next I will cut and inlay the lids.

Make, fix and create...

the making of beautiful and useful things

We seem to  be nation at war, though despite the bombs, the Iranians had removed the enriched uranium and personnel before the strike. That no one was injured was a good thing. An odd thing was that American personnel  watched via satellite the removal of men and equipment and then made a big show of striking to little ill effect.

In the meantime, there are good things to be made, and violence or war are seldom the answer to our problems. It's the old swords vs. plowshares thing. One leads to greater peace and other in the wrong direction. Both are made with a craftsman's skill, but only one leads toward peace. Let's pursue the making of beautiful and useful things. 

Make, fix and create...

core values

Yesterday, I spent time in my woodshop planing and cutting parts for 27 boxes to fill spaces in my inventory. When finished they'll be sold to galleries, and then find places in the lives of others. 

I also finished a table that will be given as a gift to the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. It is made of white oak and a wide plank of spalted sycamore.

Woodworking for me has never been a disconnected arm hanging useless in space. It is deeply entwined in the rest of reality. It is a connecting point, that leads to greater things. And if it did not, what would be the point? 

Yes, it can be used to isolate oneself from the world, hanging out safely and alone in one's own wood shop. Or it can be a practice through which one attempts to be of greater service to family and humanity. It can go one way or the other. It has been a way to learn and practice core values. Craftsmanship, Creativity, Compassion, Connectivity and Forgiveness. I suggest some time in the wood shop. Attempting to make beautiful and lasting things from real wood is a great way to practice core values. 

Make, fix and create...

even the worst of us...

My cousin Larry passed away last night. He's entered into hospice care, and is now at rest despite having been on my mind enough to quote him at an ESSA board meeting last night. Among decades of wisdom he had once said, seeking to find value in all things, that "even the worst of us could serve someone as a bad example." Lawrence (Larry) Petersen was a Vietnam vet, and a generally wise man to know and hang out with. With his  passing, he will be missed.

Popular Woodworking at ESSA

Here is an article on the Popular Woodworking website about a visit to ESSA, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, the school I helped found and where I continue to teach.

https://www.popularwoodworking.com/end-grain/visiting-essa/

Make, fix and create...

Shaker tape

I finished weaving the Shaker tape top on a bench made as a prototype for a class at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts. Would you like to make one?

Make, fix and create... 

Spoons

I just finished teaching a two day class at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, making spoon carving knives and then carving spoons. We used the metals building, grinders and forges to shape and heat treat the knives, and then used the machine room in the woodshop to add handles. We then spent the afternoon and next day shaping the handles and carving spoons. It was a fun class, and based on an article I'd written for Woodcarving Illustrated.

My next class at ESSA, June 25-June 29, will be to make small cabinets. https://reg131.imperisoft.com/essa-art/ProgramDetail/3639313038/Registration.aspx One space is open to an additional student in this 5 day class.

In the meantime the government has noticed that Americans need to be making more of our own stuff, and is attempting to control matters by deportations and tariffs. When you are busy making things, however, you will have little time to waste shopping for things that will not last.

Make, fix and create...

Hippie Christmas and too much stuff

The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/07/business/college-scavengers-dumpster-diving.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NE8.5UZL.VWW8iKxVoSX_&smid=url-share tells about "Hippie Christmas" and college folks throwing out their valuable possessions at the end of the school season. 

I grew up in a household where stuff was valued even though it came free from relatives or was left at curbside. In the meantime, while college students are casting things away, I keep busy making things of useful beauty and lasting value, knowing the real value is in the making of such things, not in the having, as everything is likely headed in the same direction, but with some things lasting a bit longer. Anybody need a box?

Make, fix and create...

It's not easy

Folks might think it easy to return quality manufacturing to within the borders of the US. But it's not.The story from the New York Times may give a few inklings:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/04/fashion/american-woolen-textiles-jacob-long.html?unlocked_article_code=1.M08.gmEk.l5pXz2wXWkbq&smid=url-share

In the meantime, there are values at work. When you make something  useful, beautiful or both you are busy with your minds and hands at work. And developing yourself and your community for so much more.

I delivered parts today at the wood and metals classrooms at ESSA today for  class in making spoon carving knives that starts on Tuesday. It will be fun. https://reg131.imperisoft.com/essa-art/ProgramDetail/3639303535/Registration.aspx

Shown in the photo is a box done as a tribute to John Ruskin.

Make, fix and create...

Arta Quam has proposed June 20, 2025 summer solstice as a creative day in honor of her father, Roger Dale. Roger was a dear friend and mentor during my first few years in Eureka Springs, and each of us is honored by putting our hands into creative gear, making something useful, beautiful, long lasting or all three. I plan to participate. You need not be present to win.

