Lauren Wilcox at work

In our third issue of MerriMail, we featured Lauren Wilcox‘s exquisite example of a beehive. There were two beehives, actually – one represented the object and the second, a diagram of the idea.

Lauren has been obsessed with metal ever since I met her in 1998 and she told me that her favorite color was primer gray. I grew up loving the color gray, because that was my middle name and my daddy had gray hair. But until I met Lauren, I never really considered the beauty of the flat dull color on a banged up car. But before Lauren, I never considered picking up scraps of metal off of the ground and mailing them to someone either. When I told this detail to Chris, he was thrilled to know that he could add that to his obsessive recycling tendencies while scouring Chicago streets.

Lauren finely crafts words about interesting objects and ideas, as well. I have saved a collection of her pieces in my magazine bins, like a surrogate proud parent. I guess I can only say that because, while working in DC, she usually comes home from her research. I can see the birth of her ideas on the pages of her little fat notebooks, with the covers labeled by the topic of her various story. Henry and I read the Santa Claus School cover story to one another on our drive to North Carolina from DC on Christmas Eve. I still have her Mormon story in my bin. I may give up on my to-do list and read it right now. I am not sure why I am so behind on reading it. Especially since I was also an honorary guest at the Gladys Knight concert last year.

Following is a list of some of Lauren’s writings for the Washington Post Magazine. Enjoy!

• The Saints Go Marching In – With a history steeped in racism, the Mormon church is now targeting the African American community for new members. Will it take a miracle?
• Big Time in Tune Town – In Branson, Mo., the stars of yesterday have found an unlikely encore — and created a phenomenon that keeps the faithful coming back in droves…
• Every Dog Has His Sleigh – Travelers wanting the full experience of Minnesota’s North Country can try one of the oldest — and coldest — means of travel: dog sledding…
• The School of Yule – Forget the North Pole. Every fall in Midland, Mich., the Santa Clauses come to town.
• Return of the Cowgirl – Driving cattle. Riding the trails. Wearing a stampede cord. At the Double E Ranch in New Mexico, work and play get roped into one…
• Strip Search – She went looking for her grandparents’ Las Vegas, but in a city that constantly reinvents itself she was taking a gamble…