September
1st update
The main
item of news is that I have recently been priviledged to have been asked to
photograph some windows in the Motherhouse of the convent of St Elizabeth at
Convent Station, near Morristown, in New Jersey. These include some of the most
exquisite windows I have ever seen. Probably 19thC and of German origins some
of them are very fine indeed and they are in a building which, of it's nature,
is relatively inaccessible to the public. At this time I am discussing using
the images for charitable purposes to raise money for the Sisters of Charity
but I hope that at some point I will be able to post some of these pictures
on the website because they really are beautiful.
I am beginning
to gear up for the holiday season and am hoping to show and sell work at several
events. The first is a street fair in Madison on October 4th which replaces
the June event cancelled due to bad weather. I am then hoping to do a small
exhibit at St John's in Somerville in early November, attend the NY Episcopal
Diocese convention later that month and then the Caldwell College fair after
Thanksgiving.
If anyone
who reads this is thinking of ordering some of our notecards with the Holidays
in mind, either as cards or as gifts, then I would urge you to place your order
early. We do not carry huge stocks of the cards and if we are inundated with
orders in December then there is a chance that we may have problems fulfilling
them all in time. Right now would be a great time to place your orders and that
way there will be no pressure and you will get your cards in ample time. Also,
please remember that the cost of postage and packing is the same whether you
buy one set, two sets or even ten sets.
September
11th 2003 update
I very much
regret to announce the sad loss, on September 10th, of Walter Douglas Leek (best
known as Doug), who was for 61 years the loving husband of Mary Elizabeth Leek,
father of my wife Eileen, her sister Kathleen and brother Dougie and doting
grandfather of my stepson, Michael. He was a pillar of a man - a sergeant in
the US Marine Corps in WW2 he led machine-gun crews on Iwo Jima and was decorated,
including the Purple Heart. After the war for many years he delivered literally
tons of large animal carcasses to butchers' shops around New York and in his
spare time built a house, single-handedly and with no modern power-tools. He
recovered from a major heart attack and enjoyed a long retirement in Otisville,
NY where he hand-built an extension to his home. For the last 17 years he has
spent as much time as possible with his grandson, Michael who was born with
CP, and has had a profound impact on Michael's development and determination
to overcome his physical limitations. At every possible opportunity Doug would
come to stay with us and spend time with Michael. Sometimes it would be ostensibly
to be there to pick Michael up from school but the reality was that he simply
took every possible opportunity to be with his "buddy" Mike. He also
had 2 other grandchildren of whom he was very proud - Kyle and Stephen - and
both of them, now in their late 20's, had spent many happy summers with "Poppa"
when they were young. Fiercely proud of his family's long tradition in the fire
service in his former home town, Flushing, New York, he recently donated his
great grandfather's silver ceremonial fireman's trumpet to the American Museum
of Firefighters in Hudson, New York. In retirement he was an avid collector
of many things, including antique sewing machines which he took great pleasure
in restoring. He was very active in the Marine Corps League as well as being
a volunteer worker in his local First Aid Rescue Squad. He had tremendous compassion,
a great sense of humour, a strong sense of duty and a strong work ethic. He
will be greatly missed by many and the world was a better place for his presence
and has suffered a loss through his absence.
September
28th 2003 update
In case you
had not noticed there have been a few new features added to the site. Firstly
we have entered into affiliate programmes with AllPosters and Amazon in order
to provide the opportunity for visitors to purchase prints, books and other
items while visiting us and at the same time contributing to the upkeep of the
site. Any goods purchased via one of these links will cost exactly the same
as if purchased by going to these sites direct but if you follow one of our
links and purchase something we receive a small commission. Eventually we may
put the links onto the home page but for the time being you will find them in
the Giftshop. We have tried to keep the items relevant to stained glass and
the artists featured here and it is all passive advertising - if you are not
interested simply ignore it.
The other
thing which we have been working on is a concept which I think we will call
'E-blessings' and which I may even trademark if no-one has beaten me to it.
Basically what we are setting up is a means whereby our visitors can send one
of our images via email with a message and/or scripture attached. This facility
is provided free to us by a company called Supertaf which uses the mechanism
for advertising purposes. We are hopeful that the means of sending free electronic
greetings will not detract from sales of our real cards, which are really a
different thing altogether, and we are very pleased to offer this free service
to our visitors. The first card was created and uploaded earlier today but I
am hopeful that before too long there will be a range of options available featuring
different designs and with different occasions in mind. Here is a link to our first card
