It is our great pleasure to wish all of you a happy holiday season!  We are reflecting on the good times we shared during our shows this year and thankful for your support in making them successful.  We also can't believe our online store is now a full year old!  Along with thanking all our customers, we'd like to encourage everyone to have a look at the items we have listed for holiday shopping.  To ensure time delivery, orders should be placed before December 15, and we hope you'll find the perfect gift!

We're also pleased to announce that in late August, we'll be adding new pieces to our online web store.  We'll be sure to let you know when everything is uploaded and ready for browsing.

Aside from those little bits of news, things are busy but, finally, back to business as usual. This part of North Dakota is spectacular this time of year.  Long sunny days, lush green fields, gardens and 
flowers thriving.  It is now that we inhale deeply and let our inspiration come, once again, from the prairie.

We never thought we'd see the day when we would fully embraced the wonders of web technology. But this year, when we realized we didn't have to close up shop before heading south to warmer climes, the possibilities began to excite us.  Working from wherever we want to be in the world opens a whole host of possibilities for interesting and exciting adventures. And this, of course, makes us very happy. 

To test our mobile-digital prowess this winter, we packed up our web store items and carried them with us from NoDak to the islands. While we did encounter a few unexpected customs snafus along the way, the overall result is that our plan for a new way of doing business seems to be working. We're sipping coffee each morning overlooking the Caribbean, while our store still continues to provide customers a way to get in touch. While we initially came kicking and screaming to the idea of selling online, as each day passes and our work travels with us wherever we go, it's seems we're getting 'more hip' to digital every day.

This is the reply I received from a customer this week, after sending along photos of a project I've been working to complete for quite some time. It's titled, The Flaming Chalice, and it was a commissioned piece made of copper, brass and Virgin Islands mahogany, specifically for a Unitarian Universalist church in Danbury, Connecticut.  

Quite a while back, a church member had contacted me after he'd seen a similar sculpture I'd donated to the Nelson County Arts Council auction. He said he'd been wanting a chalice for his church, so we agreed I would render a design for the congregation to review. After a few modifications, it was approved, and I went to work.  

A chalice itself has long been a symbol of liberal religion, and this is my rendition of it. I took one last snap to remember it by, as it will soon be delivered to its rightful home.  - Don

After several friendly nudges from our friend Paul, co-owner of Forestedge Winery, this year we were convinced to drive Gypsie to the summer Art Fair last week in LaPorte, Minnesota. Having just finished the last two window screens, windlace around the doors, and fabricating a “cruise control” from a choke cable, we were ready to roll. And roll we did, all 253 miles to the Winery. 

We camped the first night and then set up Theresa’s canopy and began getting Gypsie in order.
Saturday was the first show day, and people began arriving. Of the many things we love about this venue, one is the friendly atmosphere pervading the entire happening. Gypsie's premier in northern MN was a huge success. We heard “cool", "awesome", "brilliant", and even, "this is the neatest thing I’ve ever seen”, a few times. Perhaps my favorite was “adorable”, though it was only used once. 

Theresa and I both had new and faithful followers who took some of us away with them. We had so much fun sharing our latest work. Even more rewarding yet was renewing friendships and spending stimulating time with a bunch of folks whose eyes don’t ‘glaze-over’ at some of the topics being discussed. 

After a great last night in Gypsie, we said our good-byes and headed back to Edgeley. The trip home encountered a slight glitch when the fan belt decided it was going off duty. Luckily I was able to install a new one and continue home. I hope we’ll be participating again next year.

What do you get when you use Delft clay to work slate from a 200 year old barn and recycled silver? 

These earrings and a pendant!

A few years ago I decided it would be smarter and more economical to recycle the silver ‘end bits’ my wife and I generate during our jewelry making rather than selling them as scrap.  Since I also make copper sculptures, I thought to combine my copper ‘off-cuts’ with the silver to make a 
75% CU : 25% AG Shibuichi alloy. Shibuichi is a Japanese term for one part in four, which is the standard ratio for Shibuichi, but it can also be varied.

One of the things Don and I find most valuable is the opportunity to connect with others who are excited about their work and anxious to share ideas and techniques.  On a recent trip to Portland, Oregon, we met with two such artists and came home inspired to approach our work with fresh perspectives. 

If you want to see what has been so motivating for us, have a look at the work being done by Joe Apodaca, a jeweler and sculptor for over 40 years, who is such a master.   Have you ever seen anything like this? It's amazing.

Or, for a completely different experience, check out Jo Scheer's work with bamboo at the Bamboo Craftsman Company and Tropical-Treehouse.  We've known Jo for years, and every year he surprises us with something new. If you're interested in working with bamboo -- his book is a must.

Indeed, creativity abounds -- and we feel lucky. Our lives are so much richer because of it.