Make, fix and create...

It is obvious

It is obvious that what we do gives shape to who we are, and that becoming is a process of doing, and caring for each other. Were that not the case we'd not have emerged from the ages in which dinosaurs sat upon nests and nourished their young, only to eat them at a later date. With that always in mind, I've finished a couple sliding lid "tribute to John Ruskin" boxes that will be placed for no reason on Etsy. 

Is the "enlightened man" subject to his conditioning or  master of it? That is a zen koan, but you can argue one way or the other. Which came first, chicken or egg? You can argue one way or the other.

But in the meantime,

Make, fix and create... The world will become (incrementally) a better place.

Pocket boxes

In my quest to finish unfinished projects, I've applied Danish oil to "pocket boxes" from  my  2016 book Tiny Boxes. If you want to make them yourself, the instructions are included in the book. https://amzn.to/4kaS23V

These tiny boxes have magnetic closure on the lids. They close with a slight pop and stay closed in the shirt pocket. Some are cherry and inlaid with Arkansas hardwood. Others are maple and have a squiggle pattern made with veneers.

Make, fix and create...

Corner irons

I am trying to finish up a few earlier projects. My "Tribute to John Ruskin" was published in 2003, leaving extra boxes unfinished. Now they almost are, so they can be coated with Danish oil and sold. 

These include corner irons fabricated from the old type of metal banding that used to bundle bails of wood and other commodities. Even that source of steel is a thing of the past being replaced by plastic banding for which I've found little use.

T'he corner irons are attached with tiny brass nails to strengthen the mitered corners of this sliding top forever box.

Make, fix and create...

Paintable Scandinavian bentwood box. Unfinished bent elm, signed by the maker. 

Have an urge to do rosemaling, and touch base with your Norwegian heritage? This box, on the bicentennial of arrival of Norwegians to America will help. Tine boxes have been used to commemorate special events and decorated gaily. 

Tine means cheese box suggesting its humble origins, and tiner are as much a part of Norway as sweaters are in winter... or any other part of the year. A one of a kind box. Decorate it yourself. The lift-off lid latches in place. 

For sale on Etsy. https://www.etsy.com/listing/4310583901/paintable-norwegian-style-box

Make, fix and create...

Pen boxes!

I've placed pen boxes for sale on Etsy that I made for my book "Tiny Boxes," published by Taunton Press. Several colors of wood are available, but only for a short time. https://www.etsy.com/shop/dougstowe/

Make Magazine No. 93

Issue 93 of Make Magazine arrived today with an article I'd written about making Lego style blocks using SketchUp to design the blocks and a Maker Bot 3D printer to make them at the Clear Spring School.

Make, fix and create...
 

The sloop Restauration

Two hundred years ago Norwegians came to America, a story told in the Vesterheim Museum celebration: https://vesterheim.org/exhibit/200-years-of-norwegians-in-america/ A small sloop with fifty two passengers left Stavanger on a voyage to escape religious persecution. In a turn-about is fair trade, I'm sending two small tiner to Stavanger today, to a friend there who ordered them from me on Etsy. Thanks, Knud for the order! 

Yesterday I attended two meetings, the Museum of Eureka Springs Art, and the second at ESSA where through extensive work and fundraising we've purchased the 15 acres next door. Readers of this blog have helped, and to those readers I offer sincere thanks. Next comes the redesign of the entry to our campus, and raising the final $50,000 of the fundraising goal. You, too can help. Every dollar raised is matched by the Windgate Charitable Trust, so in an era of abandonment by the government of financial support we, the people must take the lead. 

Make, fix and create...

Tiny tiner.

I've placed a couple tine boxes on my Etsy shop for sale. These were made while teaching at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts (ESSA). https://www.etsy.com/shop/dougstowe/

These are tiny tiner, made using Shaker box making techniques derived from Scandinavian creativity in crafting.

Make, fix and create...

A tine box.

 

This the tine box my wife and I found in the folk museum at Oslo. It is from Voss, Norway and as I explained to my students is a classic form. 

Tine means cheese box referring to its humble origins, and if you are lucky to have more than one, they are called tiner.

Make, fix and create...

today

ESSA is closing on the acquisition of property next door that will allow for expansion and improved ingress and egress.

I am getting ready for a three day class in making Scandinavian bentwood boxes, tiner, as were made in small villages throughout Scandinavia and were related to the bentwood boxes designed and sold by the Shakers. 

