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OPEN STUDIO AND
MINI-CLASSES ON FRIDAYS AT MAUREEN'S
13 Years it is that we've been offering stories, techniques, conversation, tools, classes, retreats and inspiration at our 102 Water Street location. It's hard to believe, but IT IS TRUE!
We know that most of you, our readers, live quite a ways from Jordan, Minnesota, USA, but we like to include you in on what's going on here because your ideas and suggestions feed our idea pool, as, we hope, ours do yours.
We've changed Open Studio times to Fridays (most fridays) from 5 - 10 PM, and we're combining them with themed pot lucks. Last week we enjoyed a burrito bar. Yum!
And then we're offering a mini-class, just 2 hours, with quick techniques to inspire and inform. We'll be posting some
of them here.
Come if you can!
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YOU INSPIRE US!
Beautiful, isn't it? Great job, Christine!
In 2013 our wish for you is work that interests you, playful friendships, time for re-creation and relaxation, the energy to keep up with your ideas and goals that inspire you.
Maureen and Dan Carlson
Pictured above is Push Mold B
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NEW BOOKS COMINGIf you've been searching the internet You may have seen a few new books out there with mention of Maureen's name on them:
Freaky Funny Clay
and
Crazy Clay Characters
These are advance PR notices and photos which may or may not be the finished product, but, YES, they are coming!
It's fun to see physical evidence of the busy days and nights that we've spent working on these books. Those of you who have visited at Maureen's have already seen the Eyeball Chess Game and the fake vomit, but for the rest of you, these new books and the new look, as well as the use of air dry clays, might come as a surprise!
These 64-page books for kids ages 6 - 12 use air dry lightweight clays, the marshmallowy type, like Cloud Clay, Model Magic and Hearty Clay.
The estimated release date is June 2013.
The publisher is IMPACT Books (F&W ).
Two more books will be released late in 2013.
We're excited about these books. We think you'll love them!
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CELEBRATING A PLAYFUL DAY Come to our Saturday, January 19 Open House "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living. It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
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Storyclay Character from a recent event in St. Paul, MN
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Dr. Seuss
Need a boost to your sense of play and imagination? Need some adjustment to your sense of humor and perspective? If you're in Minnesota, and if you have time this coming Saturday, Jan. 19, come to Maureen's in Jordan for our Open House.
Date: Saturday, January 19
Where: 102 Water Street, Jordan, MN
What:
Storyclay Telling with Maureen from 1:30 PM to 2:30
Continuous Demonstrations of Polymer Clay Techniques
Make-Your-Own Bead and Bear Stations (minimal charge)
If you need more justification to spend
a few hours here at the beginning of 2013 with some just-because creative play, here's a quote from Swiss psychotherapist Carl Jung:
"Without this playing with fantasy, no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable."
We hope to see you Saturday!
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE FROM AWAY: We'll see if we can post a video or at least some photos of our day. See you later! Maureen and Dan Carlson
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TIME GETTING AWAY FROM YOU? 
NEVER ENOUGH
TIME?
OUT OF TIME?
If any of the above sayings keep running through your mind, then consider Barb Kobe's upcoming class:
PLAYING WITH TIME
Thursday, Jan. 31
9AM - 5PM At Maureen's in Jordan, MN
If you've taken a class from Barb before, you know how powerful and liberating these events can be. Expand your awareness of time and discover creative new ways of looking at, being in and experiencing time through creative artmaking activities.
Also consider the 3-day class which follows:
Designing Your ARTfield of Dreams:
A creative, art-filled, playful way of
planning for the coming year
Check all that apply:
___ Have you been promising yourself some art-time?
___ Do you feel the need for a retreat from everyday demands and expectations?
___ Are you wondering what it is that you're yearning for?
___ Have you voiced your intentions for 2013?
If you checked any of the above, read more at
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This story is as true today as it was when Maureen first heard, or wrote it, whichever the truth may be, and so we reprint it here. To read more about the Pips, go to Pippsywoggins at WeeFolk.comA Pippsywoggin Story with Maureen Carlson TAKING TIME FOR FRIENDS 
One summer morning I opened my front door to find, propped among the geraniums, a tiny white envelope. The elegant writing on the front said: To Maureen Carlson - Dollmaker and Sculptor for the Pippsywoggins. Maureen Carlson being me, I opened it immediately, reluctantly breaking the delicate wax seal as I did so. I could hardly wait to see what adventure the Pippsywoggins were planning! (For of course, I knew by the size of the envelope that it must be a message from a Pip.) The message inside read: Believing that play strengthens the heart And that good conversation is food for the soul
And that creativity cannot flourish where
laughter does not dwell, We, Mollie Suzanne and Gwendolyn Beth,
Invite you to join us at our weekly
TOO-UP-TIGHT-TO-TWINKLE TEA. Tuesdays at 2:00 PM
Under the Ancient Apple Tree No fees required.
No results guaranteed.
No scores kept. Purpose?
To keep each of the participants
TUNED and TWINKLING
LIKE
THE STARS
THAT YOU ARE. Bring something scrumptious and a story for sharing.
No story? Then just tell us about yourself.
(Another way to define story.)
Too busy to come? Think again.
Perhaps you are too busy NOT to come! I read the invitation again, and smiled as I thought of Mollie Suzanne and Gwendolyn Beth. I hadn't seen them in a long time. All three of us were doll makers, and, as our businesses had grown, so had the hours required to get everything done. My work was going well, but I had noticed lately that my eyes were less alive, and my thoughts less sharp. Maybe I did need a good dose of Too-Up-Tight-To-Twinkle tea. Yes, I would be there. Would you like to come, too? © 1997, 2006 by Maureen Carlson
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