Funky Chicken 2017

I can't say I've ever considered myself a blogger. I aspired to it once, a long time ago. But the reality is that I am just not that reliable, and I have ADD, and I would rather be working on books than writing something here that few people may ever see.

I use to send out newsletters once a year informing people about my life, my family, and my slow progress at making a living as a potter/writer/dreamer. I'm not sure if people ever read those newsletters. They were fun to write and a headache to get printed, and the last time I sent a newsletter, back in 2014, I spent over $2000 to do it. That was more than I spend on food for 6 months for my whole family!  I knew I needed to find a better way to communicate with my people.  The blog became that better way, though I am pretty sure only 120 people opened my blog in the past year, and even fewer probably finished it. Life is busy. I get it. People probably don't care much about the life of their potter, even if he is their favorite potter.

So, here's the information you're probably looking for about this year.

1. Yes, I have just finished a new book!

 It's called The Disciple of the Wind. After ten years of research and writing, I am excited to be able to finally share this book with you. I love it. And I think you will too. It's a book about art and faith and learning to listen to the wind. It's about slowing down and looking at things that matter and deciding who we are and where we stand. It's about hope. And more than anything, it's really about Love. It's a good news book that's intended to help us all see the good around us, to seek it out, and embrace it.
The book is set in Watts, California, and much of it takes place at the neighborhood's most famous landmark, The Watts Towers, that were built by an Italian immigrant, Simon Rodia, over the course of 33 years. The book is filled with pictures and art, as well as quotes that will leave you wanting to live the best life you can, as well as book a flight to LA so you can see the towers for yourself.

 This is the blurb from the back of the book.
The offer of a new job as a social work intern has brought Kate Larsen to the opposite end of the universe—Watts, California. Though the job proves quickly to be far less than she hoped for, the curious notebook she finds in her desk compels her to seek answers. When she serendipitously crosses paths with the budding filmmaker, Charlie George, she begins to uncover the deeper meaning behind the neighborhood’s most famous landmark, Watts Towers, and their enigmatic creator, Simon Rodia. 
Join Kate and Charlie, who, with the help of the tower’s watchman, Isaiah, learn the untold story of love, hope and redemption that inspired Simon and his colorful life’s work. 


You can learn more about the book by clicking on the Kickstarter link below. 

2. To launch this book, I decided to give people the chance to be a part of the book through a Kickstarter campaign. 

Kickstarter is a crowd-funding website that helps start-ups gather the funds necessary for their projects. I was always planning on just self-funding this as I have with all my other projects, but I thought maybe this might give me a chance to cast a bigger net into the world and see where it might take me. So far, as of November 14th, 2017, we are over 1/3 of the way funded with 19 days to go in the campaign. I am excited, but also nervous. This is an all or nothing campaign, which means if I don't make my goal, I get nothing, and all the work and sweat is for naught. So, yeah, it stresses me out a little bit. Take a look at it on the link below and make a pledge if you can. I sure would appreciate it. 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1636711825/the-disciple-of-the-windan-untold-story-of-hope-an

3. Our annual open house runs December 2, 9, &16

That's right, the first three Saturdays in December from 10-5 here at our home/studio at 
1150 East 800 South in Salt Lake City. Though the studio is open year round, we only open our home twice a year, during our Mother's Day and Christmas Shows. Bring your friends and family. Lynnette and I have been collecting local art since before we got married, and when we renovated our home 6 years ago, we installed 500 square feet of hand-made tile. There's a lot to see. And we love to share it with others. Lynnette will also have her toffee and caramels available for purchase. And books will be signed all month long. The new books are $15 each and would make awesome gifts for everyone one your list.

4. We haven't killed our teenagers ... yet!

Yeah, we've been tempted, but we are learning to navigate these troubled waters. 

And we are getting a lot more thumbs up than we ever have in the past which is very refreshing. We found some cheap tickets to Spain this Spring and decided we couldn't pass up the $420 round trip price. We are recognizing more and more how few months we have left before Isaac heads off to his next adventure, whether it be college or a mission. He started driving last week which is frightening. Keep your kids inside! 

We are enjoying most of these days, and trying to keep in mind how few of them we really have left. Isaac is a junior and Eve is in the eighth grade. 

Lynnette and I celebrated 20 years of marriage in September. It's hard to believe anyone could put up with me that long, but she has, and she's been patient with me most of the time. It's been a good life.

For the first time in many years, I participated in both the Utah and Park City Arts Festivals. Our travel aspirations prompted that change in schedule, but I found it was a lot of fun see the old friends I've missed at the festival in my many years of absence. I have not yet decided about next year's schedule. I will be busy working on at least one book for next year, and maybe two. And I want to spend some time with the kids before they're gone. Sometimes the money is far less important than the adventure. 

Just Love 

The election of 2016 and the craziness that has followed around the world prompted a new product this year. I call them Just Love Hearts 

Just Love 

Hearts

. . . Were created in response to the seeds of fear and hate that are being sown throughout our world. Inspired by the question asked of Jesus, “Which is the most important commandment?”   And His response, “To Love God, and to Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Two thousand years later, 

Love is still the answer.

Few of us can change the world, but we can all change our hearts, our homes, our communities. We can illuminate our often dark world with acts of love and kindness to friends and strangers. And together, with love in our hearts, 

we can change the world. 

Just Love

I will be doing a show in February at the Pioneer Theater entitled Just Love. It will focus on the theme of Love, but will have several tangents. Plan to come and see it. I will also have a selection of these hearts at the Ogden Union Station in December, and also at my studio and at ArtMarket. The best selection will probably always be at my studio. 

