One fall afternoon — red leaves, silver drizzle — a friend and I were given a tour of Canterbury Shaker Village in New Hampshire.  We learned many things:  how the Shakers believed in a life of unceasing prayer defined as everything one did, said and thought.  All activity was an homage to God. […]

      I have spent most of my life trying to improve my skills for making things by hand.  At one point I wrote down some of my thoughts regarding craftsmanship and how we can improve it. I.      WHAT IS CRAFTSMANSHIP? II.    HOW DOES GOOD CRAFTSMANSHIP COME ABOUT? III.   WHAT […]

  My friend Jules told me to get rid of the eraser and I did.  Never go backwards. I feel what’s happening on the paper and if I really don’t like it, move to a different part of the paper or start over.  That was Leonardo’s advice.  I use a 9B pencil exclusively and I […]

I love to observe.  I always have.  Peeping Tom.  I learn from watching what’s going on around me, seeing how things work (or don’t work) and being aware of as much as possible.  Developing and maintaining awareness is incredibly important to me because it leads to understanding, and understanding is beneficial in almost every circumstance. […]

 I have finally seen the light! This is the greatest. I’m so glad that I’m still alive in the 21st century.