Fall 2013 Recommended Reading List

The Friends of Smyrna Library recommend the following books for the fall reading season. This season’s featured book is Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult.

American Gun by Chris Kyle
Anil's Ghost by Michael Ondaatje
Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
Bones Of The Lost by Kathy Reichs
Calculated In Death by J. D. Robb
Death Angel by Linda Fairstein 
Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
Deadlock by Iris Johansen
Deadly Heat by Richard Castle
Empire and Honor by W.E.B. Griffin
Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson
First Sight by Danielle Steel 
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Hotshot by Julie Garwood 
Inferno by Dan Brown
Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood
Never Go Back by Lee Child
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Purple Cane Road by James Lee Burke
Reign Of Error by Diane Ravitch
Rose Harbor In Bloom by Debbie Macomber
Second Honeymoon by James Patterson
Silent Mercy by Linda Fairstein
Songs Of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
Stolen Prey by John Sandford
Summer on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
The Boys In The Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Companions by R.A. Salvatore
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith
The Guns At Last Light by Rick Atkinson
The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
The Panther by Nelson DeMille
The Signature Of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert 
W Is For Wasted by Sue Grafton
Zero Hour by Clive Cussler

Compiled by FOSL Volunteer

Talk Like a Pirate Day at Smyrna Public Library - Arrrrr!

 

Visit from Luna the Tooth Fairy

Luna the Tooth Fairy brought her magic to the Smyrna Public Library today! 

A Conversation with Mountain Women

Ann Hite, author of The Storycatcher, and Karen Spears Zacharias, author of Mother of Rain, appeared at the Smyrna Public Library today. 

They drew on the wit and wisdom of characters they have created and presented "A Conversation with Mountain Women".

It was an engaging, and not at all serious, discussion of fun things and more such as... If Mee-Maw was the one you loved nearly better than Jesus, if you are familiar with Black Mountain or Sapelo Island, if you’ve ever been pearling on the river, or stood under the shower of a waterfall in the Smokies, or if you’ve ever had an encounter with a ghost or a Melungeon. 

Today's discussion was an amazing opportunity for swapping stories infused with mountain lore.

Refreshments were served, and books were available for sale, courtesy of Book Exchange, Marietta.

First Sunday Lecture Series: The Dispossession of the Cherokee, 1829 to 1838

Smyrna Resident Andrea Searles gave a profusely illustrated slide/talk on the topic, "The Dispossession of the Cherokee, 1829 to 1838."  

Her informative talk focused upon the factors that led to large-scale white penetration of North Georgia following the discovery of gold there in 1828, and the forces, political, economic, and social, that culminated in the forced removal of an estimated 15,000 Cherokee to the Trans-Mississippi west in 1838, in an incident known to history as "The Trail of Tears."

Watercolors Exhibit by Betty Derrick Opens in Art Gallery

Artist Statement

Drawing and painting have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in Greenville SC but moved to Governor's Island at the tip of Manhattan when I was in third grade. To pass the drab winter months so foreign to a Southern child living temporarily in New York, my mother enrolled me in an art class taught by a Pratt Institute graduate student. I still have a picture I painted in the class--a portrait of a bruised and battered prizefighter. I continue to wonder where I (an eight-year old) found my subject and what attracted me. It is the constant wonder of creativity that has kept me painting off and on all these years.

I paint in watercolor. I love the light, the transparency and the serendipities which spring from knowing how to manage the paint and control the brush. Many artists hate the unforgiving nature of watercolor (mistakes cannot be painted over) while I love the risk and adventure. This is a contrast to my normal personality and perhaps that is the appeal. I try to find abstract forms across objects and movement in still life. I paint a variety of subjects from whimsical to traditional.

I graduated from Agnes Scott College where I studied with Ferdinand Warren (AWS). I have also studied with Charles Reid and Atlantans Dolores Kennedy and Ben Smith. My work has been accepted into many juried shows and is held in private and corporate collections.

Pottery Exhibit by Ann Wallin Opens in Display Gallery

Artist Statement

My first experience with clay occurred while attending Radford University in Radford, Virginia from 1960 to 1962. During a class in sculpture, I found that I really enjoyed working with my hands to form the class project -- a bust. Twenty years passed during which I was a wife, mother, homemaker, secretary, bookkeeper and real estate agent. I was living in Charleston, South Carolina, when memories of that long-ago experience prompted me to take a pottery class at the Gibbs School of Art. Once again, I found a real joy in working with clay -- this time on the potters’ wheel. 

Shortly afterward, a career change for my husband brought the family to Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta. I knew even before leaving South Carolina that I wanted to pursue a career in pottery. I continued taking lessons in the Marietta area. I also worked as a pottery studio assistant and that experience gave me valuable insights into the requirements for setting up my own studio.

In 1986, I entered the market as a functional potter, working in high-fired stoneware. A short while later, I was offered the opportunity to teach at a newly established art center, sponsored by Cobb County, called “The Steeple House.” I began my educational career by teaching creative clay projects to kids, ages 6 through 12. I also taught wheel and hand building techniques to teens and adults. In 1990, Cobb County recognized the need for a larger art center and opened “The Art Place,” where I continued to teach. At the same time, I also taught similar classes at the Marietta – Cobb Museum of Art. Throughout this period, I marketed my personal work through galleries and art festivals. Recently, I have reduced my teaching activity to concentrate on workshops. I have also recently focused my production activity to concentrate on art festivals. 

Early, the products and techniques of the Japanese Raku firing process fascinated me. I took a three-week course with Rick Berman at the Penland School of Arts and Crafts in 1987. By 1990-91, I was confident of my ability with the new process. I used this confidence to shift the central emphasis of my work to the visual and decorative items that result from the Raku process. 

One of the highlights of my career occurred in 1998 when the crew of the “Lynette Jennings Design” television shows visited my studio to film my Raku creation process. This series of television shows showcased artists and craftsmen from around the country and was broadcast nationwide on the Discovery Channel. The show segment that featured my work has been rerun repeatedly after its initial presentation.

I have won many awards, I have participated in juried exhibits, and I have been accepted in major regional and national shows. I always have enjoyed contact with the public and I enjoy the comments that are prompted by my work. I especially like the idea that strangers may enjoy my art enough to decorate their homes or to present my pieces as gifts. I look forward to many more years of forming shapeless lumps of clay into fresh expressions of my imagination.