This blog is about my life in my studio over the last fifty-two years, exploring creativity and being self-directed. I’m sharing this because I am all too aware of the struggle it takes to go out on one’s own and make art one’s life work.

 

I hope that sharing my experiences will make your journey less complicated and more financially rewarding.

 

My concern for the future of artists and art drives me. That’s why my blog is free, ad-free, and interactive. It’s a space where we can all share and learn together.

Design

Winter scene of a wisteria vine in the impressionist style. I’m fond of whiplash designs, mainly when they depict nature in a mature, perhaps near-death

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Self

I’ve met some interesting people, often because of the projects I’ve worked on over the years. This is Josh Greenwood, blacksmith extraordinaire. Among many other

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Restoration

I restored this window in a rental property in Richmond, Virginia, around twenty-five years ago. I remember how happy I was the first time I

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Self

Seven years ago, a university professor visited me with his album cover of the Beach Boys’ Wild Honey and asked me to create a transom

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Self

I created this center section for a beveled glass window in a home in Richmond, Virginia, around forty years ago. I look back on this

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Project

Four years ago, a single mom and her two teenage sons contacted me about collaborating with them on a window for the new home they

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Design

I created this skylight around 2005 for a three-story home in Richmond, Virginia. It was a beautiful home in the Fan District built around 1890.

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Project

In 2013, my son Daniel and I created two rose windows for St. Thomas Aquinas Priory in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Dominican Friars at the Priory

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Design

I spend a lot of time studying my projects to reduce the possibility that they will go in the wrong direction once we start building.

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Design

Scrolling through my photographs, I see this as one of my favorites. It is so lush and abundant, as if it were after a heavy

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Shop

You may have wondered what the inner workings of a 1915 Henry Lang beveling machine look like. Well, ponder no more. This is the machine

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Design

I created this window for an Irishman’s home many years ago. Happy St Patrick’s Day, everyone.

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Self

When I read, I struggle to remember what I have read. I’m aware that much of this comes from the confusion between my left and

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Design

This was one of my first serious attempts at creating three-dimensional windows. Starting with blown clear glass from Germany to create the effect of wind

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Creativity

I began to teach myself how to draw in my mid-thirties. A book published in 1989, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, by

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Self

I am so overwhelmed with projects that I have been considering how to become more efficient. With so much going on, I move around throughout

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Design

There have been times when I thought our sculptured soldering looked dull and uninteresting. I’ve tried different patinas, like the one that turns solder green,

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Self

Almost every evening, as I open the door to leave my shop, I turn around and take one last look. I am overcome by a

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Projects

Some vast projects have occurred over the years. This is Saint Peter Baptist Church in Glen Allen, Virginia. We completed it around twenty years ago.

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Self

I’m going to be seventy-six in a couple of weeks. I spend considerable time thinking about life, especially the changes that have occurred during my

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Design

Texture is an integral part of our work. When natural light fades, before artificial light takes over, there is a time when light surrounds and

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Shop

I prefer to be influential rather than in control of my studio. In my shop, everyone has the power of influence. There are six of

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Self

Many years ago, Steve Jobs gave an interview describing what it was like to manage Apple. It’s like one is the captain of a large

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Self

As a young man, I felt inadequate in life. I never did well in school. I felt like I was in this large holding pen

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Self

From day one, I knew I would not make much as an artist/craftsman and that there was a good chance I would not be able

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Design

Almost always, art glass windows are photographed straight on. As we create them, we try to remember to photograph them in their many stages of

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Design

You may recall me saying that I am often halfway through a project before I cut the first piece of glass. Well, this is one

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Self

One of the most interesting aspects of my life as an artist is my ability to create my reality. I desire to do good, be

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Design

I spent most of today working toward completing my project, depicting a fall evening scene by the Blue Ridge mountains as if standing on an

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