I had set myself a goal to blog about Trade Beads every Wednesday and have found myself falling off the wagon.  So I’m jumping back on with this beauty of a necklace. It’s the Rain/Spawn/Salmon Necklace with matching Earrings that I made for a NW Washington gallery show that determined the focus should be RAIN.  ...

Finished Norvin Motorcycle Mezzotint This motorcycle image is very important to me. It is a view of a motorcycle that I owned when I lived in Seattle. This Mezzotint Print and the actual motorcycle were both long term projects and, including the difficulties, I enjoyed them both immensely and the motorcycle you see in this mezzotint ...

Since glass Trade Beads are one of my passions/addictions, my recent visit to the Fort Vancouver National Historic Reserve Site was exciting in light of the history preserved there.  Located on the northern bank of the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, near Portland, Oregon, it was established as a joint outpost for British and Americans ...

Ben McPherson painting in his studio Ben McPherson is a marvelous young artist who just happens to be Owen’s nephew by marriage to his niece, Kristina.  Ben is an exquisite painter having won some prestigious awards, plus he’s prolific in his chosen art form. On our recent trip to UT we stopped by his home-studio to ...

Raven and the Orb of Light This hand engraved tag featuring Raven and the Orb of Light is one of the new hand engraved tags being carved by Adam Mills in Sterling Silver at Walker Goldsmiths. Adam has been learning and working at hand engraving with the assistance of Owen Walker, Master Engraver, for over a year. ...

What is a Thunderbird? A Thunderbird is a huge bird of power and strength, capable of creating storms and thunder as it flaps its wings. Lightening even flashes from its eyes when it blinks! It is typically depicted as larger than Eagle and with two curling horns protruding from its head and sometimes with teeth. ...

Ohio farmhouse Jacek Szewczyk and I were guests of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana where I gave a lecture to demonstrate the ‘mezzotint’ printing technique, you can find more about it here on my site.  My friend Mel from Toledo, Ohio drove to Muncie to pick us up and take us to Toledo, Ohio.  It ...

Visiting my brother, Jim Hertel in Alturas, CA is always fun.  He has Coastwide Contractors and knows the area pretty well, so we get stories, directions to places of interest and bits of history.  The whole county is spectacularly beautiful with vistas and High Sierra pine forests. Tules and wild grasses in the wetlands that ...

Face At My Door Music Website There is a new look at Face At My Door Music, and more videos! Come and see what it’s all about. The website is being updated by the original designer and webmaster C. Kelly Nowicki. “Kate we need to get this website more organized and make it easier to navigate.” The ...

Saraswati Crafts Hello Friends, Greetings of the Season! I wanted to let you know that Saraswati Crafts will be open for the holiday season beginning Friday, November 25 until mid-January. The manager of the Sycamore Square building is letting me use the same space where the shop used to be for about 6 weeks. We’ll be open on ...