As I make changes to the site, I like to put in a few words to describe them and perhaps explain my reasons for them. You'll find the most recent entries here at the top - there's probably not a lot worth seeing as you read down, unless you're interested in how the site has evolved. (Old news...)
Picture galleries from various trips, conventions, and art/whatever festivals, in no particular order.
If you aren't on my distribution list, you can still see the latest general information message that I sent out, here. I'll try to keep it current...
(07-10-2010) I seem to be fighting massive inertia in updating the website and planning for the next trip. I'll be heading out in a couple of weeks and I still haven't done a lot of advance work for teaching and visiting, though at least I have managed to reserve space in the art show in Raleigh.
Did a bit of tweaking to a few pages, added some goodies for folks who want to tie their own string bracelets, and did some general sprucing up. More later, as I get time.
(06-26-2010) Still at Origins Game Fair, and having plenty of fun. I've been invited to attend a convention in Michigan, ConClave, in October, and it looks as though I'll be able to fit it in. If anyone in the Detroit area would like to attend workshops, this is a great opportunity.
(06-14-2010) Updates to the schedule, a fresh newsletter mailed out, and more dancing... Next stop, Chicago, and DucKon!
(06-07-2010) No students in Louisville, after all, but I did manage to get some dancing in. I've got a few days to kill before I reach Minneapolis, MN for the weekend workshops, so I may play tourist for a while, or look for more dancing between KY and MN.
(05-18-2010) The list for my workshops on June 12 and 13 is looking good, but I need to get some more students for the rest of the trip. I'll be doing demos and workshops at the conventions (Hypericon, DucKon, and Origins) as well, but you have to have a badge to attend.
My banyan tree lost all of its leaves late last year, but is now looking to recover. I have a couple of Google Earth and satellite shots of it, and a photograph taken from my front yard, showing its size and condition, on this page..
(05-11-2010) Updated the sign-up page and my show schedule for June.
I've been playing around with Turk's-head knots in string, that have one end closed. Here is a little project involving that. It ended up taking twenty feet of #18 cotton twine.
(04-19-2010) Finished up in California (Whaley Studios is an awesome place to have a workshop!) and now I'm working my way back east. Phoenix, then Albuquerque, then Tulsa OK for the Conestoga convention.
I need to map out workshops for the next couple of months -- I just noticed that there are no lists on the sign-up page, I will take some time to sketch some more of the schedule in very soon.
(04-10-2010) NorWesCon was great, and my visits and workshops in Idaho and Washington were equally delightful. I've progressed to Oregon, and will be arriving in Sacramento in a few days.
(03-19-2010) I'm in Denver for a couple of days, getting snowed on, so it's time to do a few more tweaks to the website and catch up on some other projects.
(03-15-2010) On tour, currently in Missouri, on my way to Denver next weekend. MidSouthCon was great, and here are some pictures up. I have a video clip, suitable for mobile devices, of a dance we did on Saturday night. It's 30-something megs, in M4V format. Here is a much larger one that will play in your browser.
(03-07-2010) The vacation was great, I'll post some pictures when I have time. I'm back, and it's time to get serious about my next trip. Memphis (MidSouthCon) this coming weekend, then six weeks of driving around the country, two more conventions after this one, and a bunch of little workshops, some big ones.
(02-24-2010) During the next week (Saturday 2-7 til Saturday 3-6) I may not be connecting on a regular basis, if at all, or answering my phone. I will do my best to check in during that time, but it's going to be very spotty. Any orders coming in will be handled in the first days of the following week.
(02-20-2010) A girl I met in Chattanooga asked me to remind her how to tie a hair-scrunchy in string, but I don't have time to do a full tutorial right now. Here's a quick demo, though.
(02-15-2010) Just for fun, I made a movie showing how I unwind a ball of cotton string, the kind I use for the bracelets I hand around for free. The file is 16 megabytes, about a minute of video in Quicktime format.
(02-12-2010) I've done a bit more tweaking of the schedule for the trip out to the Pacific Northwest, details will be on the Workshops/Shows page.
(02-11-2010) Some folks up in Memphis, where I will be attending MidSouthCon in March, put on a television spot to advertise for it.
The reason I imbedded this will become clearer if you watch it, or, if you become impatient, skip to about five and a half minutes into the clip.
(01-30-2010) Home again, and planning the next trip, in March and April. Latest news email is out, and I've already added another stop to the page showing my schedule, due to feedback from it.
I've added an offer to teach one free workshop to anyone who gives me shelter along my route, in case anyone is interested.
(01-19-2010) The Arisia convention was delightful, and I've added a folder to the galleries page for pictures of it, as I have time to process them.
The links to older news posts are now to be found at the bottom of this page.
(01-05-2010) Updating my schedule a bit, clarifying my repair policies, and a bit more of what I can do with the Celtic triangles, pentangles, etc. I'm working on a headdress that is currently looking like THIS.
(12-29-2009) Regular polygons lead to regular solids... click HERE to see what I did with the "Celtic Pentangle". I seriously doubt if I'll ever bother to do it again, but it's kinda cool.
