I have just finished and delivered my 500th plaque since I have been on this journey. It was a tumultuous season. Illness and family illness (nothing dire just irratating) prevented me from being as prepared as I needed to be. However, with some late nights and complaining I managed to ship 60 items. Some very touching and powerful in the personal messages they contain. This once again reminded me of the task of creating these little simple things that touch hearts and send a sentiment. It always gives me pause.

From the special rushed package from one of our boys in Afghanistan to his wife or the simple children’s prayer remembered from long ago, these little pieces of wood attempt to say something. This is an ancient thing. I have been laboring at this for some time and it still pleases and amazes me to have a small part in this process.

We live in a world filled with division and turmoil. The news speaks daily of the angst and fear that people feel in dealing with this uncertainty. I think we need to remind ourselves at this time of year that all are just people. They get their hearts broken, they lose loved ones, they celebrate births, they struggle with jobs and money, they have trials and tribulations and it is not hard in the hustle and bustle of everyday life for folks to start thinking that they don’t matter. They feel as leafs on a river. Well they do matter! I think perhaps that just the reminder that Jesus loves them and I love them can make a burden a little less heavy or a joy a little more memorable. In my poor way I like to think that I play a small part in delivering these messages.

I received a letter from a customer who wrote; “I can’t begin to tell you what your work has done for me. I was going through one of the worst times in my life and in my hands was the beautiful plaque you made for me. I held the wood and read the words and I began to feel a little better. Don’t ever think that what you do doesn’t matter. I will cherish this always.”

This is my reward. The government and insurance companies take the rest.

Merry Christmas Everyone

George

The Arrow of Light is one of the most prized awards in scouting. It represents a cub scout’s completion of all requirements and the entry into the Boy Scouts. If you have never attended a Blue and Gold banquet, believe me when I tell you it is a very big deal.

I was a cub scout and a boy scout. I was really into the scouting experience. This is where I first learned to play with knives and axes. We slept outside and learned to build fires. We hiked with the military at Wright Paterson Air Force base. We even camped out in the snow. Of course we also made pictures from macaroni and paper plates and sold a lot of pop corn. Some of my very first woodworking was making pine wood derby cars. If any of this makes sense to you or is similar in your experience, then you know the arrow of light is a transitional moment in a young scouts life.

When I was approached with the idea of making award plaques for the local scouts, I was more than happy to do so. The scout master stopped by and we started making little samples to select a design. The he threw a curve ball at me. How to attach the arrows. Arrows? What arrows? Now it is often customary that the scout receive an arrow head as a symbol of becoming a man. The leaders wanted to mount arrows on the plaque. They were planning to screw cup hooks into my plaques or maybe just holes to tie a string or pegs. I had viewed several similar awards on the internet and they just didn’t seem right to me. I had not really planned on making racks instead of plaques. Now I had to figure out how to mount them. I remembered my vow, “I promise to do my best”, from so many years ago.

Now just off the back of my little basement shop is an unfinished little room. This is where the furnace and water heater reside and there is a wash basin( it is also the laundry room) where I often clean up tools or wash things off. I was standing at the basin looking up when I saw the copper pipes suspended with plastic pipe holders. Hmmmmm, pipes are round and about the same size as an arrow. I wonder. I took one of the pipe holders off the beam (yes I now have a dangling pipe held with a coat hanger) and traced it onto a piece of wood. This might just work.

I fabricated the little holders and mounted them on the plaques with dowels wedged from the back.. These hold the arrow not unlike a gun rack. I thought to myself, “Wow” I just got a lousy cardboard certificate when I passed through!”. But sour grapes aside, I think the boys were pleased. I hope it means more to them later in life than it does now. I rather imagine it will mean the most when their sons reach the same and this is how it should be. Tradition, handed down from father to son, the unbroken cycle in the walk of life. This is the Arrow of Light.

Peace

George

Support your local Scouts!

I have not written in a bit. It has been a very busy summer. There were days that I doubted if I was going to be able to keep up. A wise lawyer told me when I started out that there are two things one must consider when starting a business; “What do you do if it fails?” and What do you do if it succeeds?”. Happily I have been struggling with the latter. How am I going to make 14 plaques, 2 pastry boards and 6 boxes in a week? Sometimes you have to have a long talk with the guy in the mirror.
I had a client contact me with a strange request. Her father had once owned a mirror with the words from Psalm 96, “Then shall all the trees of the forest exalt before the Lord.” He loved this mirror and longed to have it again. She thought perhaps because of my constant use of tree motifs, I could offer a rendition of this mirror. This started me thinking about how to do this. Now since I have begun this journey, I have made plaques with engravings and items with relief laser carvings and I have made picture frames. I became intrigued with the notion of combining engraving and carving (deep relief) and traditional frame woodworking. However, this was not enough of a challenge. The mirror also needed to be arched and sit flat against a wall.
It is not that difficult to get the text to follow a curve in a graphics program. But how does one cut the frame parts to the exact same curve? It is one thing to build a mortice and tenon frame and add a curve, but it must be so that the laser knows how to follow the same shape and curve. I decided to use an old chair makers trick, templates.

