Creativity

July 18, 2025

I have a mountain of work in front of me, maybe two mountains. It’s hard for my mind to take a break, especially between 2 and 4 am. My defences are down when I’m asleep, allowing my denialing nature to rattle my brain. I have learned that if I reposition myself in my rocking chair in our downstairs kitchen when my mind is racing, it calms me down and reboots me into a calmer state. I’m able to gain a couple of more hours of sleep before transitioning into my daily chores and then my day’s work. I start

Creativity

June 8, 2025

One of the more interesting aspects of being self-directed is that I often don’t know when to stop. This is a laylight in progress for a home outside of Washington, DC. A laylight is an indoor skylight that allows for artificial lighting. As I work through this maze of uncertainty, I’m constantly laying the window flat to arrange the leaves before attaching them with UV adhesive and then repositioning the window in a vertical position for evaluation. My shop isn’t tall enough for me to position it horizontally for viewing. As I build the forest tree tops by adding

Creativity

June 1, 2025

There are times I’m not sure what’s going on. Daniel and I worked together on this window. That may be part of the reason—two artists playing chess with an idea, challenging each other by moving lines and selecting colors. It’s different when working with a patron. The patron has a big idea; the artist works with the subtleties, aware of the vast number of options for line and how different colors affect one another. Put two artists together sharing insights, and both need to be ready for just about anything to happen, intellectually and emotionally. It has taken me

Creativity

April 11, 2025

Remember the movie The Dirty Dozen? There are only six of us, but I often chuckle when, at times, I stop and observe what’s happening around me. The creativity involved in creating original art glass windows is intense and demanding. A simple move in one direction calls for an almost instant decision, almost always based on intuition. I’ve long wanted to live my work life rhythmically, and I believe I have now achieved this state of mind, perhaps the highest form of self-actualization. I’m looking forward to the years ahead and to sharing this experience with the wonderful people

Creativity

February 16, 2025

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 Betty Edwards, was a great inspiration. Betty had a warmth about her that she so beautifully portrayed in her writing. She described techniques with her drawings and presented quotes from other artists in such an organized way that I could open her book up almost anywhere and learn. My favorite part was when she talked about how helpful it is if one can feel the object, and who could feel it better than the

Creativity

December 11, 2024

Over the years, my focus has been creativity. I’ve only passively studied the history of art glass. I learned a little here and there. I was inspired as much by photographs of working studios, mainly how they were organized and the men and women who worked there. In September 2013, I received a phone call from St. John’s Lutheran Church in South West Virginia from someone who wanted to discuss an idea with me. They were beginning to rethink their cross. It could be more inspirational. Over the years, I have noticed sheets of silvered stained glass when I

Inspiration

November 3, 2024

Around twenty-five years ago, I sought another outlet for inspiration. I grew bored with traditional stained glass designs and wanted fresh ideas. I found it in jewelry. Jewelry has an enormous and rich design history, not only of line but of color. I studied Lalique, Cartier, Chanel, and others who looked to antiquity and vintage for inspiration. Below is one of my favorites by Rene Lalique. I knew I would only use a small fraction of what I discovered, but I was filing away a wealth of information that would influence my future work. Twenty-five years later, I see

Inspiration

November 3, 2024

Every year, this time is an anniversary for me. It marks my first deep appreciation for nature’s beauty. I’m not sure where my thoughts were before, but I discovered the natural beauty around me in my late teens. I believe it developed from my first awareness of freedom of thought. As my first major in college, I learned the biology of trees, from digging a five-foot hole in the forest floor to identifying species by their leaves and everything in between. Although this gave me an understanding of the science and was crucial to my overall appreciation, the forest’s

Concept

September 25, 2024

A sketch for an upcoming project in Bremo Bluff, Virginia. This is how it begins: two people collaborate. One desires an object, and the other wishes to create it. I find it interesting how diverse people work together to create something unique. I think of it as a highly developed right-brain person interacting with a highly developed left-brain person, both looking to fill the void in themselves. If both people are emotionally mature, a sense of wonder takes over; enlightenment fuels the energy curiosity demands. As understanding grows, emotions replace words.

Creating and Restoring Art Glass since 1972.