So, in a nutshell, that's our year. I am tired from a busy year of writing and shows, but feeling like I probably won't be able to rest until I'm dead. And I guess that's okay. It's fun to make art. And I'm glad it makes people happy. 

I want to thank you for all your support. I couldn't do what I do if it wasn't for your support. Thanks for being you. Come and see me sometime. Life is better with you in it. 

Cheers to 2018

Happy Holidays

I used to be good at blogging. At least I did it every few weeks. But things have changed. I am now a very bad blogger. I was never sure if anyone actually read my blogs anyway, so I'm not sure how much of a difference it really makes. The last time I wrote in this space was a year ago in an effort to let folks know about my upcoming Christmas Open House. And here I am again, a year later, to do the very same thing. Funny how I called this blog "Balancing Space," as my life has not had a lot of balance in it lately. Too many 16 hour days have caused a serious imbalance and I realize I'm not getting any younger. 

So, for about 13 years I sent out an annual newsletter. It would take a couple of weeks to write, print, label, stamp and mail. Somewhere in all those years I found out you can have a mailing service do a lot of the hard work. People seemed to like the newsletter. Some even said they read it! But the last time I sent the newsletter it cost me more than $2000. The cost of printing, ink, paper, postage and time continues to increase, so I have decided I needed a better way of communicating with my friends and loyal customers. The email/blog has served to alleviate the expenditures. I still miss the tangible aspects of the printed format, but I think the biggest majority of them were probably tossed before they were read anyway. I hope this works out okay for you. 

As the above picture indicates, we are having another open house this year. I guess that's what annual means, right. This is the sifteenth Christmas show we have hosted at our studio, and the sixth Christmas show the will include a tour of our home if you're interested in seeing how the potter's family lives. Five and a half years ago we tore the roof off our home, gutted the main floor, and put it all back together very deliberately with a lot of whimsy and funkiness. We figure there is about 500 square feet of handmade tile scattered throughout our home. In addition, Lynnette and I have been collecting art since before we got married, 19 years ago. We figured it was good karma to support local artists. It has been, and though there is nothing in our collection that is either rare or valuable, it is colorful and inspiring and reminds of the the artist friends we have made as we have added to our collection over the yeas.  It's a joy to live in and a joy to share with others. Come and see it, bring a friend or family member, share the joy.

Oh, I guess I should mention that the hours for the show are from 10 am - 5 pm. Our address is 1150 East 800 South in Salt Lake City. The home is open only on the Saturdays, but my studio is open all month—actually all year round and is located just behind our home. It is well stocked most of the year. If the Saturdays are not good for you, or if you don't care to see the house or just want to avoid the crowds and don't mind the weekday work mess in the studio, come during the week. I may be throwing or glazing or loading the kilns, but I always enjoy visitors. You can call me if you would like to make sure I haven't run an errand. 801-597-0741. I've been working overtime and the studio has never been better stocked with bowls, platters, mugs, clay wall art, pitchers and vases. I just happen to have the world's largest collection of Ben Behunin pottery, and it is replenished and added to every day. Lynnette is now busy making her famous homemade toffee and caramels for purchase at the showCome and see.

Isaac, Eve and Lynnette taking in the art in NYC

Usually in my newsletters I give a little update on my family. My wife, Lynnette, and I were blessed to be the parents of two kids; Isaac—age 15 and Eve, who is nearly 13. They are great kids and we are having a lot of "fun" learning to navigate these wonderful teenage years full of unprovoked angst and unrealistic expectations. It's been tough, for all of us. About five years ago  Lynnette and began developing an idea of a month long, coast to coast epic road trip when our kids would be finally old enough to appreciate the history, beauty and culture of these United States. We're not sure if we could have chosen better. Traveling with babies is a pain. Traveling with young kids is a pain. Traveling with teenagers

Gateway to the West

as we found out is a major pain. We were "the worst parents ever" for taking our son away from his friends for a whole month. He rewarded us for our efforts by refusing to enjoy the fun-filled activities and make our life a living H-E- double hockey sticks. But in between, we made stops in Denver, St. Louis, Asheville, Nashville, DC, Philadelphia, Lancaster County, Susquehanna, New York, Boston, Palmyra, Niagara Falls, Kirkland, Chicago, Nauvoo, Winter Quarters, Sydney, and Newport Beach. 7000 miles. 28 states. Hours upon hours of whining. One month of FFF (Forced Family Fun). Its the kind of adventures undying family memories are made of. 

The Bean at Millennial Park in Chicago

Making friends with the Sikhs and getting a turban in Niagra.

Palmyra New York Temple

Cruising in Newport 

Carhenge, in Nebraska with my cousins' family

Philadelphia Love

We are Mormons, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Our church has its roots in upstate New York, Kirkland, Ohio, Missouri, and Nauvoo, Illinois. Both Lynnette and I have pioneer ancestors and it was fun to visit these church history sites and see where our family members lived and farmed nearly 200 years ago. We also enjoyed US history sites all along the way. It was inspiring on many levels and I would like to say that spending that many hours in a minivan together brought us close together. The kids are  already saying they want to do it again next summer—not!. But seriously it was a great trip. 

