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New Ulm Public Library’s summer reading program, “Color Our World” begins on Monday, June 9 and goes through August 3. The summer reading program is open to ages from birth to those entering their high school senior year. This year’s reading logs will be available for pick up in the library starting Friday, June 6. Children up to the age of eleven can pick up a reading log in the children’s room. Read at least 20 minutes a day for six days of the week to fulfill the reading goal. Each week they can stop by the children’s desk to check in with their logs and get a stamp and ...

Contemporary man-in-the moon jug appeals to buyers

Sometimes, contemporary artists break with traditions, and sometimes they follow them. But some of the most interesting works of art come about when they put their own spin on well-established forms and techniques. The man-in-the-moon jug pictured here is the work of contemporary South Carolina potter Michel Bayne. It fits in with the longstanding Southern tradition of face vessels. While artists around the world have decorated jugs, vases and other ceramic containers with human, animal or mythological faces since prehistory, the face vessels made in the southern United States, ...

June and July Book Clubs

A few months ago, I shared some recent book club picks. As you gear up for your summer activities, why not try something new or enjoy a book in a new way? Check out one of our book clubs to just listen, socialize, or share your thoughts about a book. The library tries to make multiple copies available for check out, so you don’t have to try to purchase or find your own copy. Here are our upcoming selections for June and July for our three book clubs sponsored by the library. Our Lit Wits Book Club usually meets on the first Monday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Their June selection, ...

Weller Pottery features international flair

Weller Pottery, operating in Zanesville, Ohio, from 1872 to 1948, was, at one point, the world’s largest pottery. Some of its most famous artists came from around the world. French designer Jacques Sicard created the iridescent glazed Sicardo line, which even today includes some of Weller’s most desirable pieces. Frederick Hurten Rhead, born to a family of ceramicists in England, worked for Weller and several other American art potteries before designing Fiesta dinnerware for the Homer Laughlin China Co. John Lessell, who was from the pottery-making city of Mettlach, Germany, served ...

New Literary Fiction

The difference between literary fiction and genre fiction can be highly debatable. For my purposes here–sharing great new books–I’ll offer loose definitions. Literary fiction is character-driven and tells a story using complex characters and themes. Genre fiction is plot-driven and tells the story using tropes, plot structures and genre conventions. Literary fiction is about why and how things happen while genre fiction focuses on what happens. After reading a literary fiction story, readers are often left with more questions than answers. After reading genre fiction, readers have ...

Graphoscope is art, science, and entertainment

English inventor Charles John Roswell patented the first graphoscope in 1864. The graphoscope, a device to enhance viewings of photographs and other still images, consists of a round magnifying glass attached to an adjustable stand. Later models, like the one pictured here, included a stereoscope to view stereocards that create a 3-D illusion. Collectors call these models stereo-graphoscopes. This one, which sold for $366 at Austin Auction Gallery, was made by the London firm Negretti and Zambra. Established in 1850, the company started as a partnership between Joseph Zambra, a ...