this time last year, we had about 20 inches on the ground and were bracing for what the weather man promised would be a big one. this year, no snow ... this is my 41st winter in vermont, and while i remember others with not much snow, or with snow on the ground for only part of the winter, i never remember getting to the middle of february without having my drivechoice plowed once. its just too weird ... they say the skiings good and from a distance, it does look like the snowmaking works. but in the photo below, that should all be white. when i was at stratton two weeks ago, except for the trails, there was no snow in the woods ... too weird.
the view of stratton from big bromley, about 10 miles or so to the south.
above is my backyard last sunday, and it still looks the same today. flakeless ...
the mosses are fascinating though ...
theres a little ice on the pond that comes and goes, but the strange thing is that most winters itis frozen from mid december to late march and this year the duckweed is still green ...
not a flake in front of the shop door ...
and not a snowdrift in the parking lot. it made me think about the new metalshop that is in the wish/plan/finance/early permit/estimate phase ... might happen; might not .. well see ...
early design phase ...
the dirt road was frozen and my convertible is in my neighbors heated garage while he is in florida, and it was sooo sunny, i went for a ride ... top up, though the sun was tempting.
one more moss and frost picture ... maybe more tomorrow ...
2/17/2012 ... showtime this saturday ... except for two little pieces, were all set up ... the reception, free and open to the public, is tomorrow (saturday) from 2:00 - 4:00 ... lots, besides our furniture, to see there. the southern vermont arts center is an amazing campus and collection of galleries. this show is in the main building, and will run through march 19th. you can see the lineup below, and ill post a few photos of some of the other art on display later today .. stop by if you are in the area ... click the photos to enlarge them ...
recycled chestnut, milk paint and gold leaf. it is displayed on a stand made from toasted locust and polished 3/4" rebar. the locust was complements of my friend malcolm cooper and we had a good time figuring out how to make each of the pedestals interesting, yet not fussy ... you could display it like this, or hang it on the wall flat. same with the mirror in the other corner.
close up of the claro walnut table in the center of the room ... nice figure! more photos later ...
brad guarino
harry rich ... im not playing favorites here; its just that the light was low and i forgot my tripod. i was in a hurry, and these were the only two pictures that were even remotely in focus and they arent great ...
well, back around the fall of 2010, when business was really slow and looking to get slower, we agreed to do a show in manchester at the southern vermont art center, in the winter 2012. it seemed like a long time off at the time. now, not so far achoice ... in fact, until yesterday when i received my official invitation to the opening, i actually thought it was opening the 11th. so, in effect, i received a bonus week to work on my stuff. as it turns out, i think well mostly wrap it up this week, which will leave me with a pretty full finish room by friday, next week could get interesting as other pieces become ready for finishing. click the photos to enlarge them ...
1st up is a claro slab table about 45 x 88 with our standard steel shaker style base. we are still in the debate stage of blackened or polished base ... the blackened base is a little more subtle,, but also a little more work, and well, we can alchoices blacken it later but its not fun to get rid of the black patina later if someone wants a polished base.
i love the look when the varnish is wet, but i wouldnt want to live with a glossy finish unless i didnt plan on actually using the table. just the thought of dusting that shiny finish kills me ...
satin finish now ... much better ... 
the base needs a little more polishing, or blackening ... well see ...
and will just has to do the polish coat on this bureau, a half of the one we finished about this time last year.
we upgraded the hardware from lag bolts to graduated sam made drop pulls ..
and, since it will be sitting sort of in the middle of the room, we gave the back an extra nice green enamel paint job,
our theme is, loosely, wood and steel, colors and textures, and this is a recycled chestnut console that needs some scraping and planing, a few metal accents and some finish ... 
and in the far corner, well have one of our tapered mirrors on a stand. you can see here how it hangs if you want to attach i to a wall, there is an 8/4 corner block, (theres alchoices a stud in the corner) with a 5 inch wide piece of poplar screwed to that, and the there are plywood triangles screwed to the back of the mirror frame that screw through into the poplar ... very rigid when its done ... nice cherry!
weve got a couple of these in our house and one behind the boys computer in the office at the shop. they can definitely brighten up a corner.
the bench for the fireplace hearth is finished. the lounge chair is available if it fits, and i still have one more mirror to make. i posted the gold leafed mdf mockup a few weeks back, but i still have to make the real thing ... well be sharing the room with some very interesting marta johansen drawings below and i think the mirrors will reflect the whole room if i get them set up right. all for now ... updates as we progress .....
