The bonsai society lost a good friend and member last month.  Don Gould was killed in a car accident on the Parkway on March 15, 2006.  Typically, he had gotten out of his car to help another motorist when another vehicle slid into him on the icy road.  As most of us know, Don was a premier potter of bonsai pots, but his eye for the oriental aesthetic went much further.  He was a student of the folk art of many world cultures, and he incorporated patterns for East and West into his work.  One day he would make a reproduction Chinese bronze in clay, and the next incorporate African and Celtic patterns into his glasswork.  Don appreciated and taught us the value of shibui – the subtle beauty of everyday objects, the inexpressible impact of a texture or glaze of a pot, the anonymous casualness of an antique Chinese, Japanese or Korean utensil.  He understood that true art, or perhaps Zen art, was not contrived or created.  So he handed out T-shirts that said, “Shibui Happens.” 

Don was the kind of person that you were always happy to see.  He was always pleasant and ready to lend a helping hand.  Many times he would call just to see if there was something he could do to help, whether it was to dig or work on trees, help design a garden or just to joke around and lift your spirits.  He could converse about anything from clay to Chaos Theory.  I will miss that the most.  Many of us will stop and catch ourselves thinking, “I wonder what Don will have to say about that?”, or, “I wonder if Don’s home, I have some questions for him.”  I know I will continue to consult him by using his bonsai pots and remembering the lessons he imparted and the example he lead. 

 Don most recently spearheaded the “Pure Water For All” initiative to design and distribute simple clay water filters wherever water purity was a problem in the world.  With the help of Rotary International this project promises to save many lives and prevent many water borne diseases in underdeveloped areas.  He believed that clay may have been the substrate wherein life started on this planet.  He continued to explore its properties not only for art, but also for the betterment of mankind.

 Don is survived by his wife Sally, son Ian and daughter Abby who remain friends of the Bonsai Society.  If you would like to learn more about or contribute to the Pure Water For All project, visit  http://www.purewaterforall.org/     To hear an interview of Don about this project, go to http://www.itconversations.com/shows/detail829.html

Bob Grealish