Books by Doug Stowe

"A guide to living fully and humanely by learning the wisdom of authentic manual work. Many of us live in a world of constant abstraction, immersed in our heads and our screens. But there is a deeper wisdom to be found in working with our hands in the real world. In The Wisdom of Our Hands, craftsman and educator Doug Stowe shows how working with our hands, either professionally or as a hobby, is essential for a full education and a full life. Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 25 years as a teacher of handcrafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to express themselves creatively through tangible work. The use of one's hands and whole body to make physical things and reshape our surroundings promotes both physical and mental health and fosters a sense of mastery in both young and adult students. A life of craftsmanship offers the opportunity and obligation to define one's own values. Drawing on his experiences living and working in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town dedicated to handcrafts and arts, Stowe demonstrates how craft work can create community, forge deeper social bounds, and foster a saner attitude about the value of human labor and material goods. Written for everyone who wants to reconnect with the deep experience of the human body at work, The Wisdom of Our Hands is a quietly radical call to spiritual (and physical) action"--

Introduce children to the craft of woodworking and watch their executive function skills thrive.The Guide to Woodworking with Kids is a culmination of craftsman Doug Stowe¿s four-decade career in woodworking and nearly twenty years of working with students K-12 in his Wisdom of the Hands woodworking class at the Clear Spring School in his hometown of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. This comprehensive guide offers step by step instruction for teachers, parents and grandparents to offer safe woodworking opportunities to their students and kiddos as a way of developing a wide range of valuable life-skills. Based in part on the philosophies of Froebel¿s Kindergarten and Educational Sloyd, this book illustrates the importance of doing real, hands-on activities in school and at home that enable students to:Think things through for themselvesDevelop skill, originality and inventivenessExplore their own self-interestsPlan, organize and execute meaningful workPrepare to profitably employ leisure timeBe handy and resourcefulDevelop both character and intellectCreate useful beauty to benefit family, community and selfThe Guide to Woodworking with Kids is more than a woodworking book, it¿s gives parents, grandparents and teachers the confidence, encouragement, and the insight needed to safely engage children in life-enhancing creative arts.