Stained glass, food, transatlanticisms and anything else that catches my eye blog

2008-10-12T13:59:00.003-04:00

What started off as something called a Digital Postcard with perhaps 100-150 images of the Basilica has blossomed into (though I say it myself) a beautiful DVD based around over 250 images all set to music and packaged in a gorgeous cover.

Launch date is set for October 22nd when I will pick up the first edition from the printer in south Jersey and hot-foot them down to Washington where they will be put on sale in the Basilica shop.

If you look very closely at what will be the back of the cover you will see a montage of 25 different Madonnas which is being published as a poster. I have not seen a hard copy proof but if it looks anything like the digital file it will be absolutely stunning.

Both items will be on sale in the Basilica and eventually there will be sales online. In the meantime if you would like to enquire about purchasing one or both items email me at neil AT stainedglassphotography.com.

TO SEE SHORT TRAILER CLICK ON THE CANDLES

Be very patient, it takes several minutes to download and you may be asks to download a plug-in.

If you do not have the time or patience you can view a lower quality video version on YouTube

2008-05-18T02:52:00.004-04:00

These are two of the pictures from the folder of the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington DC. One is from the Chapel dedicated to Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help and the other is a mosaic backdrop from one of the altars in the Crypt Chapel which is by far the most beautiful and elegant worship space that I have seen anywhere in the US.

The image folder can be found HERE.

Watch this space for further details of the project....

2008-05-18T00:32:00.005-04:00

While heading back to New York from New Jersey today I couldn't resist the opportunity to make a slight detour via Montclair to see how the irises in the Presby Memorial Gardens were coming along.

It is a little early for them as they are usually in full bloom around Memorial Day weekend but there were just enough flowering for it to be worth getting out my camera, tripod and a couple of lenses. I have taken pictures there a couple of times before but this was my first time with a digital camera and I have to say that it was a real luxury being able to just increase the virtual film speed to enable me to use higher shutter speeds and not have to worry about the wind blowing the petals.

Here is a LINK to some of the pictures.

2008-05-03T19:10:00.008-04:00

Some pictures of Beng:

2008-05-03T18:46:00.002-04:00

Some kind of update is long overdue but I lack the time and focus to do it justice today. For the time being I will limit myself to a link to the folder of images I just posted.

Just for a change they are not of stained glass, they are of beautiful mosaics from the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, DC, where I have been working on an exciting new project about which I will post more later.

Here is a link to the Basilica Mosaics Folder

2007-03-25T16:19:00.000-04:00

I found these on a blog, they are said to be from a little book called "Disorder in the Court" which I believe is by Bob Terrell.

All of these are said to be real quotations from actual court cases and I have to say that most are very funny. I especially like the ones about autopsies:

Q: What is your date of birth?

A: July fifteen.

Q: What year?

A: Every year.

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Q: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?

A: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

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Q: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?

A: Yes.

Q: And in what ways does it affect your memory?

A: I forget.

Q: You forget. Can you give us an example of something that you've forgotten?

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Q: How old is your son, the one living with you?

A: Thirty-eight or thirty-five, I can't remember which.

Q: How long has he lived with you?

A: Forty-five years.

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Q: What was the first thing your husband said to you when he woke that morning?

A: He said, "Where am I, Cathy?"

Q: And why did that upset you?

A: My name is Susan.

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Q: And where was the location of the accident?

A: Approximately milepost 499.

Q: And where is milepost 499?

A: Probably between milepost 498 and 500.

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Q: Sir, what is your IQ?

A: Well, I can see pretty well, I think.

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Q: Did you blow your horn or anything?

A: After the accident?

Q: Before the accident.

A: Sure, I played for ten years. I even went to school for it.

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Q: Trooper, when you stopped the defendant, were your red and blue lights flashing?

A: Yes.

Q: Did the defendant say anything when she got out of her car?

A: Yes, sir.

Q: What did she say?

A: What disco am I at?

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Q: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn't know about
it until the next morning?

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Q: The youngest son, the twenty-year old, how old is he?

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Q: Were you present when your picture was taken?

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Q: Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war?

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Q: Did he kill you?

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Q: How far apart were the vehicles at the time of the collision?

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Q: You were there until the time you left, is that true?

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Q: How many times have you committed suicide?

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Q: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?

A: Yes.

Q: And what were you doing at that time?

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Q: She had three children, right?

A: Yes.

Q: How many were boys?

A: None.

Q: Were there any girls?

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Q: You say the stairs went down to the basement?

A: Yes.

Q: And these stairs, did they go up also?

--------------------------------------------------

Q: Mr. Slatery, you went on a rather elaborate honeymoon, didn't you?

A: I went to Europe, Sir.

Q: And you took your new wife?

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Q: How was your first marriage terminated?

A: By death.

Q: And by whose death was it terminated?

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Q: Can you describe the individual?

A: He was about medium height and had a beard.

Q: Was this a male, or a female?

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Q: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition notice
which I sent to your attorney?

A: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

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Q: Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?

A: All my autopsies are performed on dead people.

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Q: All your responses must be oral, OK? What school did you go to?

A: Oral.

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Q: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?

A: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.

Q: And Mr. Dennington was dead at the time?

A: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was doing an
autopsy.

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Q: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?

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Q: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for blood pressure?

A: No.

Q: Did you check for breathing?

A: No.

Q: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive when you began
the autopsy?

A: No.

Q: How can you be so sure, Doctor?

A: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.

Q: But could the patient have still been alive nevertheless?

A: It is possible that he could have been alive and practicing law somewhere.

---------------------------------------------------

Q: You were not shot in the fracas?

A: No, I was shot midway between the fracas and the navel.

2007-03-05T07:24:00.000-05:00

As you will knowm earlier this year I opened a new shop for dog-lovers which showcases and sells some CafePress items featuring the work of a couple of very clever artists. The shop is called OurPetDog.com.

One of these artists does similar designs which feature different breeds of cat and so I launched OurPetCat.com for cat-lovers. It's a great education for me - I'm learning about breeds which I had never heard of including the Scottish fold, Somali and Devon Rex. Apparently there are estimated to be about 70 million pet cats in the US though, according to Cat Fancier Association statistics, only a tiny percentage have registered pedigrees.

2007-03-05T07:18:00.000-05:00

This is just a very brief announcement that today I opened a new shop which offers a selection of poetry, prayers and scripture on tiles. It is called, appropriately enough, VerseTile

We have launched the poetry section with some brand new items featuring poems by Emily Dickinson to which we will soon be adding many more works by poets from both sides of the pond. In the prayer section you will find tiles and tile boxes with the Lord's Prayer, the Serenity Prayer and the St Francis Peace Prayer, some accompanied by an image of stained glass. Last, not least, the scripture section begins with quotations from both Old and New Testaments including the ever-popular 23rd and 121st psalms, Jesus The Good Shepherd, the parable of the good Samaritan and Micah 6:8.

2006-06-26T23:06:00.000-04:00

Just a quick mention of 2 new sections on CafePress. The first is called 'The Serenity Prayer' and includes quite a selection of items which combine the Serenity Prayer with some beautiful images of stained glass. The second is similar but I have just called it "Recovery" and have included a couple of items with images which I think are appropriate though nothing to do with stained glass.

Please check them out and pass them along to anyone you think might appreciate them.

2006-04-29T18:30:00.000-04:00

This week I announced the forthcoming publication date for my first novel, 'Risk Premium', a contemporary thriller with a plot which I think that readers will find to be both relevant and controversial.

In order to publicize it I have created a website RiskPremium.net where you can read Chapter 1 in its entirity. However, I defy anyone to figure out what the plot of the book will be from what is online.

Copies can be purchased in advance from the website including a special signed and numbered limited hard-back edition.

2006-02-11T10:47:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week I was lucky enough to catch part of the live coverage of the press conference for the release of the Lazard report about Time Warner which had been commissioned by Carl Icahn.

I have not read the Lazard report and have no idea whether the proposed break-up into four units is the best way forwards but I do believe that the management of Time Warner in recent years has been less than stellar and that fundamental changes are likely to be necessary if shareholder value is to be realised.

Carl Icahn observed the tendency for people to sometimes "fall in love" with things to the point where judgements can become irrational. I liked the example he cited of the Alec Guinness character in Bridge Over the River Kwai who threw all of his energy and focus and emotion into building a bridge for the Japanese and became so emotionally attached to it that he attempted to block an attempt by the British to destroy it. Carl postulated that Dick Parsons appeared to have fallen in love with the corporate structure in Time Warner, much to the detriment of operating performance and shareholder value.

Several things strike me about this whole situation. The first is that, as so often happens, the incumbent management adopts a defensive posture and dissipates valuable resources in attempts to "fight off" the dissident shareholders. In my opinion this makes absolutely no sense and can only reinforce one's view that turf and egos are seen as more important than shareholder value. If increasing shareholder value is a truly an objective that is shared by both incumbent management and dissident shareholders then the ONLY logical course is for there to be dialogue about the strategies for achieving it.