Since coming home, just a few day before school started, I have been busy in the studio. I was invited to do a one man show at the Loge Gallery at the Pioneer Theater on the University of Utah campus during the month of December. It opens on December 2 and I hope it will be a great show. A few years ago, while walking through a thrift store, I got a crazy idea. Over time, the Shoe People were born. It has been fun to work on these and I find I can't stop looking at women's shoes. They are so much more interesting then men's shoes. Since August I have made close to 200 of these silly creatures as part of a series I am calling,"If the Shoe Fits." The show will be open most day from Noon until 10 pm. It addition to the shoe people I will be showing teapots, platters, my multi-media guardians, a few masks, and many other fun things to make you smile and bring joy to your home . I am also accepting custom commissions for Shoe People. I have already done a few commissions in running shoes, climbing shoes and ballet shoes. Each one is unique and will bring you years worth of smiles.

I am not entirely sure what next year will bring, but I am quite certain it will contain more writing. I have been frustrated for some time by my inability for find a better balance in my pottery/writing balance. I have published 7 books since 2009, the first one, Remembering Isaac is now in its 5th printing.  I have many more books in my head and their characters aren't leaving me alone. I hope to be releasing as many as two books next year. I have thought about doing the arts festival again, but the longer I am way from that scene the less sexy it becomes. I am hoping that my studio sales will provide enough income that I can focus on writing and forget about the festivals for at least one more year. We will see. 

It is hard to believe it has been more than 20 years since I chose to make my living in clay. It's been a crazy, interesting and fun life so far. Eve has shown an interest in pursuing her own career in art and clay. We will have some of her newest creations done in time for the open house. I am happy to be able to share some of my expertise with her  and look forward too seeing all the cool stuff she will come up with. 

Life is good. I am grateful for it. I am grateful for loyal customers who have become friends and introduce their friends and neighbors to my pottery and my books. I could not be me without you, so thanks. It's a dirty job being a potter, but I love sharing the joy of creation with all of you. Thank you. 

I hope to see you this December. If not, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukah, Happy Festivus. Be Happy.

Thanks again for all you have done for me and my family.

Ben

A short term identity crisis

 

The Funky Chicken
The annual Newsletter for Wild Rooster Artworks 
and ben Behunin
Volume 15, Christmas 2015

Wild Rooster Artworks
Annual Pottery Sale, House Tour 
And Book Signing
(Sorry, no new book this year, but I will be signing my previous 7 books)  

December 5, 12th & 19th
10 am - 5 pm each Saturday
1150 East 800 South
Salt Lake City, Utah 84102

If you have seen the house and want to avoid
 the Saturday crowds, the studio is open
through the week by appointment. 801-883-0146

I had complaints last year that people had to read all the way to the end of my newsletter before they could find the information about my open house. This year I decided to make it easy. 

Now that I got that out of the way, I guess I can start.

     I've been putting off writing this newsletter this year, wondering if I really had anything new to say or report on. I worried that I was becoming the old, tired dude my son likes to remind me I am. But upon closer inspection, I realized I have so much to be grateful for, and I see that my life has been more than the long stretches of 70 hour work weeks trying to keep up with orders. It's actually been a great year filled with new challenges, big orders, happy vacations, and opportunities to rejoice. And I guess what this newsletter has always been about—reflection—an opportunity for me to remember and recognize blessings, and share my findings with you. 

      This is the second year in a row that I have decided to publish my newsletter exclusively on a blog rather than sending it through the mail. For thirteen years, I printed and mailed an eight page newsletter to my loyal friends and customers who have supported me over the years. It was a fun, exhausting, and financially silly thing to do. After I sent out my last newsletter in 2013, I realized the cost of printing and postage was becoming exorbitant and was fiscally irresponsible to continue to do so. Last year when I decided to do it this way, I worried people would think I'm cheap and boycott my studio sale. But to my pleasant surprise, we enjoyed our most successful open house to date. Printed, physical newsletters are still my preferred method of communicating Yuletide expression, but with the money we saved, we have reroofed the house and put braces on the kids. Thank you for not missing the printed newsletter. 

     As I mentioned, I have had a year full of some of the biggest orders of my career. For the past several years, I have sold my work in the Deseret Book flagship store in downtown SLC. Sales were good from the very beginning and for a couple of years they have suggested we might work out a plan to do a larger order that would put my pots in all of their stores. I wasn't very interested in the idea, having done large orders in the past and not remembering them to be very fun. But they were persistent, and so in January I relented and started working on some designs for their Mother's Day catalog. I put together three designs, thinking they might choose one, but instead, they chose all three! I had done some quick math and figured I mightbe able to make as many as 350 pieces. I was busy working on a book and wanted to spend some time with my kids and do a little skiing. When they got back to me, however, I freaked out. They wanted 1600 pieces! I negotiated quickly and suggested I might be able to do 800 pieces. I got busy. 

       The time I had planned on using to write evaporated as I dove into the project. A couple of weeks later I broke my collar bone while skiing. Bummer. I had broken my other collar bone while skiing a few years earlier, and this same collar bone on a skateboard 8 months earlier on a longboard. I knew what it took to recover and that working with it didn't have any long term effects that I could tell, so I just kept working. I did decide that skiing was probably not the best thing to continue to do, so I took six weeks off to let it heal. Over the course of those weeks, my studio grew smaller and smaller as the racks of pots overflowed. With winter weather on the outside of studio, I stockpiled all 800 of those pots in piles around the studio until I could figure out how they wanted them packaged. "Individually," the answer. I was ready to start packaging as soon as the weather warmed.

I hired a neighborhood kid during his spring break to help me package the bowls. Four days later when we were done with the five pallets stacked 6 feet high, he asked me to never call him again. Apparently some folks are cut out for grunt work!    