The class will begin tomorrow and go on until Sunday afternoon, with students having the opportunity to take home more than one box in various sizes.

My own adventure in making these boxes began with this box that my great grandmother carried from Norway by ship in 1866.

Make, fix and create...

Boxmaking 101

Wooden boxes are one of the best ways to learn basic woodworking. In a few short hours, you can make boxes for gifts or to sell that may be treasured for a lifetime. Whether you are a beginning woodworker or have years of experience, the things you learn from making boxes will advance all your woodworking skills, leading to greater accuracy and creativity in every woodworking project, but much more:

This is from Felix Adler, writing in support of manual training in the late 1800's:

"Let the task assigned be, for instance, the making of a wooden box. The first point to be gained is to attract the attention of the pupil to the task. A wooden box is interesting to a child, hence this first point will be gained. Lethargy is overcome, attention is aroused. Next, it is important to keep-the attention fixed on the task: thus only can tenacity of purpose be cultivated. Manual training enables us to keep the attention of the child fixed upon the object of study, because the latter is concrete. Furthermore, the variety of occupations which enter into the making of the box constantly refreshes this interest after it has once been started. The wood must be sawed to line. The boards must be carefully planed and smoothed. The joints must be worked out and fitted. The lid must be attached with hinges. The box must be painted or varnished. Here is a sequence of means leading to an end, a series of operations all pointing to a final object to be gained, to be created. Again, each of these becomes in turn and for the time being a secondary end; and the pupil thus learns, in an elementary way, the lesson of subordinating minor ends to a major end. And, when finally the task is done, when the box stands before the boy's eyes a complete whole, a serviceable thing, sightly to the eyes, well-adapted to its uses, with what a glow of triumph does he contemplate his work! The pleasure of achievement now comes in to crown his labor; and this sense of achievement, in connection with the work done, leaves in his mind a pleasant after-taste, which will stimulate him to similar work in the future. The child that has once acquired, in connection with the making of a box, the habits just described, has begun to master the secret of a strong will, and will be able to apply the same habits in other directions and on other occasions." — Felix Adler

I would like to introduce my readers to boxmaking101.com

Make, fix and create... 

 

Visiting at the Clear Spring School

I visited today at the Clear Spring School and I think that others should as well. You may imagine schooling as being at a desk, but there you'll see children learning in action. We talked about the difficulties of making communities and families understand what education can become, but to visit, however briefly, is to come to a better understanding, as you witness first hand.

Come by sometime. Check in at the office first and then see for yourself. Progressive education has been around since the early days of education. It's nothing new. But seeing is the first step you'll take in the progress of your own community. It can be done. And you can do it.

Make, fix and create...

Chance encounters, brief moments in time...

It is amazing how chance encounters and very brief moments in time can have such effects. Today I had a visit from a friend who is now an art therapist and puppeteer and we recalled a bit of our past. She visited in the pottery studio at Memphis State University where I was taking a pottery class and told me about Eureka Springs. She was there but a few moments, but friends of mine and I travelled to Eureka Springs that weekend and but for a few trips out I've been here ever since. 

JoAnn Kaminsky and her husband Hank were very close friends of mine in the early days, and little did I know when JoAnn and I first met, that there would be such effects. I was also on the state panel that named Hank an Arkansas Living Treasure.

It is thus: Our lives turn on dimes, and we'd best be flexible, that we're ready to bend when good things come. The work shown is by Hank Kaminsky. The large cast bronze globe shares the word peace in many languages. And peace be to you.

Make, fix and create...

Reading, writing, and the hands

Children who are taught to write using pen and paper learn better than those who keyboard. Pushing buttons in not the same thing when it comes to learning letters according to this study.

 https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250430142559.htm 

As I was finishing my career at the Clear Spring School we learned that some children were no longer able to read cursive. That's sad, but very true,

Today I have an art show opening at the Eureka Springs Historical Museum. One of my boxes will be featured along with the works of several local artisans.

 https://www.facebook.com/EurekaSpringsHistoricalMuseum/

Make, fix and create...

 Dear friends and associates,

When I was in college a mentor observed that my brains were in my hands and that led me to a career as an artisan and to observe that to some degree or another, the connection between the hands and brain, described as a partnership is likely true for all of us.

That led me to write a number of books, and to be one of three artisans to join together to found a craft school in 1998. I remain a founding member of the board and teacher to this day.

The school, ESSA or the Eureka Springs School of the Arts has grown over the years, from holding workshops in local studios (a school without walls) to a single building, where classes were held, to owning 55 acres and buildings dedicated to woodworking and metals along with staff housing. Along the way, with the help of the Windgate Foundation we received an endowment of 10 million dollars in trust for our continued operation well into the future.