It is entirely possible that the break-up recommended by Lazard is not the best way to go. Most of the financial press coverage I have read points to a number of reasons why the sales of the 4 businesses might not realise the intended values, However, if another course is to be followed then there are things which the incumbent management HAS to do going forwards, the most noteworthy being to facilitate more operational independence, eliminate dissynergies and cut much of the 40% increase in corporate cost which has been added in recent years. Perhaps a combination of some spin-offs and aggressive reorganisation and refocusing would be the best way to go but this is only likely to be achieved following an open-minded dialogue between the interested parties.

It does strike me that if Carl Icahn's group is going to stand a chance of winning a proxy fight it will be necessary for them to pursue the campaign in many different ways. The sheer size of Time Warner and the diversity of shareholders gives this proxy battle some unique characteristics particularly when the target is a media conglomerate headed by an individual who is said to be very skilled at campaigning and managing public opinion.

Another thing which I think would help and which would move this campaign into the 21st century is a website. During the last Presidential election I noticed that both sides made extensive use of the internet and to good effect. In this case what I would envision is a site where one could read and download the Lazard report, read bios and commentaries by the major players and find articles and information in support of the proxy fight objectives. There would also be news and business info about Time Warner and some kind of discussion board to allow people to add and share opinions.

I would see both of these adding constructively to the entire process of maximising shareholder value, in no small measure. Without knowing all of the details I have a fundamental belief that by far the best solution will be reached after extensive dialogue among many people. What needs to happen is for the underlying issues to be clearly spelled out and addressed and resolved. Whether the resolution absolutely requires that parts of the business be spun off or simply given the freedom to operate is entirely debatable, in my view, but there has to be full discussion and agreement on what are the underlying issues and it would appear to me that the incumbent mangement is not on that page yet.

An excellent example of a situation where the incumbent management has entered into a meaningful dialogue with dissident shareholders to good effect is the case of GM which has been subject to pressure from dissident shareholders led by Kirk Kerkorian. In this case, Rick Wagoner, CEO and clearly a consensus builder, has not only listened but has also implemented several of the actions suggested by Kerkorian's group. Admittedly the dynamics are very different and GM is in far worse shape than Time Warner but the principles are the same and the only real difference is that in the case of GM both management and dissident shareholders appear to be in total agreement concerning the fundamentals.

OK, I've said my piece......

2005-12-03T23:10:00.000-05:00

A new ornaments page was added to Stained Glass Photography earlier today. Although great for Christmas these ornaments are great for gifts and special occasions the whole year round. Whether it is for a First Communion, a Baptism, a Confirmation, a birthday, an anniversary or just about any occasion we will try to create an ornament for you. Here is our current offering

2005-11-06T20:34:00.000-05:00

New William Morris Stained Glass calendar.

Today we not only launched our new William Morris calendar but we also set up a web-page on StainedGlassPhotography.com so that people can buy it direct from us (rather than from CafePress) at a discounted price AND with FREE shipping for the US. We will be asking customers to be a little patient because the low pricing means batching of orders placed on CafePress and double-shipping but that's the cost of doing business cheaply.

The calendar is already being very well received by William Morris affectionados, and so it should. It is a unique and original work featuring hitherto unpublished images showing details from the very first William Morris Company stained glass commission for an American client. The designs which make up the Vanderpoel Memorial Window are a microcosm of Morris works from the 1860's and 1870's. The designs include works by Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Madox Brown and William Morris himself and, when I photographed it, the window was in an excellent state of repair.

So far we have published 2 calendars but I do have ideas for a 3rd, 4th and even 5th if I get around to them.

http://www.stainedglassphotography.com/Calendars

2005-10-08T13:05:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has followed either my website or this blog for a year or more will recall that in 2004 Fr Tim Butler and I worked on a slide-show using stained glass images with a Christmas theme and that this was made available for use at US and Allied bases throughout the Asian theatre of operations and possibly beyond. Fr Tim was on a 1-year posting at the USAF base in Kyrgyzstan and initially the slideshow was for him to brighten up the otherwise spartan worshipping space for the Christmas services but when it was done we made it available to other bases via internet download. To this day I have no clue how many chaplains, if any, took advantage of it and my hope is that, if we embark on the same exercise this year and begin sooner, we will achieve a wider circulation.

Anyway, all of that is just background. The guts of this post is to share (I trust without his objection) an email which Fr Tim recently sent to friends, family and contacts which details some of his recent experiences during and after hurricane Katrina. Everyone will have seen the news footage and press coverage but this provides some reportage from a very personal level and I think that many will find it interesting and perhaps even inspiring. I will not edit it in any way:

Dear Friends,

I want all of you to know that I am safe … and doing well. As you know we in Biloxi, MS, were devastated by Hurricane Katrina, which was a strong Category 4 storm when it made landfall. We had no idea the level of devastation this storm would produce. Having been through a couple Hurricanes since my arrival here last year, with only minor damage and effects, I did not expect this. However, as the storm moved closer, all of us began to get a sense that this might be significantly different. Because my boss’ wife is chronically ill, I was put in charge of the 6 chaplains and 2 chaplain assistants who stayed for this crisis. So, I sheltered on base with our students and staff (6000+).

As you know by now, we weathered the storm with not a single life lost among those who sheltered here. Because I am considered “mission essential” (I sit on the general’s Crisis Action Team staff and manage the chaplain function) I was allowed to shelter Dusty and Marigold, my two cats, on base in our Pet Haven. All of our pets who were sheltered on base survived. That is all good news! There is more. Yesterday, I was finally able to get off base to see if my apartment was still standing. Since I live near the beach, in an area where there has been nearly total devastation according to various reports, I didn’t expect there to be anything left. To my great surprise, not only was the apartment standing by the interior was intact. I only sustained a small amount of water damage from a leak in the guestroom roof. My car also made it through the storm with only minor scratches. Most had their windows blown out. Many were crushed flooded or crushed by trees. This is all so good because it frees me from beginning the claims process to keep focused on taking care of my team and proceeding with our ministry to those remaining on the base.

Life at Keesler will never be the same. Our training mission has been suspended. All of our students have been sent to other training bases. All the hospital patients have been evacuated to Texas. Those who evacuated with their families will not be coming back for some time … and families will not be allowed to return except to salvage what they can from their houses. The military family housing areas sustained the worst damage. All of our commander’s houses, because they were along the back bay, have been destroyed. The walls facing the bay were blown out, the interiors flooded, trees crushed the roofs, and one burned to the ground. The other houses in those areas were flooded, sustained significant wind damage, or were crushed by trees. Many cars parked in carports were flooded, moved across streets by the surge, overturned or cut in half by trees. The Base Exchange (department store) and Commissary (grocery store) were flooded with 6 feet of water inside (about 12 outside). Everything was lost. Many of our professional buildings were flooded, ravaged by the wind, or crushed by trees. Interestingly, not a single one of our 4 chapels sustained any significant damage … nor did the Fishbowl Student Ministry Center were I worked!

We are fortunate to be on base. In the local area there is great suffering. We have not had live television since the storm hit. I have heard reports and seen pictures of the devastation, especially in nearby New Orleans. But not having T.V. is probably a good thing because it could debilitating … and we have a mission to carry on at the moment .

Driving through a couple of neighborhoods yesterday, on the way to my apartment, was heartbreaking. Those who did not evacuate and survived are shell-shocked. Most are simply sitting on their stoops with blank expressions on their faces. There is little food and nearly any water. I stopped by the local Catholic Church to see if any of the priests stayed and needed anything. The elderly monsignor, who weathered the storm in the convent with one of the seminarians who was living there for the summer, was sitting in the garage in his underwear. I asked him, “Monsignor, do you have any food?” He replied, “Do you need some?” “No,” I said, “I came to see if you did.” Truth be told, he only had enough food and water for 2 more days! I was overwhelmed. When I left I took him in my arms, crying, and said, “Don’t worry about anything. I’ll bring you food and water every couple of days.” Our mission is likely to include humanitarian as well as base reconstitution in the days, weeks, and months to come.

We are also fortunate to be on base because we are protected by our security forces (police). I assume I don’t have to tell you things have devolved into serious lawlessness here. While we are not under Marshall Law at the moment … like New Orleans … it could come to that. There are roving gangs of youth looting, car-jacking, and adding further destruction to people’s personal homes and businesses. The mall just around the corner from my apartment complex, for example, has been completely emptied. While I did not witness any of this personally while driving to check out my apartment, I got a very uneasy feeling from many of those I saw walking the streets. I wouldn’t dare go off base at night. So safety and security are huge issues here at the moment and being on base is a good thing.

I have been blest with a great chapel team to assist me. I have a wonderful chaplain assistant, MSgt Clemmons, here with me at the Crisis Action Team. I wouldn’t be able to manage all this without him. Interestingly, we first met and worked together in Saudi Arabia 11 years ago. He just came to Keesler a month ago as our senior enlisted chaplain assistant. Because we already know each other and have worked well together in the past, being together through this has been a blessing. Who would have thought that working relationship, forged so many years ago, would be crucial so many years later! I also have 5 very good chaplains and 1 other chaplain assistant taking great care of our people. Most of them are new to active duty and have never been through anything like this before. Yet, they are shining in this moment of testing and doing the Chaplain Service proud. I am so honored to work with them. Taking care of them so they can take care of others is a big part of my job right now. They are taking care of me, too.

