Veteran's Day, a bit late.

Our Patriotic Heart for those who we remember on Veteran's Day; and for those who serve now.

I like the more centered, stable red heart. It suggests steadfast courage and a deep, abiding Caritas.

I'm not usually this solemn. But there's something about Veteran's Day, about the chill November air and the lengthening night reminds us that life is fleeting even for the brave. Or perhaps it is especially fleeting for the brave, who know what they are risking.

Why Good Photographers are Worth the $

So a month ago I look a workbench pictures of this piece-which looks ... well like a snapshot of a work in progress. There's still a solder spill in the upper left corner , it's not framed yet, and the steel blue reads almost black. Last week, before the show, Di set up a stand, with reflectors and special light and took new pictures. Then, darling computer jockey that she is, she spent hours with Photoshop and other software tweaking the colors and the reflections so we'd get something that more nearly resembled what is actually there.The better picture does not quite show the difference in the dark brown square from the lighter brown sides, but wow! does the piece look great. Photoing glass is a challenge, as the colors never come out right and the is the reflection of the flash or of the lights to deal with.

When she brought down a disk of new pictures along with the glass she had made, I was absolutely amazed. I had not seen my pieces in a week since I sent them to her and wow, she made them look great. She even made a slide show we set up in our booth on her laptop showing our current works, works in progress and new designs.

Our little studio is lucky she can do all this. I'd hate to have to contract this out!

Four in Hand or Card Trick

Newest piece to be made. This is a small panel, only 6 inches across. We don't make anything that small anymore as a rule, but this design is so nice.

It looks best in North facing windows colors just gleam in the cooler light from the North. In a South facing window the colors wash out. We also made a few in bright primary colors just for that reason. The really rich , deep jewel tones look great too.

People and groups who make crafting fun

The kind folk who run the Ballston Arts and Crafts shows were kind enough to put up a photo of our booth in the October blog. http://www.ballstonarts-craftsmarket.blogspot.com/
A nice touch since the shows are over for the year.

Last weekend

Our booth at the show Our Booth at the Northern Virginia Christmas Show last weekend