I hoped to have some time to write as soon as the pots were delivered, but instead I was immediately thrown into preparations for my Mother’s Day Open House. The kilns have never been so full. I was grateful I had not made plans to attend the Utah Arts Festival again this year as I would not have had enough pots to do both shows. 

The Mother’s Day show was a great success, and I spent some time writing after that, hoping I would be able to finish a book I’ve been working on for the past 8 years. I was frustrated that it was taking me so long, but my frustration only made the project  slower, which became more frustrating. I made some great progress, but when another couple of big orders came in late this summer and I realized I was not going to be able to finish the book for my regular Christmas book launch, I let it go and decided to let it rest for a bit. These other orders included two non-profits—The General Convention for the Episcopalians who held their annual conference here in SLC and The Ronald McDonald House. Not having the time to write has thrown my story characters into a fertile incubation, and they have continued to dance about in my head while I work in the studio, anxious to get out on the page. I plan to focus on that after the Holidays are over. 

    
In between orders I spent a few days at LDS Girl’s camp with Lynnette and Eve while Isaac was at basketball camp at BYU. After that, we took off for a great family trip to the Northwest to visit friends and family. One of my fans from Canada invited us to a few days at his cabin in Bellingham. There is something magically rejuvenating about the Northwest. Each time I visit I'm tempted to move there, but considering my local business, regular visits are probably more practical for the time being.

Searching for balance in my busy life  took us to the foothills many times this summer. 


I mentioned last year that I have developed a strange, but nourishing habit of stacking rocks in ways that seem to defy gravity. For me, it's become a meditation of slowing down an being still.  I’ve been doing this now for about three years, and it feels like its becoming a bit more than just a quirky hobby. If you find yourself in need of balance, may I suggest a trip to the hills where getting away and plugging into nature is a great remedy for all sorts of imbalance and other maladies. If you spend any time along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, perhaps you will see some of my stacks. I've been surprised how long some of them last before the wind or the dogs tip them over. 

Simon's Masterpiece, Watts Towers

the kids and their cousins in a cave in Corona Del Mar

     Need for additional research for the book I am working on took us to Southern California, specifically to Watts, a rather rough neighborhood that hosts the world famous Watts Towers. Built by Italian immigrant, Simon Rodia, from 1922-1955, the towers offer a bit of hope and humanity in chaotic world. I first went there eight years agon on a inspirational hunch, and the I've been back nearly every year since, spending time interviewing folks, taking pictures and allowing the story to ruminate in my head and heart. I hope by this time next year that I will be able to share it with you. If not, well, then we have had some nice trips to Southern California with the kids.

    

The kids with Simon Rodia, shown actual size

     Isaac started high school this year. It feels strange having a child that old, especially considering that I don't feel much older than 18 myself on most days. Isaac, however, spends a lot of his time trying to remind us that we are definitely not even close to being young. He's a good kid with good friends, but raising a teenager has been proven to be the most difficult things we've ever done. We've spent a lot of time in prayer and self-reflection, trying to figure this out, but our cool factor, if we ever had one, has diminished to near zero. Answers have come slowly, but we are working on love and mutual respect, and we realize we may have our work cut out for us for the next few years. Isaac went out for the football team this year, but was plagued with frequent injuries to his ribs, back and head. He suffered a bad concussion in September that forced him to the sidelines for the rest of the season. He missed more than a month's worth of school, and now that he is healthy again, he'll have to spend the next several months catching up. Most of his injuries this year came from friendly fire, during practices with his own team. I never liked football, and after this, I am liking it even less. We hope he will be inspired this next year to learn to play badminton, or maybe bowling. He is naturally inclined towards sports, but we're hoping other passions may be in his future.     

    
 Eve is finishing up her sixth grade year and enjoying being at the top of the food chain. Both Isaac and Eve entered the awkward dental phase of life with the donning of braces this summer. Neither Lynnette or I ever had braces, and we were hoping to avoid both the cost and the inconvenience, but we gave in to the undeniable siege of genetics beyond our control. Eve is becoming quite the artist. She has been busy this year, working on watercolors. If all goes as planned, we will have some of her paintings and cards available for purchase at the annual open house.  The kids have also been working on Christmas ornaments for the show. 

Isaac and Eve in the Studio

Family that clay together stay together

     I am not sure why it has taken so long, but I finally gave the kids their first pottery tutorial on the wheel. I was 14 before I discovered clay, and though the kids have spent plenty of time in the studio working on hand-built projects, I wasn't sure they were old enough to handle the wheel. As it turned out, they weren't. But our Family Night turned into one of the best evenings we've ever had together.

Trying out the new Mud Masks

I think we may be able to inspire them to spend more time in the studio and we are busy working on a mud mask product we hope to make available to our customers soon. 

     

Dude trip in Western Ireland

Stacking rocks on the Cliffs of Moher

Berries from Dingle =Dingleberries

      In September, I spent a week in Ireland, with my friend, Bert Compton. Those of you familiar with my books know some of Bert's work. He is the designer of each of my books and a really great guy. We have been talking about a "Dude Trip" for years, but last year, when our wives went to New York for a "Girl's Trip," we had all the justification we needed to make it happen. Bert and I both have been hobby photographers for years, so we took our cameras and headed out for the Irish highlands to get lost. We came home creatively refreshed with thousands of great photos and heads full of new ideas. Several of our friends expressed their envy, so we plan to make a Dude's Trip happen every other year or so. 