Everyone in the Air Force is focused on Keesler Air Force Base at the moment and we are getting great support. Having to sit in the “hot seat” at this moment isn’t fun … but it is a privilege and I don’t feel like I’m doing it alone. I feel supported at the highest levels. Speaking of that, I have asked Air Staff (those at the top) for Chaplain Service relief. I hope to be getting 6 teams (a team consists of 1 chaplain and 1 chaplain assistant) in a few days. They will augment my team, providing relief for all of us and a chance for 2 of my chaplains who had their families shelter with them here to relocate them elsewhere, get their kids in school, and then return to the base to continue our recovery and reconstitution. Life for them, as well as for all our personnel who evacuated, is drastically changed … and will be challenging over the next 2 years. All will be separated from their families for the remainder of their assignment here.

While the base is somewhat of an oasis at this point, because the clean up on base has gone well and the reconstruction is beginning, outside the gate is still a warzone. I live near the beach (about 3 city blocks in) ... so, I see it daily as I go to and from work. Overall, it has been an exhausting experience. My emotions are still raw ... but my experiences are rich. What a blessing to be a priest at this time and in this place!

As you can imagine, God has been the only "still point" for me this last month. In fact, all of us who are struggling through this human tragedy know something clearly … something we all sometimes forget: God is our only sure hope in this constantly changing world! May you know His love deeply today and may that knowledge lead you to place God first in your life … and glorify Him in everything you do …

Please keep the prayers coming. I cannot do this without you … and I feel genuinely sustained by your love and faith.

Sincerely,

Fr. Tim

2005-09-04T21:02:00.000-04:00

Here is a nice example of one of the Winged Heart glass roundels with a celtic motif.

To see and buy visit MQGifts.com

Museum Quality Gifts

2005-08-22T19:51:00.000-04:00

Well, my earlier post proved not to be premature and we are now offering at least part of the Timothy Richards line-up of incredibly upscale models on Amazon.com and on our own Amazon-hosted websites http://www.MQGifts.com and http://www.PNR1.com. The reason why we have only launched part of the range is that it is a time-consuming process to properly describe these items and also to understand quite a lot about the architecture which they represent and the creators of that architecture.

As an example, a month ago I knew virtually nothing about Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School. Now, because Timothy Richards has 4 models depicting details from Mackintosh works and Winged Heart have quite a number of stained glass panels featuring his designs, I have become something of an expert - at least able to hold my own in a serious discussion about his style and his work and probably not far short of being able to write a decent undergraduate essay about him! I have even reached the point where I want to see more and learn more about this very talented designer who sadly in his own lifetime did not achieve the recognition which he so richly deserved.

One of the problems with Timothy's work is that it covers the whole gamut from early Greek and Roman architecture to 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century works. Some items have been made because of the significance of the building rather than for stylistic reasons - in this category I would include 10 Downing Street, the White House and 221B Baker Street - but others are there because of the architect or particular architectural style as in the case of the Mackintosh works, those of Gaudi and some Art Nouveau pieces.

The other task in marketing these is to figure out ways of making sure that people find them. It is no use waiting for people to keyword search "Timothy Richards" because relatively few people have heard of him or his work. The list of people and organisations who have commissioned or just purchased his work includes some VERY impressive names. High on the list is HRH the Queen but there are also a number of famous film and rock stars whose names I am unable to quote for reasons of privacy. Organisations which have commissioned works include the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society, the V&A Museum, the Royal Opera House, the Soane Museum, the Toronto Stock Exchange, Vancouver City Hall, University of Oxford, the Dorchester, the Royal Academy and many, many others.

The trick within Amazon is to 'connect' items with existing best sellers using some of the mechanisms which exist on the site. If someone is looking for books on Charles Rennie Mackintosh (or even Frank Lloyd Wright) then they should find a reference or link to one of Timothy's models and/or a stained glass panel. Even if this does not immediately result in a purchase it may sow the seeds of an idea which may bear fruit when Christmas or a birthday comes along. These are very upscale items but I was told earlier that the average household income of Amazon-customers is $200K, a number which intuitively feels a tad too high though I could believe it to be into 6 figures.

Over the coming weeks we will be adding several new lines to our sites including some Frank Lloyd Wright items and some other niche products in the broad area of gifts and home decor so....watch this space!

2005-08-07T19:26:00.000-04:00

Pending launch of Timothy Richards superb architectural sculptures

This posting is a tad premature but what the heck!

I believe that I have secured a non-exclusive right to distribute the art of Timothy Richards. I only discovered Timothy's work quite recently and it is not always billed as 'art' but art is what it is, without a shadow of doubt.

What Timothy has been doing for close to 20 years is making the finest archirectural models imagineable. Many are what I would describe as "bread-and-butter" items which can be used as bookends but his line-up also includes some signed and numbered limited edition pieces which belong behind glass, if not also under lock and key!

What destinguishes his work from the pack? Well, first of all Timothy's items are hand-made, in his workshop and studio in Bath in England. They are made with traditional construction materials; the primary material used is gypsum plaster but architectural details are added using lead, copper, brass and other conventional building materials with hand-painted finishes and decoration where appropriate.

The end-products are simply breathtaking in both substance and detail and they are simply light-years ahead of other mass-made and/or resin molded products.

Although by far the majority of these works of art are created with functionality in mind - to act either as single or pairs of bookends - these creations can justifiably be given pride of place on any desk or table or mantle.

Whether your taste is Art Deco, Gaudi, Neo-Classical or something completely different or if you would like something related to Harvard, the White House or Number 10 Downing Street there is something here for you. Buildings featured range from the Old Club-House at St Andrews golf course to great English country houses to the V&A, National Portrait Gallery and Dorchester Hotel in London to the Toronto Stock Exchange to Vacouver City Hall and Ellis Island, gateway to America.

These are not inexpensive but an expression which I learned early in life comes to mind and that is "You get what you pay for" and never has this been more true. In actual fact I have seen cheap Chinese resin-molded products at similar prices but the difference is in the profit-margins. With Timothy's models you are paying for craftsmanship and quality, there are no great mark-ups.

At time of writing we have only created descriptions and details for 12 items but, barring unforeseen problems, we plan to add more quite quickly and would ideally like to get the entire collection online within a week or two at most.

You can see whatever we have online at
MQGifts.com

2005-07-22T07:13:00.000-04:00

Have you ever visited a website called CafePress?

It is a great site which sells a wide range of items such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, posters, cards all incorporating artwork and slogans uploaded by users.

'Users' range from someone who has designed a t-shirt proudly displaying his or her loved-one's image purely intended as a one-off personal purchase to someone getting (say) 20 t-shirts made as give-aways for a special event or occasion all the way up to someone who has created literally hundreds of designs and is actively marketing them for a living.

The way it works financially is that for every item there is a base price, which is what CafePress themselves take out of the equation, this is also the price that anyone doing a one-off item will pay. Users who plan to sell more items have the opportunity to mark up prices according to what they think they can get. Usually it is only $3 or $4 above the base price but it can be more or less and what happens very simply is that if CafePress sell any such items whatever comes in above the base price is credited to whoever has posted the item for sale.

Since last weekend there are now some items incorporating some images of stained glass. The range is relatively narrow although when you add up all of the different products available it totals over 250 items. Rather than trying to describe it the easiest is to send you over there to take a look so here is a link to
CafePress

2005-07-17T15:11:00.000-04:00

So, what is new after all these months with no updates? Well, in case you had not heard, the makers of Glassmasters went out of business. Apparently the business suffered a serious blow back in 2002 when The Museum Company, the former owner and largest customer, became bankrupt. This was all fairly well known but what was not well known was that the business was losing money through 2003 and 2004 to the point where the owner, who was not active in the business, quite understandably drew a line and put the business into what is somewhat euphemistically called "friendly foreclosure".

The news of this situation began to break back in May but the situation was complicated and quite drawn out due to the continuance of limited production in order to use up work-in-progress and meet at least some customer needs before the facility was totally closed down.

Throughout this period a succession of potential buyers have investigated the possibility of acquiring the assets with a view to restarting the business. Having a tremendous admiration for the product line and believing it to have very significant undeveloped potential I became one of those potential buyers but sadly was unable to find the right financial partners within the limited time available. Even as I type at least one and possibly two attempts at purchasing these assets are underway.

Personally I hope that one of these succeeds because I do believe that these are very fine products. The feedback which I have had from the marketplace has been consistently positive and I strongly believe in the potential for growth. Also, from a practical business perspective, I would like to begin selling these products again.

The unexpected and unwelcome demise of Glassmasters and Stonemasters has forced us to accelerate plans to diversify across several complimentary product lines. Via Amazon and our Amazon-hosted site we have already launched a new line of stained glass which is made in the UK and we have identified a further 3 product lines which we believe fit with the "Museum Quality" brand which we have chosen for ourselves. One of these has already responded positively and we are hopeful that the others will follow. The new line of stained glass is quite different from Glassmasters in a number of respects. Firstly it is distinctly "English" in style and there are no opalescent items. Within the line the nearest to American glass are some reproductions of designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh the Scottish architect and designer who was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. All of the pieces in the new line are hand-painted in the UK and this is said to make it easier to replicate colours but this is at the expense of colour-fastness because their process does not include the high-temperature firing which the Glassmasters one has. Whereas Glassmasters works will never fade the same is not true of these UK-made items. If you would like to see some of these then you should visit MQGifts where some have already been uploaded. We plan to add to these quite soon.