(12-24-2009) I've been playing around with a bit of Celtic knotting that someone gave me, after a discussion that touched on triangular knots. I have some other ideas in mind, but while I'm working on them I decided to push the basic idea. This page shows the original knot and two expansions of it.
(12-11-2009) I'm pleased to be home again for a while, but now it's time, and past time, to plan for the next trip.
The workshops in Bradenton, FL, were canceled due to low attendance -- I've noticed that I don't get a lot of workshop requests here at home, maybe a couple a year, or so. Maybe we'll do one next year.
I'll be going up to Boston in January. (yes, I know... but that's when they hold the Arisia convention, what can I do?) I'm hoping to do a workshop or two during that trip.
(11-25-2009) Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating it this week. I'm still on the road, but currently I'm visiting family in Philadelphia, PA, and I will be having dinner with them on Thursday.
I've got a picture of one of my "ad hoc" students' work, a young lady who accepted my challenge to make her own earrings at a convention. She sat down at my table and, using the tools provided and with a little prompting, managed to produce some Celtic Oval earrings that came out very nicely. I've added them to the page on graduated knots, since they're related to the ones displayed there.
(11-05-2009) I took a little time out from packing and making tools for my workshops to experiment with a bracelet. One of my students asked about maybe doing this, and after I'd made some suggestions, I decided I needed to try it myself, just in case I was wrong.
(10-28-2009) Not many updates, lately, sorry. I had a great time going to Archon in St. Louis, then up to Nashua, NH for a workshop, then a general meeting of the International Guild of Knot Tyers in New Bedford, MA. When I got home I had a few days to prepare for Necronomicon, in St. Petersburg, FL. Now I'm gearing up for the next trip, which will last about five weeks and encompass two science fiction conventions and a few workshops.
(9-24-2009) The trip to Huntsville, AL, for Con*Stellation, was very enjoyable. For the first time, someone met the challenge and found the improperly tied knot in my knotted chain-mail shirt, and won herself a pair of butterfly earrings. Congratulations, Melody!
I got rained on a lot, coming through Georgia on the way home, but the stop in Kennesaw was well worth my time, as I met a student there who was especially apt. I expect great things from her future explorations.
(9-12-2009) I just realized that I've been mistaken about a particular knot pattern that I've shown people in workshops and provided for them with some kits, and I need to straighten it out, and also to apologize for the inconvenience and frustration that it may have caused. When tying a seven-lead ring on the ring fixture provided, all is well, but I mistakenly told students that this would translate directly to the twenty-nine bight bracelet... this is not the case, because the mathematical relationship is not the same. See this page for more, and a picture to replace the one provided in the workshops.
(9-10-2009) Updating schedules, revising a few words here and there, and trying to get back into the swing of things. The part of my medical bills that wasn't covered by my insurance has made it urgently necessary to generate fresh income, and I'm hoping the economy will begin to recover fast enough to keep me from sinking.
(8-30-2009) I did a little tweaking to help people understand the kits and DVDs setup, and updated my schedule a bit -- it's time to get back to work!
(8-8-2009) I took a second picture of my eye yesterday, and a third one today, showing the bubble smaller then, and gone now. All the pictures were taken looking up at the camera at a sharp angle. I put the three pictures into a folder.
(8-6-2009) I'm doing better, though it's been a rough day. The doctor left a bubble of air trapped under my cornea, to help fix the transplant in position. It's only visible when I look up, but it's very disturbing.
Another followup appointment tomorrow morning, to see how things are going.
(8-5-2009) As some of you may already know, I recently underwent cataract and DLEK/DSEK surgery. My vision is very bad right now, and I will not be traveling out of state for workshops until I've recovered to at least some extent. Currently, I think it will be at least a month, but it could be longer. I can still take orders for jewelry, DVDs, and tools, as it is possible to optimize conditions here at home to permit me to work for brief periods of time.
(7-14-2009) After finally coming to a decision about some looming health issues that were making it hard to think, I'm back on track, somewhat. The trip to Kansas City is on, in a way, but without workshops. August and September are up in the air, with tentative plans, and October and November are going to be filled with lots of shows and workshops.
(6-30-2009) I'm going to have to pass up the trip to Kansas City, etc., but it will give me more time to catch up on some projects that have been piling up.
(6-29-2009) Finished up with my stint in Columbus, and on my way home. I've updated the schedule page, and the latest-news echo. Plans are afoot for a two-week trip in the latter half of July, to Kansas City and home by way of Kentucky.
(6-23-2009) I've been very busy on the road, sorry not to have updated much recently. I've been having the time of my life, though...
DucKon was a blast, and all of the students that I've done workshops with before and since then have been delightful. I've made it to Columbus, OH, and will be helping out at the Origins Game Fair, maybe teaching a bit, until Sunday, and then I'll start thinking about going home to Florida.
