Over the years I have had a pretty close relationship with the camera. The best one I ever had was a Mamiya 645. It had a built-in light meter that was spot on for the work I was doing. The shop I had at that time was full of natural light so I never had to worry about lighting or shadows or any of that. But I hated the darkroom and the chemicals. When digital photography started to become popular, I got a digital camera but it was pretty low res and could not measure up to film quality. (more…)

One of the hardest things about being an artisan is how to put a price on your work. Everyone who has ever tried to sell something they have made has faced this problem. There are a million ways one can calculate the value of a piece of work. You can figure out what the materials cost and how many hours it took to make it and what you want to earn per hour and then figure in your overhead and on and on. (more…)

In May of this year, I started working on the lathe. This is something I have wanted to do for many years but for some reason or another I never seemed to have the time. But with the recent slowdown in the economy, coupled with my involvement in another business, I have had an opportunity to spend some time learning (or trying to learn) some lathe techniques. It’s challenging work with a pretty steep learning curve and a strong field of well known artisans. (more…)

I can hear it already. Who the heck is Gary Nappe?!? Well, he was a friend for many years. I lost touch with him some time ago but before that, he taught me a few things. (more…)