Going forwards we may decide to concentrate all sales, at least those of 3rd party products, on Amazon and MQGifts and simply use StainedGlassPhotography as the informational site it was originally created to be.

The loss of business resulting from the demise of Glassmasters has hurt and it is important that we replace it quickly. As an interim step we have even resorted to creating a few items on
CafePress in the hope of snagging some orders from the mass-market. Although we view the long-term with optimism the short-term is not without its problems and if you are even remotely tempted to buy something please do because every little will help.

2005-04-02T17:54:00.000-05:00

Today I uploaded a few of the images of the Harry Clarke windows from Bayonne, New Jersey. These 9 angels stand high above the altar, each carrying one of the symbols of the Mass. They comprise the first part of a project commenced less than a year before Clarke's untimely death to which he devoted much attention as it was his studio's first American commission. Due to the situation and height of the windows it is not possible to get clear shots of them without scaffolding or some other form of elevation. Click here to see them.

2005-02-27T12:43:00.000-05:00

Stained glass window by Harry Clarke Studios from the church of St Vincent de Paul in Bayonne, New Jersey.

2005-01-26T18:47:00.000-05:00

In partnership with Amazon we have just launched a brand new online store. In it you will find the entire range of Glassmasters and Stonemasters products as well as some of our own photographic prints and Frameable Art Cards.

Order placement will be via Amazon.com which will mean that if you are one of the 43 million or so registered users of Amazon you will be able to buy from us with just a couple of clicks.

If you have not looked at the Glassmasters product line recently we urge you to do so because it has undergone quite a lot of change this past year or so. There have been over 30 new items added and some older designs have been retired or are gradually being phased out as stocks are depleted. New Glassmasters designs include several reproductions of Tiffany works, a beautiful rendering of the rose window which was the last work undertaken by Matisse before he died, several Kinkade pieces including 3 new table lamps and a whole series of pieces featuring the art of Marjolein Bastin.

We will also shortly be introducing several new reproductions of statuary by Glassmasters' sister-company, Stonemasters.

Over the recent Holiday period we received orders from literally hundreds of new customers and the feedback we have received has been incredibly positive.

There are currently two active links to the new store
MQGifts is going to be our main identity - it stands for Museum Quality Gifts and this is the common thread which will run through all of our product offerings whether they be from Glassmasters, from Stonemasters or eventually from other manufacturers. In addition because the store is called RALLEY which is the identity which we established on Amazon I chose as another url PNR1.com which is purely an ego-trip as it stands for P. Neil Ralley.

So, pay us a visit and take a look at our products. We honestly believe that there is something here for everyone and for every gift-giving occasion. At time of writing this you can still order in time for Valentine's Day and we have several very appropriate items. In the Glassmasters line there is 'The Kiss'by Rosetti as well as 'The Kiss by Klimt' but there are many other possibilities such as 'Orchard Cardinals' for a bird-lover, Muzzle-Nuzzle for someone who likes wild animals or even van Gogh's 'Sunflowers'. In the Stonemasters line there is Brancusi's 'The Kiss' and Rodin's 'Cathedral' as well as Lipman's 'Wedding Rings' although in case of the last two there are possible availability issues. If anyone is interested please email me ahead of placing an order.

2004-07-18T23:30:00.000-04:00

St Cecilia by Evie Hone from Lanercost Priory in Cumbria, England.

2004-07-18T23:25:00.000-04:00

Ane excellent post by Rolf Achilles, curator of the Smith Museum of Stained Glass in Chicago:

Throughout the US urban Catholic immigrant national churches have suffered
massive losses. Most of them were wonderfully decorated. There are mural
companies whose works have been shredded, saints martyred in dumpsters,
stained glass windows punched out. Why such activity? Three obvious main
reasons: changing religious affiliations in neighborhoods, and cost of
maintaining buildings, and probably the most crucial, Catholics changing
social vision.

In Catholic immigrant cities such as Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, to name
just three, each national Catholic community wanted its own building,
decorated in its own way, more often than not in the Munich style, and
contributed diligently and generously to achieve it. Often these national
churches were built within a quick walk of each other resulting in a
picturesque, almost medieval fairy-tale romantic, collection of spires.
Though few congregations looked past their own portals and into their
neighbors church, the interiors were often magnificently appointed with
murals, statues, stained glass windows. The building echoed each community's
assurance and pride. And, all of it was totally dependent on the generosity
of the congregation.

By the 1960s, the founding communities were gone and its children mostly
moved out of the old neighborhood, returning only for special occasions, and
requiring parking lots to do so. What were the buildings, so stuck in their
time, to do? As often as not, administrators took over maintenance and paid
the bills. As clergy came and went, each wanted to leave a mark of where
they had been. Their marks, the attitude of their superiors, and the
theological winds from the Bishops Councils and the Vatican contributed to a
congregation, socially conscious but otherwise unaware of visual, emotional,
and traditional devotional literacy. Meanwhile the building survived only
because its founders built well. When the building reached a geriatric
condition, as many did in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, the 1960s and 1970s, the
Diocesan as well as the broader communal concerns are mostly elsewhere.

Meanwhile well meaning individuals, small group, and some congregations set
about to save their buildings from the ravages of age, and many
congregations have done and continue to do so with brilliant results.
Other Catholic Churches were and are sold to other denominations, some are
abandoned altogether, some are redecorated, more often than they should,
they become wards of a hemorrhaging and incompetent diocesan bureaucratic
structure. In many cities, including Chicago, religious structures stand
outside the scope of landmark ordinances nor are they necessarily subject to
their applications. While this may be of some immediate advantage, it is
cultural suicide.

Across the US there have been wonderful conversions into condos, community
centers, libraries, retail stores, limited only by imagination.

Over the years in Chicago there have been many battles fought to same
neighborhood churches, some have been triumphs, others failures.

A couple of decades ago, Father George Lane marshaled a group in Chicago to
save Holy Family and then raised several million dollars to restore it
superbly. The German and Wisconsin based Institute of Christ the King has
acquired and magnificently restored a church in Wausau, Wisconsin to its
original splendor and is starting to do the same in St. Louis and Chicago.
Religious organizations such as Opus Dei have restored buildings to their
original splendor and keep open access. Several other success can be told.
Again, all it takes is money, lots of money combined with will and
imagination.

The Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows at Navy Pier in Chicago, has been
open to the public since February 2000. Before the public ever saw one
window, the Museum had saved at its own expense and purchased at auction
several dozens of Catholic church windows. These windows are from churches
the Archdiocese of Chicago slated for demolition and then allowed the
windows and other desired objects to be safely removed. The Chicago
Archdiocese also established a repository for art objects its own crews
removed. Not everything worth saving was, nor did everything of interest
make it to the depository.

Through its ongoing activity, the Smith Museum has acquired several dozen
fine windows by German and American firms, including 5 18-20 foot diameter
rose windows. What to do with them? Each window will cost several hundred
thousand dollars to fully install at Navy Pier. But the Museum thinks the
money is well spent because some 3.5 million people see the Smith Museum's
collection of windows each year. And, the collection is not static. The
Museum continues to acquire significant windows, locally, nationally,
internationally.

While it is most significant to display windows in their intended, original
context, saving them as art for an audience that may never see them in situ,
is also important. Especially when the stained glass window is brought to
an audience, as it is at Navy Pier. The display of stained glass windows in
this accessible context raises awareness of stained glass as an art form. It
shows people that this unique and very accessible art form was historically
designed to be understood by most every viewer.

Much like every community strives to have an arts center, locally discarded
religious and church art could be set up in malls, vacant main street
stores, hotels, city halls, county buildings and other publicly accessible
places across the United States. Of course this takes money, but it also
takes a willingness in the community, and most of all, the participation of
religious leaders, architects, developers, and public officials, elected or
otherwise.

While everyone knows a stained glass window success story or two, hundreds
of losses occur and it's the losses that write our history more than our
success.

Cheers, Rolf Achilles
Curator, Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows

2004-07-18T22:54:00.000-04:00

Cooking with Yoghurt

When the pressure to reduce the dairy products content of my diet became too great to ignore I began to try substituting fat-free or low fat yoghurt for cream, half-cream and milk in recipes.

Surprisingly it actually works quite well and introduces its own flavour to dishes, whether they be savoury or desserts.

A couple which I have found work particularly well are the dressing for marinated salmon (or lachs) which combines cream or yoghurt with grated radish and onions, sugar, salt, dijon mustard and vinegar as well as yoghurt mixed with fresh berries and other assorted fruits.

Tonight I tried a new version of potato gratinee. The traditional dish requires fresh cream (possibly milk also), gruyere cheese, nutmeg, garlic, potatoes and seasonings. What I tried today, with some success, was to substitute plain fat-free yoghurt for the milk & cream. I did not have any gruyere cheese and so ended up using plain American Swiss but the end-result was really not at all bad and I would assume had a lot less fat than the creamier french version.

2004-07-18T22:38:00.000-04:00

Angel detail by Tiffany Studios for Church of the Incarnation, Madison Avenue, New York.

2004-07-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

The Tibertine Sibyl, a design by Edward Burne-Jones from a window made by William Morris Company. The window is in St Paul's Church in Irton, Cumbria in England.

