Clyde Gobble was featured in a January 31 article in the Lexington Dispatch. Clyde, along with 17 other NC potters, posed for the "Dirty Ol' Men" calendar, created to raise money for the Ashley Albright Memorial Pottery Scholarship Foundation. To read the full article please go to http://www.the-dispatch.com/. For more information on the Ashley Albright Memorial Pottery Scholarship Foundation visit http://www.ashleyalbright.com/. Piedmont Craftsmen potter David Fernandez is also featured in the calendar.

Billy Ruth Sudduth is among the North Carolina Living Treasures being celebrated at an exhibition at the University of NC at Wilmington now through March 15.

500 Plates, Platters and Chargers, a future publication of Lark Books has accepted an image of Cat Jarosz's work.

Members Akira and Larry Blount, Amy Goldstein-Rice and Lesley Keeble will have images in Lark's 500 Handmade Dolls.

David Finck has been one busy woodworker. Look for a feature article in the January/February issue of Fine Woodworking Magazine and a feature in American Style. He's also been lured by the movies; training Diane Lane for a role in a Richard Gere movie and having two boxes featured in Nights in Rodanthe, out in June.

Please keep member Peter Rose and his wife, Judy in your thoughts. They have been working with artisans in Kenya where they were able to develope a micro-craft enterprise. They are unable to return to that country, currently torn by civil strife. The Rose's have received word that the "ladies" have remained strong and united, and that the workshop and medical programs are intact and operating. Peter and Judy will return to Kenya as soon as they are allowed to travel. Visit www.iukenya.org for more information.

Piedmont Craftsmen's Annual Meeting was held on Sunday, November 18th. Board Members elected to a two year term are Steven W. Dunn, Kate Groff and Carloyn Peddycord.

Members elected to a three year term are Gregory W. Bradsher, Wendy Brenner, B J Buckland, Ken Glazener, Julia Hightower, Marlon Hubbard, Diane Leshin, William M. Marion, Annie Van Every.

The following officers were elected for a one year term: B J Buckland, Chair; Ken Glazener, 1st Vice Chair; Lin Barnhardt, 2nd Vice Chair; Gregory W. Bradsher, Treasurer; JoAnne Vernon, Secretary; William M. Marion, Immediate Past Chair.

Phil Chapman, 55, of Fredericksburg, and formerly of Winston-Salem, N.C., died at his home on Friday, Jan. 25, 2008, after a 2 1/2-year battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig' s disease. A native of Winston Salem, Chapman was a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University and Fredericksburg' s first full-time potter. Chapman is survived by his wife, Trista; his mother, Margaret Chapman of Winston-Salem; his brother and sister-in-law, Hunt and Betsy Chapman of Arlington, Va., and their sons, Jonathan and Brian Chapman; and numerous cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and friends in the arts community. He was preceded in death by his father, Phillip Chapman. Arrangements are incomplete at Covenant Funeral Services, Fredericksburg. A celebration of Chapman' s life will be held at Sophia Street Studios in Fredericksburg at a later date. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the ALS Association, Development Department, 27001 Agoura Road, Suite 150, Calabasas Hills, CA 91301, or to the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), P.O. Box 838, Montpelier, VT 05601-0838.

If you live in Kannapolis or Concord, you must visit the Arts Council Galleries at the Historic Cabarrus Courthouse in Concord this month.
Phil Moody's "Textile Towns," along with exhibitions by the Piedmont Craftsmen and Kannapolis photographer Chad Mitchell, is a required event for all of us.
When you go, remember you can also buy! I forgot my checkbook, but that only means I get the privilege of returning.
Lin Barnhardt, visual arts director for the sponsoring Cabarrus Arts Council, is an artist in his own right; his work is even included in the White House collection. But he has created another work of art on Union Street: "Textile Towns" is a fascinating, thematic show about our region's relationship with textiles.
Moody's photos provide an overview of historic images. Mitchell adds our local vignettes, and the Piedmont Craftsmen present the future of textiles with vibrant fiber arts.
As docent Sandra Biggerstaff led me through the exhibit, I learned that Moody's works are riveting documentaries of the industry that evolved into histories of working people.
His photographs are evocative, redolent with the working-class past. Moody mixes images with words to deliver stark visuals that resonate with our own experiences.
Mitchell offers a rhythmic presentation of a mill town in decline and destruction, a sequence of reality and art that is eloquent and solemn. His image "Grow and Blossom" juxtaposes an old Southern magnolia with the emerging biotech campus in downtown Kannapolis.
Fourteen pictures in the gallery are framed with the maple wood flooring from Mill No. 7 of Plant 1, which Mitchell and his father reclaimed.
I was completely enchanted by the tapestries, scarves, jackets, bags and other fiber works displayed in the "Fiber Group Invitational." Jane Doub offers a "shaggy scarf" for $75 that will impact my entire spring wardrobe. All of her heirloom-quality items are vivid, saturated with color and shimmering with light.
John Gunther weaves his intricate tapestries on a large floor loom and applies color by hand with sponges that push the dye into the wool. His landscapes stretch our perception of stilled motion.
Alice Schlein takes original digital photographs and weaves the image on a jacquard handloom. Her pointillist presentations are vibrant and distinctive.
I cannot wait to visit the gallery again. There is so much to do in downtown Concord these days. I will buy Doub's "shaggy scarf," shop for antiques, make a health food stop at the market, then eat at the Union Street Bistro. They have excellent servers and a great atmosphere.
Three free gallery talks will be presented with the exhibits: Moody will speak at 7 p.m. next Thursday; Doub at 10 a.m. Jan 29; and Mitchell at 7 p.m. Feb. 21.
Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call 704-920-2787 (704-920-ARTS) or visit www.cabarrusartscouncil.org.

Congratulations to Roxane Lessa who has been awarded a United Arts Wake County Regional Artist Project Grant. She will be attending a week of classes at the Quilt Surface Design Symposium in Columbus, Ohio this summer. Roxane will get to meet like-minded teachers and students from around the world.

Artwork of Janet Harriman has been accepted for inclusion in the PMC Guilds first annual book. She will be demonstrating at the national PMC conference at Purdue University in July 2008. Her demo will include a college process with enamel on PMC. Janet's artwork will be show in the national exhibition at Purdue University in conjunction with the conference.

Lambeth Marshall is the featured clay artist for January and February at the Cabarrus County Arts Council Gallery in Concord, NC. She will be showing 30 pieces of her work.

Also at the Cabarrus County Arts Council Gallery is an exhibition of Piedmont Craftsmen Fiber Artists Invitational. PCI members who are included in this exhibit include: Philis Alvic, Janet Bealer, Jane Doub, Judi Gaston, Carolyn Glazener, John Gunter, Neal Howard, Karen Poetzinger, Alice Schlein, Liz Spear, Jen Swearington, and Janet Taylor

Mixed media artist, Martina Moore has been very busy since the fall. She visited 15 classes in 8 schools from October to January. Look for her work at the TAG workshop with an opening January 26th from 5 to 7 PM. Plus Martina has work at the High Point Theatre Gallery (Kaleidoscope and Main galleries) in High Point, NC.

The Gallery in the Scott Center at Carroll Community College in Westminister, MD will feature works by Cynthia Aldrich, February 17 through April 4. Bearing Witness explores prehistoric and contemporary goddess forms from all cultures.

Debra Fritts and Ken Sedberry will participate in the Cabin Fever Reliever VIII at the Pocosin Arts Folk School in Columbia, NC February 7-10. For details please call 252-796-2787 or visit http://www.pocosinarts.org/.