A University of Oregon design expert says if your home holiday preparations seem too commercial, then you should listen to Martha. That’s Martha Stewart, America’s often-ridiculed guru of stylish living. Mary Anne Beecher, an assistant professor of interior architecture, sees Stewart’s sense of style and her homemade, home-grown approach to homemaking as a welcome antidote to the consumer-driven artifacts that dominate today’s holiday celebrations. "Granted, there is a lot of commercialization associated with Martha Stewart, but she emphasizes the power found in hand-making and home-growing, too. Martha lends significance to rituals by promoting craft and paying attention to the details," Beecher says. As for Stewart’s critics, Beecher says people need to remind themselves that she is an entrepreneur who clearly employs an army of helpers to achieve the "simple elegance" that is her hallmark. "It would be foolish to think that her fans emulate all of her ideas, but her suggestions for personalizing our rituals and celebrations can add a human dimension that may be left out of store-bought traditions," she concludes. Beecher first became interested in Stewart in 1996. Since then, she has presented several papers on the Martha Stewart phenomenon, most recently at the American Studies Association’s October meeting in Montreal, Canada. SOURCE: Mary Anne Beecher, UO assistant professor of interior architecture, (541) 346-3690; e-mail beecher@darkwing.uoregon.edu.

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