2004-07-15T07:56:00.000-04:00

I participate in a newsgroup about stained glass and a discussion was started recently concerning the fate of 65 Catholic churches in the Boston Diocese which are to be closed. Here is the first posting which triggered the discussion:

"Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Church in Newton, Massachusetts
www.maryimmaculateoflourdes.org is one of the 65 churches proposed for
closing in the Boston Archdiocese. Since it is in a local historic
district created under State Law (Chapter 40C of the Massachusetts General
Laws), no exterior architectural features can be altered without permission
of the Newton Upper Falls Historic District Commission.

Nevertheless, the diocese's closing manual says that windows will be
offered to other churches and those windows that cannot be removed safely
(since the church was built in 1910, most would fall in this category)
will be destroyed (to prevent them from winding up on e-Bay according to
the diocesan spokesman). Does any one have any experience with other
closings and this procedure, conflicts between dioceses and civil
authorities over protected buildings, and generally stopping the
destruction of precious artifacts under Canon Law?

The windows which can be seen in a separate section of the web site are by
F.X. Zettler. Any definitive statements from general sources on the
value of Zettler windows would be of use. There's some beautiful interior
art by Professor Gonippo Raggi, who painted more than 100 churches in North
and South America and in Europe, including several basilicas and
cathedrals including the designated for closing Pro-Cathedral of
Newark, New Jersey. Statements of the value of Raggi's work by
contemporary authorities, not just the two Popes and three kings who
honored him, would be valuable as well."

Alderman Brian Yates

I will also add the post made by Tim Orwig of Boston University:

"Yes, churches have closed in other cities. But the Roman Catholic Archdiocese
of Boston is closing 65 churches all at the same time. Furthermore, the
development pressures in Boston are extraordinarily high and the
Diocese is trying to pay off its lawsuit debts, so the likelihood is
that most of these buildings will be destroyed for redevelopment. Besides that, the
churches are all run by a central authority which basically ignores most community requests. It has also repeatedly proven itself an ardent foe of preservation.

No, there is likely to be unprecedented destruction of cultural resources in
Boston."

Tim Orwig
Boston University

I have no first-hand knowledge of the churches involved here. I have only visited Boston a couple of times and have never seen or entered any of these particular 65 churches. I do feel sure that some of them, at least, are of architectural merit and worthy of preservation in some form or other - religious or secular - but I cannot pass an opinion as to whether these are 'treasures' on a national scale. However, what BLOWS MY MIND is the suggestion that works of art might be destroyed "rather than have them end up on Ebay"!

What is so BAD about Ebay that makes it "a fate worse than total destruction"??

This attitude seems to me to be every bit as bad as the ravages of John Knox in the early days of the Scottish Reformation or Henry VIII's destruction of the English monasteries.

Do not misunderstand me, I am not advocating the sale of church artifacts on Ebay. For me that would have to be a last resort, though still infinitely preferable to total destruction.

What is wrong with carefully dismantling the windows (and other artwork) and carefully packing them in boxes and putting them in storage until another generation is born which better appreciates fine art and history? Whereas the Catholic Church is undoubtedly short of cash I cannot believe that there is a shortage of storage space.

That anyone could even THINK of destruction as an option is beyond my comprehension.

Two stories come to mind here. The first concerns an artifact called the Ruthwell Cross. This important and very early (5thC? 6thC?) teaching cross was outside the parish church in Ruthwell in SW Scotland. At the time of the Reformation orders came down from Knox and his followers in Edinburgh that all 'symbols of idolatory' had to be destroyed and that the Ruthwell Cross was judged to be such a symbol. At first the Minister there ignored the orders but eventually the pressure reached a point where he had to do something. What he did was to partially follow his orders - he did break up the cross but, rather than total destruction, he carefully broke it into 3 or 4 large pieces which he then buried under the floor in the church.

The cross remained buried, and forgotten, for over 200 years before it was discovered and re-assembled in a more enlightened age - the 19thC - and it is now carefully preserved in the church at Ruthwell.

The other story concerns a very fine window by Henry Holiday which was made for Drew University in 1883. In 1937 the library where it was housed was demolished and the window was put into storage and forgotten about. It was finally "rediscovered" in the 1978 and is now proudly displayed in the lobby of the new library.

The moral of both of these stories is that "times change" and at any given time the 'powers that be' have a duty to preserve things that might be valued by later generations. This standard should probably be applied to some of these churches in their entirity but if that is not possible then at least let the standard be applied to stained glass, statuary and other works of art which can so easily and inexpensively be stored.

2004-07-13T15:56:00.000-04:00

An angel in stained glass by Tiffany Studios from St Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia.

2004-07-11T10:34:00.000-04:00

Statues in Carrera marble from the altar of St Anthony's parish church in Jersey City, New Jersey.

2004-07-10T09:48:00.000-04:00

Second angel in stained glass from St Joseph's parish church in Jersey City, New Jersey.

2004-07-10T01:25:00.000-04:00

Angel detail in stained glass from St Joseph's parish church, Jersey City, New Jersey.

2004-07-09T17:04:00.000-04:00

For anyone who has not visited my StainedGlassPhotography website or has not done so recently I would like to suggest that you visit the 'buildings'sectionwhere you will find an assortment of work arranged according to where it is located and not by designer or studio.

Each folder contains a page or two of thumbnails which generally load quite quickly and then you can click on any which particularly catch your eye to see larger versions or, if you have time and are not hampered by a slow connection you can click through all of the images in the folder via navigation buttons.

At time of writing the four most recently uploaded folders contain works from churches in Jersey City, three of which are Catholic churches which are presently under possible threat of closure due to consolidation of parishes. Should the worst happen one can only hope that good homes can be found for some of the wonderful works of art which, as you will see if you visit, includes marble statuary as well as some gorgeous stained glass. However there are no guarantees that these works will be saved - just a couple of weeks ago I read an article in the news about the disposal of artwork by one or more churches in the Philadelphia Diocese and it appeared that although genuine efforts were made to house figurative works in other churches and give back windows donated as memorials to families which had donated them there was still a balance of artwork which was being sold to dealers and private collectors for relatively small sums of money. This must be heart-breaking for members of these congregations to see.

2004-07-09T10:22:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I set up a visitor questionnaire on my website, it was more of a technical stretch than I care to admit.

Finding it was not especially difficult. Goggle came up with some options and eventually I spotted one which looked very user-friendly in terms of questionnaire design and (most importantly) had a free 2 week 'no-strings' trial.

Designing the questionnaire was a piece of cake and it is incredibly easy to go back and edit, even after it is up and running. What complicated the whole thing was that it only has two modes of operation - it can be emailed to customers or it can be clickable from a button on the website. Because I do not have the email addresses of all my visitors and am not optimistic about getting people to click on a button, especially if (as many people do) they have really arrived at the site 'by mistake' and leave straight from the home page, what I wanted to do was to adapt it as a pop-under page which would be found after the visitor had left.

This was a challenge. I did find a couple of places with HTML code to create pop-unders but the first assumed a greater degree of knowledge and proficiency than I possess and the second proved to be fine until I misinterpreted one of the bits I had to fill in with my own site info. I had wanted to have it placed on several different pages (because people who visit come in through several 'doors') but with cookies ensuring that any one person only received one questionnaire pop-under per browser session. Unfortunately it seemed that it was configured in such a way that if a visitor went to all 4 pages where the questionnaire was placed he or she would receive 4 pop-unders and so what I ended up doing is only putting it on 2 pages and selecting two where it was (realtively) unlikely that a visitor would go to both in one session.

The real-time stats at FreeSurveyOnline.com tell me that in about 18 hours 37 questionnaires have been displayed (not too bad considering that they are placed on inside pages) but only one has been filled out. It is beginning to appear that my chances of obtaining much useful data out of this are fairly remote.

What I would really like to do is to figure out ways to increase my online sales. I am already selling Glassmasters stained glass panels, Stonemasters statues, cards and prints. All of these items are available to the 29 million folks (yes, 29 million!) who visit Amazon as well as to the 400-600 folks who show up at StainedGlassPhotography.com every day and yet the sales are disappointingly sporadic and currently almost totally non-existant.

I know that sales are happening, both on- and off-line because that is what I am hearing from Glassmasters. This is also logical from an intuitive standpoint - they are beautiful products and make great gift items for a wide range of occasions. There are people whose wives, husbands, girlfriends, sons, daughters, grandmothers, mothers, fathers etc etc are having birthdays throughout the year. Anniversaries are not seasonal, weddings and christenings happen all the time. There is some seasonality with graduations and certain holidays such as Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day and Christmas but my point is that there is the potential for constant demand for these items.

What I need to discover is why folks (or more folks) are not buying my offerings and what I can do to fix it. It could be that this is just an incredibly quiet time of year with huge numbers of people doing outdoors 'summer' stuff and being on vacation but there is still business being done and I would like to understand why at least some of it is not coming my way.

On a totally different tack I heard on the radio that Ridge has been conditioning Americans to expect terrorist attacks as the election draws closer. Whilst I do not have the slightest doubt that there is a concerted effort on the part of Bin Laden and his network to conduct further acts on the scale of 9/11 or even greater and it is possible the the election might have a bearing on their timing I am 110% sure that such an act is far more likely to lead to Bush being re-elected than not.