When I would visit my great uncle Walter’s shop as a boy, I noticed dozens of thin templates hanging from the rafters. These templates were of various curves used to shape chair backs and set the angles on chair legs. My mother is a seamstress and I have often watched her lay out patterns for dresses and such. It is not important, the exact shape or angle. It is important all be the same. I thought to myself, “Patterns and Templates, that’s the ticket!”

I set about drawing patterns in Corel Draw and then using the laser to cut the patterns out in 1/8″ plywood. It turns out the laser does this very well. I then used the templates to layout the piece and cut to the line. I could even make a template of the mirror and take it to the good folks at Carmel Glass and Mirror to cut the 1/4 plate glass.

I cut the parts and carefully cut to the line of the template. I then cut the mortice and tenon in the traditional manor with chisel and saw. Now the rabbet or rebate for the back. Wait a minute! This will need two rabbets(grooves), one for the mirror and another for the slightly larger inset back. I decided to mill this on the router table, first cutting the larger rabbet and the a second relief for the mirror and finishing the corners with a chisel. This results in a stair step shape. Whew!

The frame completed could now be engraved and carved. I used two little relief carvings, one of a cherry blossom, as the frame is cherry and one little humming bird feeding from a blossom at the bottom. A cherry vine wraps the frame. I made my poor customer wait about 16 weeks while all of this was figured out. Sometimes these special unique projects take awhile. The work doesn’t take anymore time but all the design and building of templates and such does. This another of those items thats looks simple but is in fact, rather complex.

So here is my first attempt at bringing woodworking, engraving and laser carving together. Who knows, might be a new style of craft. In the meantime, I am back at the bench, happily making as many unique and interesting items as I can. I am reminded of the words of Mother Teresa, “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle, I just wish He didn’t trust me so much.”

Peace

George

During my career in the corporate world the question of education came up from time to time. When I disclosed that my degree was in theology and religion I used to get some pretty strange looks and more than a few questions. “How did you get from religion to sales?” or “What went wrong?”, “Did you fall from grace?”, I would be asked. I had one immediate superior who wrote in my retirement letters ” A degree in theology! Are you kidding me?”. He once told me that he thought this was a waste. “You will never use that knowledge!”
Now, I must admit, the use of ancient greek or latin or archeology seldom came up in the industrial sales game. Not many of my customers knew or especially cared about my educational background and I am fairly certain that no one bought from me because of it. Still, I always bristled at that thought that all education is merely vocational training. There was a time when the study of the humanities, as it called back when dragons roomed the earth, that religion and the arts and the humanities were a prerequisite for all advanced studies. One could not think properly or be morally grounded without being versed in the wisdom of the ages. Of course this was in the days before Wikipedia and the internet. They are right. There is probably no practical application for my unusual history.

Recently, I was contacted by a client who was desirous of a plaque that held the word Hupomeno. She stated that she had heard this word in a sermon and it had come to hold special significance in their family. The word Hupomeno appears more than 20 times in the New Testament. It generally translated as “patience or perseverance”. However, the word has more of a connotation of active waiting and anticipation. In modern vernacular I would translate it as “Keep the Faith” or “Hang in there baby”. Given the fact that the first century church was in pesecution, this is altogher understandable. Because of this meaning of “active anticipation” it is one of those ancient words that has become an iconic symbol for many, particularly evangelical churches. Maranatha (Come Lord Jesus) is another such word, but that is a different plaque. I suggested that we make the plaque in the original greek. “You can do that?”, my client exclaimed. Yes I can do that. This made for a quite unique and interesting piece of work.

It was strange that during the same week I received a phone call from another client who had seen my “Ebenezer” plaque. He was searching for this in Hebrew and wondered if I could do that. Yes I can do that. Now it has been a long time since I studied any hebrew and I never was good at it. The last time I interpreted any hebrew, there were no cell phones or any such thing as the internet and computer was that big thing at the Pentagon. But I found this interesting and decided to give it a go. Now, keep in mind that this is actually two words combined in hebrew and of course it is written from right to left. The word is from 1 Samuel and means “Thus far the Lord has helped us”. This name was given to a rock by Samuel that marked the spot of God’s victory over the Philistines. This is another ancient word that has become an iconic symbol of faith. I liked the fact that the simple design to the plaque also gives testimony to the origins of the word.

In my adventure that has become Fishers Laser Carvers, I have been able to revisit the wisdom of my education. I continue to happily revisit the great thinkers and wisdom of the ancients. There is a great need in our world today for wisdom and words of Jesus, Gandhi, Tolstoy, Buddha, Thoreau ,Jefferson, Blake and Burke. As I continue to write my life’s story I think often of the words “You will never use that knowledge!” The Lord does work in mysterious ways.