We are ready and waiting for the next round of growth. I see it as an opportunity to support hands-on learning, and we are at the tail end of a fundraising challenge. As part of a $850,000 capital campaign we’ve raised every dollar but the final $57,000 that will put us over the top.

The Windgate Foundation offered a $175,000.00 match, so every dollar you give is doubled by them. Their contribution will only be active when we’ve given first, but we’ve only a short ways to go.

Large or small, you can play a part.

What will the money be used for? Students and those who have joined me for a campus tour will have noticed how difficult it is to pull off the highway to arrive safely on campus, and the money will be used to acquire the property next door, and a new entry to the Eureka Springs School of the Arts.

We are almost there and I would like to share the opportunity to make a meaningful gift and to be a part of the school’s growth, as we’ll next tackle the need for a new building for 2 dimensional art.

All along the way this has been a family thing for me. My Uncle Ron and Aunt Gladys would stop by here on their way to take classes Arrowmont. Curious about that school in East Tennesee I became a teacher there and saw the impact similar hands-on learning would have on family and community and each of us, which then of course led me to understand the importance of building a similar school here.

I invite you to look at us online and to view the project or come and join us here. If you believe in hands on learning as I do, and the transformational effects, I don’t want you to miss out. If you would like an information packet sent to you via mail, the school can oblige. Please provide them the best mailing address.

https://essa-art.org/capital-campaign/

Make, fix and create...

History and why it matters...

History and why it matters: The point is not to go back in time, but to keep from repeating those things that which should not be repeated, and to mine from actual experience, a path toward restoration and repetition of those elements which by all rights and needs should have been kept.

There are nuggets of wisdom buried in the writings of others, kept, collected and passed on.

"The acquisition of industrial skill should be the means of promoting the general education of the pupil: The education of the hand should be the means of more completely and more efficaciously educating the brain."—Felix Adler, 1883

Connie Goddard's book "Learning For Work: How Industrial Education Fostered Democratic Opportunity." is a book about a movement that came and nearly left from the history of American education. A history that should be held closer than it is and mined for the nuggets of wisdom and the witness of wise folks that led it. 

At one time there were places like the Chicago Manual Training School (CMTS) that were promoted by business leaders, and that the book describes. The history would be useful to those business leaders of today that would have influence on the maker movement and on education at large. The effects are not just economic but formative as well. While there are whines about being heavily dependent on foreign industries, we might have taken pride in the industries we still had.

To make something beautiful, lasting and useful, are measurements of man. We ought to remember that.

Today I visited briefly with students at ESSA who were learning to hand cut dovetails. Some had done it before but were there to tune up and practice a lost art. Others were there cutting dovetails for the first time. All were having fun and learning in the company of others.

Make, fix and create...

 

the Trees of Arkansas...

When you know what it is used for it is no longer useless. One of my most used and useful books is the Trees of Arkansas by Dwight Moore and published by the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Not only does it help in the identification of trees by showing exquisite line drawings of their leaves, it also tells of the wood's traditional use. 

I repeat myself, as I often do when the point is of importance.

When we know what it's used for it is no longer useless. The book is offered as a free digital download.

https://archive.org/details/trees-of-arkansas

Make, fix and create...

Four books

I'm writing regarding 4 books. Three are about trees and the fourth is about the mountain folk who've managed to find their own lives among them. 

The first is The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees by Robert Penn, a gift from my cousin Newt who'd received it as a Christmas gift, enjoyed it and knew I'd like it, too. 

A second is My Life with Trees by Gary L. Sanders that came to me as a gift from friends in Canada and Stavanger, Norway, Knud and Barbara, who'd enjoyed it also. 

A third came from our local Carnegie library called The Trees by Conrad Richter suggested by my wife. It is about the folks that settled the thick forests that at one time occupied about 90% of the US, and the fourth is about the mountain folk and a gift from Roger Beaubien who found it in a used book sale and thought of me, here in in Ozark Mountains and among trees.

You see, I'm not the only one, and perhaps you are as well. We read all about the trees and the people and we try to make a few lovely things. Shown are two student made bandsawn boxes from yesterday's class.

Today I'll try to deliver a piece of work to our local historic museum for a show of local artist works.

Make, fix and create...

Board and staff boxes

I spent the day at ESSA helping members of the board and staff to make bandsawn boxes. These were the members of my class. All had fun... 

A Veritas Compact Router Table

 This is a new compact router table from Lee Valley and Veritas tools. LeeValley.com Stock number 05J6710.

Make, fix and create...