My reasoning is that if there is an attack on the American people this will result in a closing of ranks and a strengthening of the position of leadership. Bush's popularity was never higher than in the wake of 9/11 and that is no coincidence. If the Bin Laden camp believes that what took place in Madrid and Spain generally could happen in the USA then, in my opinion, they are mistaken. The situation in Spain was very different and the Spanish government was more out on a limb. In addition the clumsy attempt to implicate the Basques was badly misjudged.

It will be interesting to see whether history repeats itself and Bush junior goes the way of Bush senior, losing his second term following a Gulf War. Continued problems with insurgents in Iraq with further loss of American lives there is going to damage Bush far more than a terrorist incident here in the US particularly, as seems to be the case, if the situation in Iraq is a result of actions by widespread conflicting factions and not Al Quaida and terrorist groups. What Bush does not need is for things to happen which lead Americans to question whether the whole thing is worth the effort and worth the sacrifice.

2004-07-08T15:11:00.000-04:00

Just heard on Bloomberg Radio that people are now speculating about a slow-down in the economy.

Can't say thay I'm totally surprised, there are an awful lot of negative economic factors which have built up these last few years and which, at some point, have to limit the scale of any recovery. Let's examine a few:

1. There was a whole section of the economy based on the dot-com boom which blossomed in the 90's, declined after the Millenium and has now all-but-died. This is not to say that the internet is not a thriving sub-economy or that there are not growth companies in that space but I personally believe that the days of burgeoning job growth there are behind us.

2. Whole chunks of bricks-and-mortar jobs have evaporated in the last decade. Once upon a time there was an Enron, an Arthur Andersen...and and. These entities employed vast numbers of high-paid workers who travelled, spent money and consumed. They are no more, they have ceased to be....

3. Steadily but surely jobs are being thinned out here in the US and insofar as they re-emerge it is in places such as China, India, Indonesia and the Phillipines. A couple of weeks ago I called my phone company because there was static on the line and the customer service representative I found myself speaking to was in Manilla! It is now not uncommon to have computer programming work done in India and it has long been the case that manufacturing is cheaper and just as efficiently carried out in places like China and Mexico.

4. Things are lasting longer than they used to. As technology advances so does quality and reliability. This is true for cars, computers, peripheral devices and all manner of household and industrial equipment. People get into the habit of changing cars every 3 years or so but many are waking up to the fact that things are simply not wearing out like they used to. The invention and production of new devices and technology as well as the spreading of existing technology to a wider cross-section of the population may mitigate the reduction in obsolescence but there are limits and over the longer term one can surely expect there to be a steady downward trend in jobs in the manufacturing sector in the US. Even if production of new devices offsets the decline in demand for old ones there is likely to be a continuing geographic shift. How many mobile phones are made in America?

5. The organisation of work continues to be made more efficient. SAP, Peoplesoft, Oracle, Inventory Control, LEAN, Six-Sigma and, and, and.....are all making the business of making things, controlling inventories and doing business much more efficient and with much less reliance on manpower. These are not trends which can be measured from day to day but over the course of several years a clear trend will be evident. Much of the time organisations do not immediately adapt to increases in efficiency, quite often they will wait for a downturn so that the action taken in reorganising and eliminating jobs and cost can be shown as being, at least in part, externally driven.

6. People have got used to travelling less. One of the effects of the recession and of 9/11 was to cause people to travel less both for business and pleasure. Organisations devised work-arounds by making greater use of technology to improve communication without the need for physical proximity. This impacted (and continues to impact) the airlines, the hotel industry, the restaurant trade and all manner of other travel-related and service industries. Many are arguing that there is at least 25% excess capacity in the airline industry alone and that until that capacity goes away as a result of the bankruptcy of one or several airlines everyone will continue to struggle and make losses.

7. There has been and continues to be much consolidation in the banking and financial services sector which will ultimately lead to less jobs and, significantly, less high-paid jobs because the higher-paying ones are those most vulnerable to consolidation.

8. The pharmaceutical sector is almost certainly going to undergo very significant changes as pressures on drug prices continue to build up. There has already been much consolidation but the sector will be under increasing pressure to reduce its cost base and this will inevitably impact jobs and the revenues of third party suppliers to the sector.

That is probably enough for now. This whole subject is one which I have long been thinking about. I wish that I was able to quantify some of the above because I believe that the total impact is considerable and to whatever extent the economy recovers I do not see a return to previous highs in terms of growth and employment.

Just my 2 cents......

2004-07-07T08:58:00.001-04:00

So, what is new since December? Well, earlier this year StainedGlassPhotography became a distributor of the Glassmasters and Stonemasters product lines and I have just added links to both of them.

Glassmasters is a long-established company in Richmond, VA, which manufactures the kind of stained glass panels which you see in gift shops at places like the Met in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Smithsonian and many other fine institutions in America and around the world. I was already familiar with some of their reproductions of Tiffany and Frank Lloyd Wright works but it was not until I began talking to them and looking through their catalogue that I discovered that they also do representations of impressionist works by the likes of Van Gogh, Degas and Monet as well as contemporary works by Kinkade. They even do reproductions of works by wildlife photographers and painters.

At first the purist in me was a little uncomfortable with representing suncatchers featuring Orchard Cardinals and the Mad Bluebird and his Mate, to say nothing of Kinkade works. I thought that they might be 'cheesy' and lacked the academic credentials of reproductions of works by Tiffany, La Farge and Frank Lloyd Wright or such classics as the rose window in Notre Dame.

What finally laid my fears to rest was a visit to the Glassmasters exhibit at the New York Gift Fair. There I was able to see the entire range and I have to say that any doubts I had harboured about how well some items lent themselves to being recreated as stained glass panels or suncatchers were soon dispelled.

The Hautman family paintings of birds and other wildlife look stunning in terms of the way that the fine drawing and the beautiful colouring has been painstakingly reproduced. Similarly the works of the impressionists and Kinkade have been skillfully recreated as stained glass panels which really come alive when backlit.

All of these panels are made in Richmond which has to make this one of the few lines of gift items not being manufactured in China, SE Asia or Mexico.

In addition to the stained glass panels and suncatchers Glassmasters also make reproduction Tiffany lamps and some other decorative items such as boxes and upscale photo frames. However, I have some doubts about the online marketability of some of these items. It is extremely difficult to convey to someone the look, feel and substance of a Tiffany lamp and I think that people will generally prefer to shop for items like these in a traditional 'bricks and mortar' shop.

I very much like the access which the Glassmasters line has given me to Frank Lloyd Wright's work. Many people do not realise that he was as prolific a producer of stained glass designs as Tiffany and La Farge and all three were contemporaries even though Wright is generally thought of as more 'modern'. Despite this I have not had the opportunity to photograph any of his works and, before Glassmasters came along, all I could offer were some book recommendations and links to other websites.

2004-07-06T23:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I tried to discipline myself to post and keep this blog up to date but failed miserably.

It could have lapsed and all evaporated into cyberspace but today I learned that Yahoo is giving prominence to something called RSS and when I did some digging around I found that RSS is basically what blogs are constructed from.

What I think this (therefore) means is that if I begin to update my blog and register it with Yahoo there is a possibility that some Yahoo users might pick it up on their radar screens and pay it a visit or more and from there begin to visit my real website where they might actually buy something or pass it along to a friend or relative who might buy something

2003-12-20T19:25:00.000-05:00

This is long overdue. I had been concerned about my readiness to knuckle down to the routine of making entries but (for me) the issue is more one of frame of mind and that is hard to legislate for.
Yesterday I learned that my pictures have been posted on the website of the Sisters of Charity of St Elizabeth, no acknowledgement of course, but that's not a big deal. If they get orders then I will be making the prints so that's OK. They really are beautiful windows and the nuns have done a very nice job of presenting them on the website. It is sad that the concert and art show was cancelled because of the snow but I think that they will set another date to show and sell the art sometime in the spring.
Having these new pictures online has given me a nice excuse to write to the people on my (growing) mailing list and that cannot hurt.
Now that Christmas is almost here and I have not been overwhelmed by orders for cards I can admit to myself and the world that this whole thing is going to take a while to get off the ground - years, not months. However, one thing that I can honestly say is that everyone who has bought from me this year is a real prospect for more sales next year - this being based on feedback I have received.

2003-12-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

Found another site with images of Harry Clarke works. Glenmaddy Church in Galway.

2003-12-09T23:33:00.000-05:00

Still at 60 points but I did pass the Zealot test today which makes me eligible for promotion when I have more points.

Am rapidly coming to the conclusion that I need to revert to my 'day job' in order to generate some short-term income because the stained glass 'stuff' is not likely to generate enough revenue soon enough. I remain totally convinced that it represents the potential for a sound business but it is taking longer than (a) it should and (b) I need to come through.

Found a good reference to some Harry Clarke windows today at the Diseart Centre
I would like to see and photograph the windows he did at Bayonne here in NJ. His work is really very special and I suspect that I could find details in the Bayonne windows (which are high above the sanctuary) that would not be easy to see from below.

