We hail from different hemispheres of the globe. I am a New England boy and Sherry, although born in Canada, claims Mauritius as her homeland. For those of you who don't know, the island nation of Mauritius lies smack dab in the middle of the Indian Ocean. After Sherry and I met, traveled the world, …
For the love of art: Meet this creative couple
Collaboration in the world of visual arts is a rarity. But allow me to introduce you to a couple that have created a perfect blend of their skills. And their collective output is consistently provocative, aesthetically enlightening, and just downright whimsical and entertaining. A frog for the garden. Water-based putty over wire mesh. Repurposed bolts, …
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The art of giving
Photo by Alecia Paolini WHETHER IT’S FOR THE HOLIDAYS, a birthday, an anniversary or any other celebratory event, nothing beats receiving — and giving — a gift made by hand. Our featured artist today is Gene Paolini, who hails from Northern California. He has been a craftsman and woodworker all his life. He got introduced …
O Christmas Tree, just what else can you be?
BOXING DAY IS OVER, New Years is just around the corner, and families around the world are all thinking the same thing: time to take down the ornaments and throw out that tree. Doing cursory research and a little back-of-the envelope calculation, I estimate as many as 100 million conifers out on the street, just …
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Hand-made gifts are the best
IT’S BECOME SOMETHING OF A FAMILY TRADITION to hand-craft our gifts. Since we have been in lockdown for the past umpteen months, there really was no excuse this year. Sister Francine and her husband, Mike, created this beautiful little rabbit out of redwood. They aren’t sure of the genesis of the wood stock, but I’ll …
There’s something fishy about these ornaments
SOMEHOW, AMIDST THE FLURRY of moving during a pandemic, settling in a new home, producing new music and a book, we forgot one little thing: decorations for our tree. We were happy enough to have an actual tree. Sherry procured a live specimen and even got it delivered. So that was an accomplishment. But, in …
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A lumbering tale: From Maine to California
When I was 14 years old, my family relocated from a rural enclave in Connecticut to an even more remote region in the great state of Maine. My siblings and I were a bit dubious about this move, but our parents promised it would be an adventure. We'd have our own 100-acre farm, high on …
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Nail Guns: Weapons of Mass Construction
GROWING UP, WE HUNG OUT IN Dad's shop a lot. While he was busy building, repairing and usually swearing, we would tinker on our own projects, invariably getting in his way (this may or may not have been at least partly responsible for his profanity). Dad recycled everything. So he always had an old 3-pound …