      I was home long enough to finish the last of another huge order for Deseret Book, (the Nativity Bowl shown at the top of this page. 600 pieces), before Lynnette and I took off for another adventure to celebrate our 18th wedding anniversary. My sister-in-law has a passion of putting together grand vacations and this spring she contacted us to tell us about her latest adventure—Bora Bora. She had booked a house on a tiny island just off of Bora Bora and wanted to share the adventure (and expense) with us.  Bora Bora is a Tahitian Island, roughly 5 hours directly south of Hawaii, just below the equator. We agreed to share in the adventure and I was grateful to have that to look forward to as I plowed through the hours of work over the next several months. 

     The adventure was incredible. The rental came with a small aluminum boat and a 15HP motor that we used to ferry us to the grocery store 15 minutes away, and other excursions. We tried our hand at fishing, but had more fun buying swordfish and tuna steaks from the fishermen on the streets. We rented bikes and hiked, and snorkeled in our own front yard every day. We relaxed like we have never relaxed before, and Lynnette and I spent more time together than we have since we honeymooned. It was a fabulous trip. One I would recommend to anyone. If you are interested in seeing pictures of either trips, or getting af few ideas to plan your own adventure, friend me on on Instagram @niederbippboy or on Facebook by clicking here — www.facebook.com/ben.behunin  

I have been trying to modernize my communications and presence on social media. It feels like teaching an old, tired dog to sit up and roll over at the same time, but I've already been surprised and impressed by the access to my friends and customers online. Give it a look. I will also be working on a long awaited update to my website www.potterboy.com

Well, if you've made it this far, thanks for reading. I never know who's going to read this. And I suppose it seems a bit narcissistic to think anyone actually will read it at all. As I get to this point every year—frantically writing my annual newsletter as Thanksgiving approaches, I find myself full of gratitude for the chance to be a potter and a writer, for the great people who have supported me over the years, and for my health that allows me the strength to keep going. If I think too much about about it, I find myself wondering how I ended up on this path, but the answer always comes back to that day I woke up and decided I was going to fulfill the measure of my creation, no matter how impractical or impossible it looked to be. I am glad I'm on this end of the journey. It's been a ton of work, but my work has made me happy, and I hope that work and happiness has somehow made you a little happier too. I'm convinced that there is a portion of light connected to each of the gifts and talents we develop, and the more of those gifts we share, the brighter the world around us becomes. Thank you for giving me a chance to share my gifts one more year. 

If your holiday gift giving needs lean you towards hand-made pottery, I hope you'll think of me. Not having had to work on a book this season, I have thrown my efforts into stocking up the studio. The shop is now flowing over with hundreds—no make that thousands—of really great gifts. Come and see. 

I hope the coming year will bring you light, love and happiness. 

Cheers, 

your potter and friend,

Ben

The Funky Chicken Newsletter 2014

The Funky Chicken

The annual Newsletter for Ben Behunin
and Wild Rooster Artworks
Volume 14 

The Behunins in Cinque Terre, Italy--July 2014

Open House announcement at the bottom 

of this blog post!

        Happy Holidays! If you are reading this, it is likely that you have purchased one of my pots or read one of my books over the years and signed up to receive the annual newsletter.  Thank you!

As you may have noticed on the top corner, this is the 14th volume of The Funky Chicken, and it is historical in at least one way—it is the first time it has been available only online or through email.  

After thirteen years of busting my butt (and my bank account) to get this newsletter out in time for Thanksgiving, I have decided to try something new. Change is sometimes hard, but it is often good. I hope this will be a change we all can live with as I try to find an economical way to communicate with my continually growing numbers of friends and supporters. I always appreciate feedback, and would be happy to hear from you. You can email me at benbehunin@comcast.net if you want to get my attention or to be added to the email notification list.

If you are reading this for the first time, this newsletter has given me a chance for the past fourteen years to let my friends, readers, and supporters know about life here at Wild Rooster Artworks and the Behunin House, as well as news about upcoming shows, projects and books. I try to make it fun and worth reading. If it puts you to sleep instead, feel free to email me and tell me to put a cork in it.

It has been an exciting year for me and my family, full of adventure and far flung activities. 

      
After the Christmas Open House last year, I began working with my agent on slimming down and editing Remembering Isaac. It has been her experience that publishers like shorter books, and she wanted to cut 80 pages from that book. It was difficult, going through this again and again, slowly pulling out the nonessentials. 

 
April marked five years since I released Remembering Isaac, and as I read through it again for the millionth time, I realized I have come a long way. I think I must have rewritten that first book close to twenty times over the course of twelve years, and still I realized I missed a lot of stuff. It’s hard to continually polish something when what you really want is to move on with the next story. I suppose the writing and rewriting of a book could continue on indefinitely, never producing a printed book. It felt a little bit like a perpetual ride on a hamster wheel. I became so consumed with the rewrite that I forgot to the apply to the Utah Arts Festival, a show I have participated in for the past twelve years. I missed the deadline by 12 hours. It was a bummer, but it turned out to be a blessing in the end. 

     
Because of that, I decided to hold my annual Mother’s Day Sale on two consecutive weekends instead of just one as we have done in the past. This, along with an article in the Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865600412/The-potters-hands-Utah-artist, drew the largest crowd we’ve ever seen for our Mother’s Day show. It was great to see so many old friends and meet so many new ones. We are already planning on doing the same next year, May 1, 2, 7,8,9, 2015, but I do plan on applying for the Arts Festival next year too.  