2003-12-08T22:27:00.000-05:00

I've signed up for something called Zeal.com which I think is aimed at collating and indexing so-called 'non-commercial' sites on the net using an army of volunteers. I joined it primarily to secure some listings for stainedglassphotography but have stuck around and am now clocking up points and getting up the first rung or two of the "Zealot" promotional ladder. I couldn't resist taking the exam which tests editing techniques a la Zeal and knowledge of their rules - it reminded me a bit of taking the US written driving test. However, unlike the driving test I did not pass first time. My first score was horrendous - about 50% - through not having read enough of the rules and trying to "wing it". The second time was a respectable 90% but still short of the required 95%. Third time I got 100%. I have to say that pitting against the likes of Google I don't think that Zeal has much of a chance. The other thing is the viability of separating commercial from non-commercial entities and web pages. One of the things which (IMO) makes Google so effective is that broadly speaking it finds pages and sites based on their assessed relevance. As soon as a search engine splits search data into "paying" and "none-paying" categories the data loses its integrity and so far Google has not fallen into that trap. Zeal, on the other hand, directs all 'commercial' listings over to Looksmart who will try to get them to pay for listing and this IMO is seriously flawed because if they do not pay and are excluded then whatever searches are done by Zeal or Looksmart or some combination are searching a limited field whereas Google searches everywhere. Anyway I'm not sure how long I will hang out with the Zeal crowd. There is a huge disparity between my 60 points and the 235,000 points that some of the Zealots have though I suspect that increases in points happen exponentially and not linearly. Here are 3 of the links which I gave them St John's in Stamford, St James's in Cambridge and Trinity Church in KY

2003-12-07T19:58:00.000-05:00

I don't want to miss a day and so I will add this brief post.

Firstly the slide-show went very well despite a couple of setbacks. Firstly I could not use the large screen set-up because the ambient light coming in from some unreachably high windows was too great and we had to revert to 'plan B' with a smaller screen and different set-up. Secondly the snow kept some people home and so the number present was only 40-50 whereas I think it could easily have been double if the weather had been more cooperative. Nevertheless a good time was had by all and they want me to return in the New Year to do an expanded re-run.

The next items to mention concern Google. Has anyone heard of the Google Dance? If not check here. Much more interesting is that it seems that in its latest update Google has eliminated a HUGE number of sites from top 100 listings which must have caused massive wailing and gnashing of teeth, especially in the run-up to Christmas. For details of this and a neat tool to see if you were affected click here. This is a fascinating website and well worth taking time to look around. I have to be a bit careful because Blogger is owned by Google but you should take a look and draw your own conclusions....

2003-12-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

If I'm reading the stats correctly I'm more or less the only one reading this! Of course it's early days and I have to concentrate on writing interesting and amusing stuff and posting good links in order to attract and hold people's attention.

Well, here in New Jersey we are in the middle of a blizzard. I've just done a (very) little bit of snow-clearing and I would estimate that we have received something like 9 of the 15 or so inches of snow that is being forecast. It just keeps on falling.

At this point I have no clue whether I will be doing the planned slide-show tomorrow. I assume that the church service will go ahead per normal, it is in a town and so the roads should be fairly clear. However, it is possible that they may postpone the AGM to which the slide-show was being attached. I would guess that a number of potential attendees will be snow-bound or ought not to be venturing out in 15" or so of accumulated snow and risking falls on icy pavements and walkways.

From my side I'm game to try to get over to Summit. The roads are likely to have been ploughed by Sunday morning but I will try to find out if the church is going to reschedule the meeting which would probably be the smart thing to do.

Turning to stained glass, I just discovered by accident that Church of the Incarnation has finally re-vamped its website incorporating the photographs which I took way back in January 2001. It would have been nice if they would have acknowledged the work as mine and perhaps even provided a link to my website but alas no. I can't be sure that all of the images are mine but I am absolutely certain that several are.

The Henry Holiday window at Drew University is worth a visit. Unfortunately this photograph on the Drew website does not do it justice.

2003-12-05T17:15:00.000-05:00

For the nth time this year my plans, and even income, have been impacted by bad weather. Back in June it was outdoor fairs being hit by rain and unseasonally cold and windy conditions, now it is early snow-storms that are disrupting my plans.

Even if the Verona 'Fair in the Square' happens tomorrow, which I seriously doubt due to the several inches of snow which have fallen today and with more reported to be en route, I will not be setting up shop. Cold is one thing but dampness and snow and ice is something else and these are not the kind of conditions to try to sell anything, much less printed items which should be kept dry. Even if the event happens, which I think is unlikely, there is unlikely to be much business transacted. If I have learned one lesson this year it is that at outdoor events the weather has a direct influence on people's willingness to buy things.

In addition the concert and exhibition of my photographs, which was to have been held at St Elizabeth's convent, has now been cancelled. This was unexpected - I certainly thought that there was a risk of cancellation but am surprised that the decision has been taken today, 48 hours before the event.

At time of writing I still have a slide-show planned to take place in Summit and because the attendees will be, for the most part, from Summit itself that should be safe from cancellation unless the weather gets really bad.

Some good news would be nice. Perhaps the weather will encourage people to stay home and go on the internet and maybe I'll get a surge in orders for my cards - that would be nice!

Selling them online is a real challenge. I have no problem selling them in face-to-face situations, whether it be to retail buyers or to shop-owners and professional purchasers. The cards really sell themselves once people know what they are - actual photographs of stained glass. Online it is different and even though the audience is theoretically predisposed, being people who have come to the website because they are interested in stained glass, it is hard to convey how they look and feel and that they are 'worth the money'.

I think that I may make a curry tonight. Going out, even for a takeaway, is not a good option due to the weather and road conditions and it might be nice to fill up the house with the smell of a simmering curry.......

2003-12-05T08:21:00.000-05:00

We had turbot for dinner last night. For a long time I have been buying dover sole which is both 'safe' (no fishy flavour, no bones in the fillets ) and cheap (I usually pay only $4.99/lb) and I have even found a way of creating thicker fillets, as though it was lemon or grey sole, by layering 2 or 3 of the dover sole fillets before coating them with breadcrumbs.

However, yesterday Shoprite had no dover sole and so I bought turbot which is said to be the best of the flat fish and was only $6.99.

The fillet was big - about 22ozs in one piece - and I decided to cook it that way rather than cut it into 3 portions. I cut some onion and a courgette (zucchini) in a large oval oven-proof dish to provide a base and drizzled a little olive oil on them. I then baked the vegetables in the oven for a few minutes because I knew that the fish would not take long to cook. I just laid the whole fillet on top of the veggies, squeezed a fresh lemon over it, added a few asparagus spears on top and put it in the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes.

It was delicious. Just beginning to break up over the veggies but still firm and very delicately flavoured. The family approved.

Found a good link to accompany this entry

The Worldwide Gourmet which gives some interesting turbot recipes.

2003-12-04T13:09:00.000-05:00

Now for some links to examples of stained glass which are not so prominent online: St James, Titusville, PA Not bad pictures, perhaps a little too well lit from the inside and not enough transmitted light coming through.
No photographs here alas. But the description bears reading and I will certainly add it to my 'to do' list.
Grace Church in Middletown, NY makes up for the lack of pictures in the last link. The standard is mixed but the detail is generally quite discernable.
The last one for now is St James, Fordham in the Bronx which has excellent illustrations.

Browsing through these websites reinforces my view that too few beautiful windows have been photographed. Online there are many descriptions and mentions but without a picture where one could make such a difference. Put this together with a couple of reports which I have read recently of windows being destroyed by fire and (to me at least) there is a compelling case for churches to have their windows photographed for posterity and in case there is a need for repairs or restoration.

2003-12-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

This talk about Floyd and Stein got me thinking that I will try to get some Mussels today and do a Moules Mariniere as an appetiser tonight. It is one of the simplest and yet heartiest dishes and just right for this cold, crisp time of year. Just gently fry and soften up some garlic and onions in olive oil, add a cup or two of white wine and a kilo or so of cleaned and debearded mussels and it's done.

In Belgium there are a gazillion variations on the theme - some with tomatoes, some with mushrooms, some with various herbs, with wine, without wine, with beer (?) and many others I can't recall off-hand. Moules and frites is a staple there - a large bowl of mussels, a large bowl of Belgian french-fries and some fresh bread.

One version of moules et frites

This next one is a little rich for my taste. Celery is a good addition, scallions would be were it not for the recent health-scare, but ginger and fresh cream are not ingredients I would personally add to moules

This site looks interesting but is either slow-loading or doesn't like interacting with my Netscape. For whatever reason I have been unable to open individual recipes.

To round off here is a link to the menu of Chez Leon
in Brussels. If I was multiplying those prices by 0.8 which was the conversion rate not so long ago they would still have looked a little pricey. At $1/1 Euro they look even pricier but now that I have to ADD 20% it is scary! That means that for the tomato and tiny grey shrimp starter, moules, frites and a beer you are looking at a total of $27.00!

2003-12-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

Perhaps feeling a little nostalgic I just ran a Google search to see if Keith Floyd is still alive and kicking, and it seems he is though he may not be in the limelight to the extent he used to be.

Keith is a character in the fullest sense of the word. I used to enjoy watching some of his television shows and admired his style of cooking which I would describe as hearty, relying much on excellent ingredients and cooked with more panache than cordon bleu.

I actually lived near one of the restaurants he ran - the one in Devon - not far from Totnes, though I cannot recall whether I ate there when he was running it.