According to the book...

There are 19 different species of oak growing in Arkansas according to the book Trees of Arkansas written by Dwight Moore and published by the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Among these are two distinct families divided according to the types of wood inside and grain patterns revealed by the leaves: Red and White. Both are valuable lumber types with the reds being quickly emergent in a disturbed forest, and the whites associated with old growth and a more mature forest. You can tell uncut trees apart by the patterns of the leaf, with the reds being associated with pointy leaf shapes and the whites generally more rounded.

When you get inside the tree, at its heart, in the wood that's when things tend to matter most. Both red and white are strong, but because of the open grain, the red oak species are less likely to endure under exterior circumstances.  It doesn't age as well and that's why white oak lasts so well in the making of barrels for whiskey and wine. That and its slow growth led it to have been stripped from our local forests. A good white oak log cut into lumber is so good for so many things. It's the closed grain and lovely color that seem to count.

We have been losing a few trees of late. Their leaves and branches seek the light and they've grown large into the empty sky above the house. We're on a tree a year plan in their removal with more lumber than I'll ever have time for waiting and drying in stacks in the barn. I'm a lucky man, for if you have a much wood as you can ever use, you'll not run out. And what more can I say? The walnut and white oak box is one I made last week and will be featured in an article in Popular Woodworking.

Make, fix and create.

A Shaker style bench

In the three days I had an editor here from Popular Woodworking I made a bench and two boxes. The boxes are not yet completed and will be sent for final photographs. The bench was complete as shown and will be featured in an article. 

Make, fix and create...

Stating the not so obvious.

Stating the not so obvious...

When a beautiful and useful object is brought to completion, there's a level of pride attached, whether it's made from wood or bottle caps unless you are one of those whose values are only measurable in dollars and cents. There's more to life than that. 

When a chef prepares a good meal, or you're working behind the front counter at Taco Bell and make your burritos just right according to the recipe that comes from on high, there's pride in that also. And when your boss tells you that what you've spent a near lifetime learning and doing is no longer of value to them, the loss runs deeper than your newly arrived free time and the dollars seeping out of your accounts that were to pay the mortgage that you can no longer afford. Do I need to tell you a few things? 

When a young woman stands at a lathe, directing her gouge lightly into wood, shaping a bowl for the first time, she's making more than a bowl. The moments may be less than a  whole life, depending on what comes next, but she has demonstrated skills that likely stick in that practice and in other things, whether or not she sees another lathe in her whole life. Such is the way of things in the really real world.

I have an editor in town the next three days to take photographs for articles in Popular Woodworking Magazine.

Make, fix and create...

The impact of the arts

The simple mechanism is this: Artists choose to live and work here because they are attracted by the natural beauty. They’ve formed a thriving art community that spurs creativity, attracts other artists to move and work here. The arts are the bedrock of our community.

The arts are also the bedrock of our economy. There are two primary industries in Eureka Springs, the arts, and tourism, and if you’ve read any studies you know that arts and tourism are deeply entwined. The West Virginia Craft Study 2003, explaining the economic impact of craft noted the following: 

“There is also a very strong linkage between crafts and tourism. Recent studies indicated that thousands of individuals come to craft communities or destinations each year. This includes artists, instructors, students, collectors and craft enthusiasts as well as traditional tourists. The constituents of each group contribute to the local economy in a variety of ways from the local purchase of arts, crafts and supplies to the purchase of retail items, gasoline, groceries, food and lodging. It appears that crafts can be a major travel attraction that generates tourism and overall economic development.”

In addition to the arts and crafts sold through local galleries many of the artists are involved in regional and national sales through travel to craft shows. They bring money home to spend in the local economy, multiplying the total economic effect. A typical artist may make as little as 10-15 % in local sales with the balance of his or her income derived from out of area sales, wholesale sales to galleries, direct to customers , through craft show sales or over the internet. The arts culture of Eureka Springs draws new artists each year, and for every new artist, there seem to be more who want to move here. I don’t have statistics on this phenomenon. People inclined to participate in the arts recognize the beauty of the area and are inspired to move here to become more deeply involved in the arts. And this is a thing that I’ve been able to observe during my 49 years as a participant in the artist community of Eureka Springs.

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Memory lane

I ran across this draft testimony in my blog. 

We should be looking at my home town as an example.

https://wisdomofhands.blogspot.com/2013/06/draft-testimony.html

draft testimony

This is long and not my usual. It regards the efforts to run a major 345 kV powerline through our community and may explain why I don't have anything specific to say today about hands-on learning.