Over Memorial Day Weekend, we traveled with several friends to St. George to spend some much
needed R&R time with our family. I was also anxious to really try out the new longboard I got for Christmas last year. I grew up skateboarding, but it has been a few years, okay, maybe a couple of decades, since I had last been on one. On our first day away, I ended up in the ER with a broken collar bone after the wheels of my board were sucked into a large crack in the pavement, sending me airborne. Flying is fun. Landing is not. I ended up with some pretty heavy abrasions and bruises which actually hurt worse than the collar bone. The damage to my pride was even more severe, being forced to recognize I am not 18 anymore. The bones have healed, but I am still reeling from that reality of my mortality.

I came home from that trip, feeling grateful for the first time to not have the Utah Arts Festival ahead of me. This became even more true when I lost two dear friends within a week of each other at the beginning of June. I was fortunate to have had some time to visit with each of them before they passed away. These men were friends and mentors to me and my life was blessed by knowing them. It would have killed me to miss those last visits out of the stress of getting ready for the show.

Not having the festival to worry about also freed us up for a family trip. Ten years ago, Lynnette and I began making plans to spend the summer between our 40th birthdays in Europe. As we made these plans, we realized that after getting there, day to day living is not much more expensive than living at home. Our trip which was originally going to be just a few weeks turned into six weeks. 

Outside the Duomo in Florence

I served an LDS mission in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria twenty years ago, and returned to Germany shortly thereafter to do a pottery apprenticeship with a potter I had met while I was a missionary. That apprenticeship would lay the foundation for my Niederbipp Trilogy a couple of years later, and I’ve been anxious to introduce my kids to that corner of the world for years. The woman I studied under, Irene Meier, still runs a quaint pottery shop in Tiengen, Germany, not far from Niederbipp, Switzerland. The town of Tiengen is actually the setting I imagined as I wrote the book, and is quite similar in nearly every way that matters. We spent a few days in Tiengen before moving on to Paris, France for a couple of days, and then moving south to a pottery village I visited many years ago, La Bourne, a remote village with nearly 100 potters in a 20 mile radius. Much of the work in La Bourne is woodfired, and is probably more attractive to potters than it is to the general public—lots of rich earth tones and unique surface treatments,

Florence, Italy

but not incredibly exciting for most people. Still, it was a fun place to visit again and see what the potters of the French countryside were making. 

Cinque Terre, Italy

From there we continued south, visiting Genoa, Italy before heading for the Cinque Terre, an amazingly beautiful string of five colorful towns built onto the cliffs overlooking the azure sea. This has been on our bucket list for nearly as long as we’ve been married, and one we would go back to any day. The hiking trail between several of the towns had been washed out the year before, so we hiked only one leg of the journey, visiting the rest of the towns by way of the train that cut its way through the scenic cliffs. It was fabulous—a must see if you find yourself in northern Italy. 

We also visited Pisa before moving into a rented circa 1850 farm house on the slopes of the the medieval town of San Gimignano in the heart of Tuscany. San G. is centrally located between Florence and Sienna, and used to be off the beaten path until Rick Steves featured it on his show and turned the quaint town, built between 900-1100 AD, into a bit of a tourist destination. The town is built on a hilltop and once boasted 70 towers—symbols of the wealth of the families who once lived there. Most of the towers have fallen, but several remain, along with the tall wall that surrounds the town.

San Gimignano, Italy

We rented the farmhouse for 2 1/2 weeks, which was probably about the best idea I had all year. It was so nice to be be able to see so much of Tuscany on day trips without feeling like the typical American tourist who tries to see 47 cities and 16 countries in 11 days. We had a chance to slow down, to cook, to try all the pastries, to make our nightly pilgrimage to our favorite gelateria, and ride bikes. My mother and her husband joined us for a few days. Irene and her husband, Sven, joined us for a week, my childhood friend, Jonas Anderson, and his his wife, Rachel, stayed with us for a few days also. The days were enchanting and relaxing. I wrote poetry and worked on a few books. We had use of a pool. We taught Isaac how to play pingpong. We explored churches, museums, galleries, and graveyards. And we were fascinated by the nightly show that the fireflies put on for our benefit.

Niki De St Phalle's House

Inside Niki's house

We also visited the former home of Niki De St Phalle, the French mixed media artist whose work is found throughout the world. Her home makes my colorful home look boring. Her home itself is shaped like a woman, the inside walls and ceiling covered with mirror. She passed away in 2002, but the buildings  and incredible sculpture the cover her estate have been turned into a museum. I took nearly 500 pictures while we were there and still did not capture this incredible place. 

Photography played a big role in our day to day activities. All together, we took seven cameras (including our phones) and took over 6500 pictures. Some of the photos are featured in my newest book, The Lost Art of Wooing Rabbits and Other Wild Hares.

After a glorious time in Italy, we made our way north to Switzerland. There is something magical about Switzerland, the way people care for the land and the natural beauty of this incredible country. It makes every other country in Europe look like a third world ghetto. We crossed into Switzerland over the San Bernadino Pass, a rugged mountain highway marked by glaciers and indescribable beauty that I am still dreaming about.

The kids and I built a huge rock tower at one stop before continuing on. 

Lynnette’s brother and his wife live just outside of Bern and we stayed with them for a week, spending as much time as the Swiss weather would allow us in the Berner Oberland, the Alps above Bern. As it so often does in Switzerland, we got our share of rain, but we spent one magnificent day in Lauterbruennen, the valley of 75 waterfalls. I challenge anyone to show me a more beautiful place in the world!