His book, 'Floyd on Fish' is a must for anyone who is serious about seafood. The recipes are very down-to-earth (or should that be down-to-water?) but are well worth following.

He would always have a glass of wine in his hand while cooking and I suspect that his inbibing over the years has probably taken its toll on him.
Floyd on the BBC

The other fish chef I like is Rick Stein. I have not seen any of his programmes on TV, nor have I had the opportunity to eat in his highly regarded restaurant in Padstow but his book "Taste of the Sea" is excellent.

One of my favourite and most popular recipes from Rick's book is salmon cured with dill and served with a radish, onion, mustard and cream (or yoghurt) sauce. All you do is take two thick fillets of salmon, add salt, pepper, sugar and a generous bunch of dill. Bind them together tightly - I usually use tin-foil wrapped tightly with rubber bands and placed in a ziplock bag. This can then be put in the refridgerator for at least a couple of days, preferably 4-5, until required. From memory the dressing is comprised of grated radishes (the pink ones, not horseradish), grated onion, dijon mustard, sugar, white vinegar and either heavy cream (sinful but delicious) or yoghurt(almost as good and infinitely more healthy). The salmon should be sliced thinly at an angle, running from head to tail, and served with some of the dill as a garnish. One time I prepared it I presented it on a fish-shaped plate with the slices of salmon arranged in the shape of a fish.

Should you think of buying either of these books please use this link to go to Amazon because that way Stainedglassphotography.com will earn a small commission on your purchase. It won't cost you any more, it's just a way of getting Amazon to help with site upkeep costs. Those particular books are not listed but you can get to Amazon via any of the book/links and then just search from there.

2003-12-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

Here's an amusing foody item. A postcard-size dinner menu from the Titanic just went down ('scuse the pun) for $49,500! Can you believe that someone would pay almost 50 grand just to get a piece of card with the menu for "a few days before" the ship sank? It was supposedly given by one of the ship's officers to his wife before the ship left Southhampton and so was not even carefully saved and preserved by one of the survivors - "Emily, keep this safe and dry, some day you might be able to sell it and buy a house!". The menu was not especially inspiring either with golden plover on toast being the only exotic-sounding item and that's only because I don't think I've even seen a plover and it sounds like something which belongs on the endangered species list, unlike the roast chicken and spring lamb which were also featured. I could almost understand someone buying a plate or some cutlery rescued from the murky depths of the atlantic like treasure from a Spanish galleon but a menu which didn't even make it to the voyage?? Give me a break.......Courtesy of Netscape

2003-12-02T22:26:00.000-05:00

Took more pictures of the windows in Calvary Episcopal Church today to add to the ones I will be presenting in the slide show this coming Sunday.
The weather was 'interesting'. While driving over it was mostly sunny but with some dark clouds. When I arrived I took a quick walk around the inside of the church and the glass was bright and gleaming. I then went to the office, said my hellos and then got my gear out of the car and into the church. At this point it immediately got horribly dark and a short snow-flurry began. Just my luck, I thought! Fortunately it was brief and quite soon afterwards the snow stopped and the sun reappeared and it actually proved to be quite good lighting for the shoot. There are trees around the outside and too much direct sun results in heavy shadows and so a little cloud is not a bad thing.

It was interesting toi revisit the windows while thinking about my presentation. I paid particular attention to the Henry Holiday and Powells windows because of the history. Holiday was originally commissioned to do the entire church apart from the rose window which had already been done by Tiffany Studios. The project was to be undertaken over time as money could be raised and his first window was Jesus Blessing the Children in about 1902. There was then a gap of some 18 years before the beautiful set of windows in the sanctuary was added, perhaps to commemorate those who fought in WW1.

When I first shot it I just pidgeon-holed it as Jesus Carrying the Cross and Resurrection but having paid more attention to it yesterday I can see that there are actually two distinct subjects on each side. To the left is the Annunciation as well as Jesus Carrying the Cross and to the right the Resurrection and I think probably the Ascension. In the center, high up, is a window which I call Jesus Lord of the Universe This whole set of windows is very impressive in just about every respect - imagination, drawing, colour, design - and produced by Holiday when he was about 80 years old.

A few years later he produced for them a window featuring three scenes from the life of Jesus which I mistakenly attributed to Powell based on what I was originally told. According to a local historian this design was not well received and apparently there was much criticism of Holiday and angry words spoken. "We are not sure whether mister Holiday is alive or dead but his art is certainly dead" someone is quoted as having said. I do not know all the details but it seems that the church parted company with Holiday and commissioned Powells of Whitefriars to continue where Holiday left off. Speaking personally, while the offending window was certainly not as stunning as the works done by Holiday in the sanctuary in 1920 it was nevertheless every bit as good as any of the windows produced by Powells over the next 2 or 3 decades. Holiday died just a couple of years after the falling out and so he would probably only have executed one or two more commissions had the relationship continued.

Yesterday while photographing the windows I was taken by the sharp contrast between Holiday's treatment of The Annunciation and that of Powells.

This exercise of doing a slide show presentation for the people at Calvary is a very good learning experience for me and is forcing me to dig deeper and get a clearer understanding of my subject all of which is no bad thing.

Also earlier today a small exhibition of my work opened at The Artisan's Touch, a little gallery in Clifton which carries an interesting and eclectic range of work in various art forms. There was not, and will not be, any great fanfare "opening", just Mike Bertelli and I hanging some pictures on the wall and finalising some publicity materials to be distributed around. It will be interesting to see whether anyone visits and/or buys anything......

2003-12-01T18:23:00.000-05:00

I find it impossible to conceive of the history and evolution of mankind. It seems that they have discovered a kitchen which is somwhere around 2,600,000 to 2,500,000 years old. Note the bracketing - 100,000 years which is a mere 50 times the number of years since the time of Jesus and the ancient Romans and today. It is really very awe-inspiring and quite humbling. Link thanks to kiplog which is a mouthwatering collection of food and photography stuff. That also led me to
exploding chef a British food blog which caught my eye because I'm British and lived there long enough to miss British things and places from time to time.

I liked the article about the overweight guy who got a seat on Concord by buying about $1300 worth of biscuits (= cookies in Americanese) from Tesco (the English equivalent of Shoprite). I wish I'd been there and figured that one out because not having flown Concord is one of my regrets.

I used to do quite a bit of international travel, and may do again, and have been lucky enough to have flown quite a lot in business class with occasional upgrades to first class but alas never to Concord. I know that the plane was not the most comfortable way to cross the pond but the idea of flying at supersonic speed and being able to look out and see the curvature of the earth was very appealing to me and I am sad that the planes have been retired. It's a shame, though no surprise, that BA would not allow Richard Branson to take them over.

Here is another great food blog excellent photographs and good French cuisine. Pigs cheeks don't quite cut it with me but the scallops looks like a recipe to try.

2003-12-01T17:57:00.000-05:00

Tried a keyword search using 'stained glass food' and amongst it found this recipe for stained glass cookies which I thought was interesting. I'm not a cookie-maker myself but who knows what might interest visitors?

I'm wondering if I should have been less specific in naming this blog though hopefully the "anything else" extension will give me enough license to roam off at huge tangents because the confines of food and stained glass are too narrow.

2003-12-01T16:43:00.000-05:00

So, how about a stained glass link? Well it just so happens that someone sent me quite a good one and adding it here is easier than updating the links section on the website. The link is to a site featuring the windows in Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio.

2003-12-01T16:14:00.000-05:00

December 1st, launch day! Isn't this (yawn) exciting?

Why am I doing this? Well I read somewhere recently that blogs enjoy quite high profiles with some search engines and so I figured that I would try to catch the attention of some folks "out there" with a view to tempting them to visit my real website.

Why stained glass and food? Well I wanted to do something broader than just stained glass and also a topic which I felt I could handle and food seemed to fit the bill. However the real test will be to see how it develops and how quickly I run out of creative thoughts.....

One of the things which prompted me to think of writing about food was that I came up with two (for me) new dishes on Thanksgiving Day which went down rather well with guests at the Ralley household.

The first was a sweet potato dish which I made by microwaving several sweet potatoes for about 4 or 5 minutes each. After scooping them into a dish I added a good pinch of Indian Tandoori spice, some chopped ginger (fresh would be good but I only had the kind you get with sushi), a little salt and a couple of tablespoons of plain, fresh, yoghurt. Everything should then be mixed well together, or even blended, ready for re-heating just prior to serving. Don't look to me for precise quantities, with this and many other dishes I will judge the amounts of various ingedients as I go along, especially with spices and flavourings. Anyway this turned out delish and received universal praise.

The second was an onion dish which I made up as I went along. Beginning by boiling some small white boiling onions until they were soft and starting to fall apart I then decided to caramelise them. I therefore drained them and put them into another pan containing a little heated olive oil and when they began to caramelise I added a little sugar and a pinch of salt and stirred the mixture taking care that it did not overcook. I then removed it from the heat and added two tablespoonsful of sweet (not hot) mango chutney and stirred it in. I zapped it in the microwave before serving but we had some cold the next day and I can honestly say that either hot or cold works well.

I'm not claiming that either of these is unique or a "first" - they are just a couple of improvisations which I made up without looking at a recipe book and yet which worked out well and were very tasty.