(6-2-2009) Edited the destination email in my PayPal buttons in an attempt to re-start the payment notifications. If you've made a payment for a workshop or a DVD or kits and not gotten a response within a few hours, it's because I have to log into their site and look for the information. Hope to have that resolved soon.
(5-26-2009) I'm sad that the NYC workshops didn't come to pass -- they had six students signed up, and based their numbers on ten. I wanted to re-negotiate, but so it goes.
I'm getting several extra days to visit with family in Philadelphia, though, so it's not all bad.
I'll be teaching some very small workshops in my hotel rooms over the next couple of weeks, as I continue on my tour, as well as working with local hosts. Keep an eye on my schedule...
(4-29-2009) Home again, for a couple of weeks. Now I have to make all of the fixtures and tools I'll need for the next two months, because I'm going to be on the road again for six weeks, starting in mid-May.
(4-21-2009) The workshops in Texas (DFW area) were a rousing success, with six students who all did great work. I also got a chance to go dancing, in Denton on Friday night, and in Dallas on Saturday night.
After a side trip to Bryan, TX, it will be time to go to Tulsa, OK for Conestoga.
(4-14-2009) Lots of DVD sets sold, and quite a few kits for various projects. It gives me some hope...
In response to some more feedback on the kits ordering page I've done a little tweaking so folks can get a better idea of what to expect from each kit.
Almost time to leave town for my next trip, a short one this time, only a week and a half, to Texas and Oklahoma before returning home to Florida.
(4-08-2009) I've added another convention and some stops to my May/June tour, and the schedule is filling in nicely. Preparations for my mid-April trip to Texas and Oklahoma are nearly complete, and I'm looking forward to having a lot of fun.
(4-02-2009) Several students have requested that I list a "wire twisting contraption" on my kits and tools page, so, after making sure that I can manage to make more of them successfully, I have done so.
As of today, I have sold all but a handful of my first shipment of DVDs, but I've got a large consignment of them coming in early next week. Note that there will be discounts for volume purchases, please email me directly for details.
I just received another shipment of ring-stretchers, so, to anyone who has an interest in getting one of those, they are in stock. I try to have some with me in every ring workshop, as well, since I use them during the course of the class and my students tend to realize how very useful they are, at that point.
(3-24-2009) I'm still trying to sort out what to do with shipping -- there are some larger items that require extra effort on my part, and I'm adding s/h charges to them, but I'll ship other items free if they're alone, or included with other items.
I've sent out a few DVD sets already, and I'm hoping that I don't run out of the current batch before I get another shipment.
(3-20-2009) The DVD is now released, and available on the kits page.
(3-11-2009) A bit of price juggling on the kits pages, reflecting the more complex nature of the ring kit and the simpler nature of the knotted chain-mail. The deluxe package remains the same.
I've given final approval of the DVD contents, and it is now just a matter of a few days before they will be included on the listing for purchase from the website.
(3-06-2009) I've been home for a couple of days, and I'm trying to catch up with some orders for rings and workshop kits. I've been updating the website with my schedule over the next few months, so there are changes on that page, and a new anouncement email that has gone out to folks on my mail list, with a copy here on the website. I hate to even mention the DVD until it is really ready, but for those who have been asking, it is much, much closer now. One or two more tweaks, and then it's done.
Please note the new workshop tuitions are now in effect.
(02-14-2009) I'm partway through my trip out to the west coast -- one workshop, in Sacramento, has been canceled due to family issues with the host, making her unable to provide a venue for the class.
Other than that, everything is going well.
During the trip out here I stopped in Pensacola, FL, and in Houston, TX, where I managed to find some swing dancing. Since then I haven't been in the right places at the right times, unfortunately, but I will continue to seek out dancing opportunities.
While I was in Tucson I attended a gathering of chain-mail enthusiasts I know from The Ring Lord Forum. Here are some pictures.
(01-17-2009) While working with a customer, I noticed that my PayPal button will actually take visitors to a screen which will permit use of a credit card directly, without requiring a PayPal account. I've updated the page to inform folks of that.
I just sent out another message to my announcement list, and sent a couple of workshop group messages. I've no idea how many people are signed (or signing) up for my workshops in San Diego and San Jose, but they are being handled by the local folks and I have high hopes that things will work out fine.
(01-12-2009) I survived the western Caribbean cruise, my first one, and enjoyed it enough that I plan on repeating the experience at some point. Oh... if anyone reading this is ever aboard the "Carnival Legend", sailing out of Tampa, check the vertical stanchions on deck nine, aft, and you may find a seven-lead twelve-bight Turk's-head knot tied in cotton, somewhere near the top of one of them. I believe it is the fourth one from the starboard side. I'd love to hear from anyone who spots it there.
The preparations for next month's trip out west are going well -- I've got a number of students signed up already. The workshop costs have risen, as reflected on my syllabus page, but I will continue to accept the original fee from anyone who wishes to confirm their registration now by paying me via check, credit card, or PayPal. I'll be leaving town by the end of January, so any checks should be postmarked before the 23rd, to ensure arrival before I set out.