Searching for Balance

While I would highly recommend a six week family tour of Europe to anyone, I would not recommend coming home. After spending ten years planning and anticipating this trip, the let down of the return was truly shocking. I came home to  mostly empty shelves in the studio after the Mother’s Day show and 6 weeks of shoulder recovery. I dove back in, building up my stock, but felt less than motivated, experiencing the pangs of wanderlust as never before. I knew I needed to do something different and struggled to find balance in my life, fearing I might have started a mid-crisis, which I’ve heard is quite common with those who are about my age. 

And so from this, a new hobby was born. I have become a stacker of rocks. I know, I know, I hear you saying, “Why couldn’t you do something normal for a change?”

I don’t know the answer to that question, but it has been amazing to me how many other answers have come as I have just slowed down long enough to think. At one point early on in this whole mid-life crisis, I wondered if I might need some medication to help me think straight, but after spending a few hours in the wilderness, stacking rocks, I always feel better. I have been taking a lot of notes about balance and my musings in nature. These musings may find their way into a book about balance at some future time, but for the time being, I am really enjoying the therapy a few rocks can offer me. Some of these stacks are over eight feet tall. Others are only a dozen inches, but each of them has given me a chance to slow down and look at the world around me in a different way. I post these to my Facebook page if any of you would like to see more of them. 

In the past three months since we returned, I have seen more sunsets and sunrises than I have in the rest of my life combined—due in large part to this new hobby. It has been fun hearing from people, wondering what I am up to, wondering if I am totally off my rocker, wondering why I would spend my time doing something that is potentially so temporary. As I have thought about it, I suppose it makes as least as much sense as most everything else I do in my life. It’s all temporary! But finding ways to discover beauty in simple things and leave them for the wind to blow down, or for kids to topple over, or for others to be inspired if only for a fleeting moment—I don’t know why, but it feels right, and so I plan to keep doing it as often as I can. I have begun gathering rocks here and there and bringing them home so on the days I can’t run to the hills, I can still build stacks in my own yard. I suppose we all need a hobby, and as far as hobbies go, I can’t think of a cheaper one. And the therapy can’t be beat. I have built most of my stacks so far on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail, from Mt. Olympus to City Creek Canyon. It has given me a new appreciation for the beautiful valley we live in. I am sad to know that most of the rocks will soon be buried under a layer of snow, but I am already looking forward to next spring, and hope to get to some warmer, rocky places this winter.

        
Searching for balance has also led me in another direction this year—poetry! 

For the majority of my life, poetry has been an enigmatic art form that I stumbled upon from time to time, but never could sink my teeth into. But early last fall, I heard a radio interview with two-time poet laureate, Billy Collins. Billy read several poems from his new anthology and I fell in love with his style, his words, his ideas and playful way of threading words together to tell a story. I never considered that poetry could be like that, having only seen the poetry that strains to rhyme or is so abstract that I fell into a coma trying to follow along and understand. 

But Billy is different, and that interview inspired me to start writing my own poems. I found quickly that writing poetry put me in a physical and spiritual place to stop, slow down, and listen to the rhythms of the world all around me—rhythms that I have been neglecting most of my life in my haste to get things done. 

Novel writing continues to occupy much of my free time and I have worked extensively on three different novels this year, but poetry has offered me a chance to write in a different way—usually with a pen and paper—slowly, deliberately, taking it all in. Where it often takes me several days to write one chapter of a novel, I have found that I can jot down the meat of decent poem in less than fifteen minutes. It has become a meditation for me—a rather productive, edifying meditation. 

Many of you know that I try to produce at least one book each year. With my next three novels still in the works, I was worried that I might not have a book this year. But while in Italy this summer, I began considering doing a book of my poems. Looking through my notebooks, I quickly noticed that I had far more poems than could reasonably be fit into one book. I started editing, playing around with the ideas of creating a book that incorporates both my new love of poetry and my long-term love of photography. 

With this in mind, my photography took on new meaning. I took over 6500 pictures while in Europe. While Lynnette and the kids were sleeping in, I got up to photograph the sunrise, or the quiet, abandoned streets of medieval towns before the tourists arrived. Both the poetry and the photography have renewed my appreciation for silence and stillness. 

My book will be out on December 1. I have titled it, The Lost Art of Wooing Rabbits and Other Wild Hares. 

 
Yeah, I know, crazy title, right? But if you’ve liked my writing so far, I think you’ll like this one. Rabbits, by the way, are a metaphor for the important things in life that get chased away by the louder, but often much less significant distractions. There are poems about family, love, time, and balance, just to name a few, and some really fun photography too. The book will retail for $14.95, but with the Christmas Open House discount, the book will be only $10.00. 

I have heard from many readers in the last year about the difficulty in finding my other books. Amazon continues to sell all of my books, but they are less expensive from me than from anywhere else. I keep a stock of my books here at the studio at all times. Most of these books, I sell for 40% off the suggested retail price.

     
This year has been fun with my last book, Put a Cherry on Top. I have received pictures from readers all over the world, showing off my book. Shortly after its release, I noticed that the book also makes a great mask...   

These are a few of my favorites. Send me yours if you would like to benbehunin@comcast.net. I will try to post more of them here too.

I put together a powerpoint presentation for this book about making everything that we do in life into art. I have presented this at all sorts of events over the last year, from quilting retreats to library events. If you’re interested in me speaking to your group, give me a call. 801-883-0146. 

On another note, I continue to speak to book groups regularly. Since the first book came out five years ago, I have spoken to over 220 book clubs, some of them twice. I have also hosted many book clubs here at my house and studio. Book Club visits are still free if I can bring my books and pots with me and make them available for purchase. Or, if you want to schedule your book club to come here, just let me know—no charge for that either! 

