Clinton Township Newsletter

6 j a n u a r y 2 0 2 6 W W W . C L I N T O N T W P N E W S L E T T E R . C O M J u l i e , J u s t g i v i n g t h e C l i n t o n N e w s l e t t e r a s h o u t o u t f o r a l w a y s showcasing great art on the Newsletter's covers! Thank you ~Bette Ann Sinclair, PCIL Hi Bette, Thank you SO much for your kind words — it means a lot! Keep reading us! I hope you have a wonderful holiday season! Thanks, Julie Hi Julie, So I'm walking out of Jimmy's Coffee House downtown and right in front of me on a magazine rack I spot a picture of December fantasy. Drawn in immediately, I was thrilled to find that it was the cover of your CTNL!! There is something so fundamental about the image of the little house in the snow on a starry night. Brings me and I would venture, many of us, right back to childhood and all the fervor of home and hearth. Let me see if I get some of your symbolisms...The Christmas trees with the Stars lighting the way and the Menorah and Star of David are a given. Are the Tim Burton-esque trees symbolizing the scary world we live in? Is the path to the little house the path to unity/gratitude/ the true spirit of the season? Is the RED house waiting to enfold us all as a beating heart? And... the bridge, now that's a powerful one that can symbolize so many things for so many of us. Why is the water purple? Is it because red and blue make purple - and we all know what those colors stand for? Am I making you crazy with this? I absolutely love it. I will try to send you a picture I painted a hundred years ago. As you'll see I am no fine artist, but inspired by one of my favorite artists, Grandma Moses, I took a class and painted the picture. My dear husband loves it, and so I got it framed and now it is an important part of our Christmas decor (best seen atop a tall cabinet - the distance helps). Julie I wish you and your loved ones a peaceful, joyful and blessed Christmas. Thank you for all you do for Women's Forum and especially for our little lovely town of Clinton. You produce a beautiful magazine. Everyone who sees it at our home asks if they can have a copy. I have included January. Can't believe it's almost here... Big hug, Evelyn Good morning Evelyn, "There is something so fundamental about the image of the little house in the snow on a starry night." — absolutely! I was inspired by covers of various home design magazines (in the business we call them "shelter" magazines) and that theme kept coming up. It's so comforting, even for those of us who, like myself, never had that growing up, having been raised in the warm south. You're correct about the Christmas trees and the Menorah and Star of David. I always try to include them on my December covers. Your analysis of the colors and shapes of the path, cabin and stream are really interesting — I wasn't attributing that much to them, but I always think it's fascinating when other people spot things in art and design that we didn't plan. That always happened during our daily critiques in both design school, and later on working in the design field. One important detail that I think you might've missed on that December cover is called the "Fruits of The Spirit", which I've tucked into various places on those Christmas trees, which include: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and gentleness – things we could all use this these days, right? Thank you for your kind words, and please let your friends know that there are several places they can pick up their own copy of CTNL. Also, I love the photo of the cabin in the snow painting that you sent — makes me want to get out my paints! In the meantime, I hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Take care, Julie letters to the editor

• Cover