Q & A Draft testimony for Doug Stowe

Q. Please state your name title and place of residence? My name is Doug Stowe, or to be more formal, Douglas R. Stowe, Jr. I live at xxxxxxxxxxx, just outside the city limits of Eureka Springs, 72632

Q. How long you have lived in Eureka Springs? Since the fall of 1975, almost 38 years

Q. What are your experience and qualifications regarding the arts? I have attached my resume at the close of this testimony.

I moved to Eureka Springs as a studio potter and soon thereafter adopted woodworking as my primary art form. I became friends with many of the great predecessors in the arts here, including Tommy Thomas, Louis and Elsie Freund, Ely De Vescovi, Glen Gant, and many more. I found myself part of a growing arts community that had roots going back into the 19th century. I’ve kept active in the arts by participating in local craft shows and serving on the Eureka Springs Arts Council.

 In 1976 I was one of the founders of the Eureka Springs Guild of Artists and Craftspeople and was the organization’s first president. I served again as president in the late 1990’s during the time in which the organization was brought to a close and we used its remaining resources to form the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, ESSA, which was formally organized in 1998.

As a self-employed woodworker I spent years developing my skills and marketing my work and at one time had 30 galleries selling it throughout the US. I was one of dozens of Eureka Springs professional artists producing works for a regional and national market. In 1995 I began writing for publication in woodworking magazines, and began writing books for the woodworking market. Between then and now, I’ve completed seven books, 3 DVDs and published over 60 articles in woodworking magazines in the US and the UK. I am currently working on my 8th book.

During the fall, winter and spring months, I teach woodworking grades 1-12 in an independent school. My program, Wisdom of the Hands is one I started in 2001 to integrate woodworking as an activity to promote hands-on learning in all subject areas. With regard to that I often lecture for educational conferences related to hands-on learning and the arts, and have presented at two international conferences for arts education. During the summer months and on occasional weekends, I teach adult woodworking at various craft schools, and for woodworking clubs throughout the US. In addition, my work is sold through 4 galleries in Arkansas including the Crystal Bridges Museum Gift Store, and the Historic Arkansas Museum and is also sold at Appalachian Spring Galleries in Washington, DC.

I serve on the Board of the aforementioned Eureka Springs School of the Arts and was one of three founding board members. In 2009 I was named an Arkansas Living Treasure by the Arkansas Department of Heritage and Arkansas Arts Council for my involvement in woodworking and the advancement of crafts.

Q. Why did you choose Eureka Springs as a place to live? I moved To Eureka Springs in 1975 drawn by the scenic beauty, the abundant hardwoods, the pristine ecosystem, the quaint galleries, and the wonderful outdoor recreation opportunities this place offers. The town was like no other place I’d visited in my life. I soon discovered Eureka Springs to be a place in which artists and craftsmen were encouraged in their work by a strong network of elders and peers.

Q. How is the natural beauty of the area affecting you in your work as an artist? As a woodworker, much of the inspiration for my work is drawn from the forests that surround my home, and that serve as a buffer toward the harsher realities of modern life. My wife and I live on 11 acres that we regard as land held in preserve and in trust for future generations. I work almost exclusively with woods from Arkansas, as woodworking with beautiful woods is a way I can make known the beauty and value of our native species. I sign the boxes and furniture that I make, not only with my name, but also with the names of the species that have been used, as I regard the woods as being given voice in the creative process through my work and careful craftsmanship.

I can clearly remember the day friends helped me move into my current home and wood shop. As we stepped out of our trucks carrying my tools and equipment I heard the cry of two hawks circling overhead. We all looked up and watched having received such a strong confirmation that I had arrived with my tools and my work to just the right place.

My office and wood shop windows look out on the forest that would be destroyed if SWEPCO and the Arkansas Public Service Commission were to choose route 91, and I can hardly express the turmoil that prospect would cause to my creative life. Each of the windows in my shop and finish room are arranged so that when I look up from my work, I look to the forest inspiration upon which my work depends.

I know that artists can work under the worst of circumstances, and will find ways to proceed with their translations of physical and cultural realities despite what other folks choose to do to the natural environment. But artists serve as canaries in a coal mine. We tend to be more sensitive and more quickly disturbed when massive disruptions take place in the visual realm. Folks come to Eureka Springs in part because they hope to find something more than concrete and power lines. And those of us who’ve come to love this place, take very seriously our responsibility to preserve it for others to enjoy long after we’re gone.