Looking Forward

As I mentioned before, I am currently somewhere in the middle of three different novels, but have several more outlined, waiting for time to open up. I am constantly frustrated that I have to sleep at least five hours a night. It seems like such a waste. I have cut way back on my pottery over the years to make time for the writing, but I still make my living primarily with my pottery. To date, we have sold over 37,000 books, mostly out of my studio. The commercial book business is a strange one, and unfortunately is controlled by a small handful of people. I don’t understand many of their decisions, but those decisions determine what gets printed and distributed, what gets talked about on TV and radio, what gets made into movies, etc, etc. I don’t get it, and I am tired of second guessing myself when I would rather be writing. So, for the time being, I am planning on continuing to self- publish my books, distributing them by whatever means open up, and plowing on with my dreams. I hope that I will eventually get picked up by a major publisher who can help with the marketing, but I decided five years ago that I didn’t want to wait for that to happen, and I still don’t. Life is simply too short.

So, next year, I am hoping to finish at least one of those three novels I am currently working on. One of them will take us back to Niederbipp with a parallel story of the Matchmaker of Niederbipp who runs a farm on the outskirts of town and in order to receive of her services, applicant must commit to a summer worth of work on the farm.  

Another is one I have been working on for nearly eight years, set in Watts, California, about a young man who has the unusual gift of being able to understand the voice of the wind...the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               gentle voices we all should be listening too, but instead ignore or neglect in our daily pressures and busy lives. 

So, if any of you are wondering what to get me for Christmas, I would love a year’s worth of time to write my heart out. I have no doubt that one year will be woefully inadequate, but it would be a  good start. We will see what the coming year will bring and I will try to keep smiling, knowing that life is far too short, and that there ain’t nothin’ I can do about it. 

On October 11th, Lynnette’s Mom, Kaye Webb Scott passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. She was only 74 years old. For the past twenty years, we have watched her sad, slow mental decline as her dementia progressed. For the past two years, she has been bedridden, cared for in her home by my father-in-law, Rex Scott, and regular visits from hospice nurses. It has been tragic to watch  the decline of this kind, gentle woman, and so the end was a merciful release. She passed away surrounded by all ten of her children, in-laws, outlaws, and grandchildren. We are grateful for her life, and comforted by the mercy and grace of her passing. We have had more than two years to grieve her passing, but still the ending seems so definite and abrupt. Lynnette is doing well and we all look forward to one day being reunited with Grandma Kaye.

Grandma Kaye, Mother's Day 2014

A new clock that seems more meaningful this year than it ever has before.

This has been a big year for our kids, Isaac and Eve. Isaac is 13, and hit a major growth spurt this year, passing his mother sometime in February and continuing on like a weed on steroids. We have struggled to keep him clothed, shoed and fed. Today, he is 5’9”. I keep telling him he’s probably done in a lame attempt to keep him humble, but we both know I’m probably wrong. Against our better judgement, we allowed him to play football for the first time this year for a feeder team for East High. They went undefeated in the regular season play, and took third at a tournament last weekend in Mesquite, Nevada. He is a good kid, is making good friends and we’re proud of him. He just found out he got one of the lead roles in the school musical, Oklahoma, which will play sometime in March. 

 
Eve will turn 11 two days before Christmas. She is also doing well in school and has been learning to play the piano, as well as rekindling an interest in dance after a hiatus. She is beautiful, fun and creative. Eve has been my companion on several hiking and fly fishing excursions this summer and I am so grateful for her friendship. She has her mother’s beauty and my goofiness, which we hope will continue to blossom into at least a mildly intimidating aura as she gets older. She’s a girl who knows who she is and is really comfortable in her own skin, not getting caught up in the petty things so many girls her age fall into—something that gives her parents much reason to be happy. She has a great talent with color and I have been teaching her the basics of watercolor painting. I hope that someday soon I will be able to sell some of her paintings along side my pottery in the studio. The kids have been busy this season, making ornaments and other items for sell at the open house. Come and see!

 
With Lynnette’s mom’s passing, Lynnette has more time to quilt and do needlework. She is a voracious reader and is a fabulous mom. In September we celebrated 17 years of marriage. I feel lucky everyday that I found a wife like her who encourages me and still thinks I’m funny. Not everyone could be married to an artist, and I am forever grateful for her support

By popular demand, Lynnette is busy this time of year making her famous toffee and caramels for purchase at the open house. Half pound boxes of chocolate will be available for $10, Cinnamon, Licorice and Regular Caramels are  $9.00. They come wrapped for gifting, or for hoarding. They also make wonderful gifts for corporate clients, friends or neighbors. She tries to keep these in stock, but if you would like larger quantities, please give us a call. 801-883-0146.

Some of my latest creations!

It’s hard to believe that it’s been eighteen years since I decided to become a full-time potter. That decision has allowed me to interface with you, making pottery and books that adorn your homes. It’s never been easy, but looking back, I feel blessed to have been able to follow my bliss and somehow have been able to continue to make a life out of it. I thank you for reading my books and buying my pots. When I first started making pottery, I wanted to make pots with soul, pots that make people smile, pots that people want to hang onto and allow them to become part of their lives. Twenty-six years later, my desires remain much the same. I love making people smile and I hope to continue to do that for the rest of  my life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your village potter and encouraging me in innumerable ways. I could not do what I do without your support and friendship. 

I hope our paths will cross again in the coming months. Happy Holidays!

Cheers, Ben

www.potterboy.com

PS, If you would like a printable copy of this newsletter, please email me, benbehunin@comcast.net