SHAPE NOTES

This is from Drew Leidki, one of our Kids in Clay teachers at Shape Theory Ceramics, from a while ago. He could have told me this story before Lori passed, and I would have found it interesting and informative — but it would have been a passing story, one that confirmed what I already believed. Since Lori has passed, these stories give me pause in a way I find so meaningful and beautiful.

“Before the class even started, Grandma comes in to talk to me about how his step-mother had died a couple weeks ago and that he might not even participate. He collected all the tools needed for the day as directed and sat down next to me during my initial demo on the wheel. After the demo, he left his wheel and sat down on the couch with his grandma. After a while I checked in with…

All of us are going through something, or will go through something, especially as we age. As we age, physical changes, job loss, and the death or separation from loved ones can leave us feeling adrift and terrified.

And in a world shaped by politics and algorithms that are optimized for outrage, and our online lives can replace in-person relationships, our sense of connection can erode, leaving us more isolated and more likely to misread our neighbors as adversaries.

There is so much that can break us these days.

Shape Theory Ceramics began about five years ago as an online gallery, right at the start of the pandemic. At the time, everything felt uncertain, and some of the messaging coming from leadership at Southern Utah University was to not get too comfortable in our jobs. Budget cuts are coming, and in my experience, it's the arts and humanities that are usually in the crosshairs.

With classes canceled, I started taking long walks in the desert. Somewhere along those walks, I came up with a backup plan: an online gallery called Shape Theory Ceramics.

Part of our mission then was to support criminal justice reform by donating a percentage of sales to the Last Prisoner Project, an organization working to free the more than 44,000 people incarcerated for cannabis-related offenses in the United States. I still believe no one should be in prison for cannabis, especially given its legalization in…

A few mornings ago, on my walk, I ran into a lovely couple just as they were getting out of a car with California license plates. Growing up in Palm Springs, I can’t help myself, I always ask what part of California people are from.

“Tehachapi,” they said.

They were surprised that I knew their picturesque little town, the train that slowly winds its way up the mountain adds to its quiet charm. Years ago, we stopped there for morning bagels on our way to teach a workshop at the Mendocino Art Center.

Photo by Brynn Wrankle, her other passion

This is my daughter Brynn and Leroy. Recently she found a chance to volunteer at a horse stable in Kanarraville. She’s wanted to work with horses for years, ever since taking horsemanship at Southern Utah University, where I also teach.

Brynn has a tendency toward gloom. Most of us do at some point. When life circumstances shrinks hope, it’s easy and natural to default to a dim world view.