We were not the first to feel this way about this place. Louis Freund was an early friend of mine here in Eureka Springs. He and his wife Elsie purchased the old Carrie Nations home and founded the first Eureka Springs Summer School of the Arts. Louis was also the tireless driving force for our entire city of Eureka Springs being put on the national Historic register and his work as a social activist led to the founding of our historic district, protecting the architectural integrity and beauty of Eureka Springs. Elsie Freund and I worked with the Guild of Artists and Craftspeople education committee planning programs to enhance learning opportunities for local artists.

Q. Do you know other artists who choose to live and work in Eureka Springs because of its natural beauty? I can give a long list of artists I know personally and each can tell the same thing. Beauty of the natural environment is the first hook connecting us to Eureka Springs. First, and as I mentioned, Louis Freund was well known as an advocate for the protection of our city’s visual resources. His friend, famous Arkansas writer, John Gould Fletcher, had written to him in the 1940s, “not much happening in Eureka, but it sure is laid out pretty.”

Even before that, when the city was founded, spring preservations were established to protect our city’s springs in perpetuity, considering the quality of water, but also the protection of their scenic beauty. Nearly every day of the spring and summer visitors will find artists set up with easels and watercolors, sketching the beauty of this place. Plein Air painting where students and professionals join in outdoor painting exercises is one of the favorite activities at the Eureka Springs School of the Arts.

Q. What types of artists or art institutions and establishments are present in Eureka Springs and surrounding areas? In addition to the Eureka Springs School of the Arts, our neighboring community of Holiday Island has an art guild, painting competitions and an active group of amateur and semi-professional artists. In the City of Eureka Springs, we celebrate May Fine Arts Month and have an active Eureka Springs Arts Council with participation of the Mayor, city government, the chamber of commerce and tourist promotion commission in addition to an appointed group of active professional artists and gallery owners. We have dozens of galleries, and gift stores specializing in the arts, some of which specialize in locally produced work. In 1998, following years of planning by the Eureka Springs Guild of Artists and Craftspeople, two friends and I founded the Eureka Springs School of the Arts to offer weeklong classes to adults and children in various forms of artistic expression.

The location of the school near Inspiration Point in Eureka Springs was chosen because of its beautiful setting. The school is between two of the proposed routes. These routes may or may not be visible from school, but they will impact the overall impression as one arrives on campus. The school currently serves about 250 part time students annually, 58% of whom come from outside the local area. We recently purchased 60 adjoining acres for expansion and have new studios under construction.

The president of our ESSA board noted the following in regard to SWEPCO’s plan: “The proposed routes by SWEPCO would also adversely affect part of a beautiful horizon that draws millions of tourists to Eureka Springs and the surrounding area. Such a landscape-altering project would have a distressing effect on the regional economy and our School’s viability. Tourists, some of whom are our students, generate vital revenue that allows the School to be able to serve the public. "
  
In November 2011, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art opened in Bentonville, AR, founded by Alice Walton, heir to the founder of Walmart. It is a several billion dollar venture and has from the outset sought a relationship with Eureka Springs as its partner in regional promotion of the arts in Northwest Arkansas. I was personally involved early at the start of the museum’s construction following a conversation with Alice Walton when we were introduced at a local arts and craft fair. She asked me to serve as a consultant in the processing and use of the timber harvested from the site. I helped the museum director in that task and was invited to make a bench for the museum from walnut that is on display in the administrative office of the museum.

In September of 2012, I was asked to make boxes for the first year staff from woods harvested from the museum site. When those 300+ boxes were completed, Alice Walton asked me to make another 500 boxes for the first year volunteers. All of the artists in Eureka Springs are excited about the promising future of the arts in the region that the presence of this major museum offers, and most particularly about potential collaboration with the museum on projects of importance to the arts. If anything, the presence of this new museum will increase, rather than decrease, the economic importance of the arts for Eureka Springs.

Q. What is the economic importance of the arts for this area?Zeek Taylor who manages the Eureka Springs Artist Registry* estimates the number of visual artists at over 200, which is almost 10 percent of the city’s population, and the number doesn’t include other types of artists.

Eureka Springs ranks number 8 in the 2012 American Style survey of the Top 25 Arts Destinations (small city category, under 100,000) Eureka Springs whose population hovers around 2,000 is one of the smallest cities on the list.**

With the arts, outdoor recreation and the scenic beauty of the area to draw tourists, Richard Davies of Arkansas Parks and Recreation Commission reports Eureka Springs as one of the most important players in a 5.7 billion dollar statewide tourist industry.

There are two primary industries in Eureka Springs, the arts, and tourism, and if you’ve read any studies you know that arts and tourism are deeply entwined. The West Virginia Craft Study *** 2003, explaining the economic impact of craft noted the following: “There is also a very strong linkage between crafts and tourism. Recent studies indicated that thousands of individuals come to craft communities or destinations each year. This includes artists, instructors, students, collectors and craft enthusiasts as well as traditional tourists. The constituents of each group contribute to the local economy in a variety of ways from the local purchase of arts, crafts and supplies to the purchase of retail items, gasoline, groceries, food and lodging. It appears that crafts can be a major travel attraction that generates tourism and overall economic development.”

In addition to the arts and crafts sold through local galleries many of the artists are involved in regional and national sales through travel to craft shows. They bring money home to spend in the local economy. A typical artist may make as little as 10-15 % in local sales with the balance of his or her income derived from out of area sales, wholesale sales to galleries, direct to customers , through craft show sales or over the internet. The arts culture of Eureka Springs draws new artists each year, and for every new artist, there seem to be more who want to move here. I don’t have statistics on this phenomenon. People inclined to participate in the arts recognize the beauty of the area and are inspired to move here to become more deeply involved in the arts. And this is a thing that I’ve been able to observe during my 38 years as a participant in the artist community of Eureka Springs.

Q. How would your work as an artist, and the work of other artists in this area, be affected by the construction of the powerline? The clear-cut right of way would be within 75 feet of the deck at the back of my home. A 150 foot tall pole would tower almost directly overhead. Presently a forest buffer exists between my home and the noises from Spring Street in Eureka Springs. That buffer would be gone. In the summer, leaves on the trees isolate us visually and acoustically from town. The power line would remove all that and replace it with a hostile environment kept perpetually sterile of normal forest growth. Instead of the wind rustling through leaves, we would hear the hum of wind over wire and possibly worse.

At the present time, I live and work in a state of sanctuary… That sanctuary would be lost and never come back. Artists throughout Carroll County who live within view of one or more proposed routes face the same threat, the same potential loss. We are a close-knit community of artists who care deeply for each other. The losses sustained by one, affects others and we have a long-standing tradition of charitable art auctions used to help those in need and to raise money for worthy projects and for each other. We have a well established sense of obligation and responsibility to stand up for each other in times of personal crisis. With this powerline proposal, I have never known a pending crisis to be more widespread.

As an author and well-known woodworking teacher, I frequently have visitors wanting to visit my shop and to purchase some of my work or some of my books and see where I live and work. I’ve had busloads of visitors from the Arkansas Art Musuem, the Oakland (CA) Art Musuem, and the Los Angeles Folk Art Museum. Visitors always comment on the beauty of this place. That beauty would be gone.

The simple mechanism is this: Artists choose to live and work here because they are attracted by the natural beauty. They’ve formed a thriving art community that spurs creativity, attracts other artists to move and work here. The arts are the bedrock of our community. And the visual beauty of this place is the foundation for the arts. It’s why we gathered here in the first place. For SWEPCO to take our visual landscape so lightly is a sacrilege and a shame that the artists of Eureka Springs would not forgive. The danger that SWEPCO poses to our economy is not just a loss of tourism, but also a loss of artists and the arts.

Q. Have you read the EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) for this powerline project? Yes.

Q. Did the EIS address possible impacts on the artist community of Eureka Springs and their livelihood? No. Not at all.

Q. In your opinion, did the EIS adequately describe and analyze, the impact of the powerline on the artist community and its economic impact on the region? It did not. By failing to address the arts, it failed to address the vital economic concerns of this community.

*http://www.eurekaspringsartists.com/

**http://www.americanstyle.com/2012/06/top-25-small-cities-for-art/

***www.economicoptions.org/WVCODAreportcomplete.doc.

Make, fix and create... 

 

What tariffs can do to small businesses and why

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/08/opinion/frywall-tariffs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.-E4.Zvb4.w8lVSX1-fiPK&smid=url-share 

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Hands On ESSA

While there were hands off rallies across the US and we attended one, we also went to Hands On ESSA https://essa-art.org/events/hands-on-essa/ where I made a small paper pouch for my granddaughter from a paper toilet roll. It was a cute project and one designed better to get people making things than a whole world wall of tariffs. 

People were busy making things and learning things, welding and soldering and forging included and if one were to hope for a return of manufacture and creativity to the US and the lessening of imported things, the Eureka Springs School of the Arts has a better, and more positive path for our nation to follow. Tariffs force disruption. But introducing people to the creative capacities of their own hands and minds does as well, in a positive way. People are proud of the things they have made and have learned. Tariffs do not have such positive effects.

I sat and worked next to a friend who had never had confidence to take a class before, but will now. And to see an organization I helped to found having such an effect on the lives of so many, has it effect on me as well.

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