Peace

George

My last Christmas package should be delivered today. I must admit there were times, usually about 2 a.m., that I wondered if I was going to make it. There is that anxious moment when I find myself torn between doing my very best work and just getting the work done. I think I avoided the temptation to “just get it done” for the most part. I thought I was prepared, with plenty of stock ready, but after 50 orders, which is a lot for a one man show, I began to secretly wish for the holiday to be over.

Then I received an email from a customer telling me how I had brought peace and joy to their lives and “filled them with an enlightened view of divine peace.” Now I admit to be susceptible to flattery, but I thought, “Now wait a minute, I am just the guy who puts marks on wood.” It was the words that moved them and their willingness to let themselves be moved that brought peace, not my efforts.

The more I thought about this, the more I thought how ancient and human it is to leave marks. As far back as we can imagine, people have been marking images and words on stone or wood or bone. This means there was always someone like me, who would make the marks, etched or carved, whether by rock or chisel or laser, that would add some permanence to human thought and feeling. Our need to express ourselves and leave a mark to share with others in the hope that they may share our feelings by seeing the marks.

I have made many marks this year. Songs and sonnets, limericks and speeches, prayers and promises, hopes and dreams and expressions of loss. Lives being etched upon little pieces of wood to leave a heart. This has always been the case. We see the great monuments. We read the markers and the stele, from the rosetta stone to simple grave markers. Who made these marks? Rarely is that remembered. Does it matter? I think not as long as the marks hold their meaning and mystery and magic.

I imagine that way back in ancient times some Emperor or Pharaoh would approach someone like myself and say “We would like this etched onto stone. Can you do it?” My ancestor answering “Sure, I can do that!” Then the Pharaoh would say “Now, I am going to need this by the end of the week!” My ancient counterpart saying “WHAT??”
And so it goes.

Thanks to everyone for your support. Have a peaceful holiday.

George

I wanted to make something for Veterans Day. I am not a veteran but I am proud to say I am the son of a veteran. A very proud veteran, I might add and rightfully so. Our country has no greater possession than our young people who demonstrate such a sense of sacrifice and such valor that moves us, or should move us, to tears. Valor is a very special thing. It is the ultimate expression of love. “A man has no greater love than to lay down his life for another”. It is impossible for anyone who has not served in the military to completely understand this. Valor requires a complete surrender of self for another. There is, in my opinion, no greater human act. Considering that our country has a volunteer service makes this sacrifice all the more poignant.

I often confuse my friends and family with my views on this. They say, “But George, you are always the first to speak for peace!”. You disdain war and are usually among the first to shout ‘Bring them Home!”. “Yet you also go on and on about your admiration of veterans and the military. How can this be?”

These are good questions and does seem to be an apparent contradiction. I think it is because I so admire valor. This most precious commodity and sense of sacrifice is so precious and so valuable that it should never be wasted. The sacrifice of the best of us, should always be most heavily questioned, least it become ill spent. Valor should never be for some ill conceived enterprise, or vague political motive and certainly not on spotty intelligence or hasty decisions. If one is to spend the lives of those whose love and higher sense of sacrifice are willing, then this should be only after all other options have failed. Those of us who came of age during the Viet Nam war struggled with this question. The wasted valor and ill fated use of our brave young men during that time haunts me still. However, I could never help but admire those who, when called, stepped up. I will probably go on being a contradiction.

I am reminded of the words from the movie “The Karate Kid” who when asked why train to fight the answer was “So I do not have to fight.” One should not confuse respect for the military with a love of war. By like token, one should not confuse the love of peace with lack of courage or disdain for the sacrifice made by others. I will continue to urge our leaders to weigh carefully the sacrifice asked, because brave young Americans will, God bless them, never hesitate to make it.

I selected these words from the farewell address of General MacArthur, given at West Point. I have always found this a most moving speech and should be considered, along with the Gettysburg address, as one of the great speeches in American lore. The seal is a deeply carved Seal of the United States Army. This is a tribute to all of our Veterans from a lover of peace. To all who stand on a wall or drive the bomb laden roads or gallantly rush into whatever gore may be required, I have only the highest admiration and gratitude. To those who serve and have served, Thank you, God Bless You and your families and God Bless the United States of America.

George

It has been a challenge and great fun for me to make so many personalized plaques this year. Some are funny, some are touching, all are intensely personal. We have just added a new page to the website under the new tab “Personalized Plaques” where you can view a few of the many custom plaques I have made. The wonder of the world wide web is that I get to correspond with people from all over the world. I have shipped to Canada and Ireland and Great Britain. Recently, I received a request from Australia.

My customer wanted a plaque that stated “David’s cooking, as always, can be mystifying!”. I do not know if this is a good comment on the cooking skills of David or ill, however I thought it interesting. The problem was going to be shipping. This is just about as far as I can ship an item. Any further and it would be coming back! Shipping to Australia via UPS or Fed Ex would cost so much, the shipping would far exceed the value of the plaque. I inquired about sending it via the U.S. International mail. This was going to be about $16. So we decided to give it a go. The plaque was made and packaged and I faithfully took it to the Post Office to fill out the customs paperwork. They informed me this would take about 10 days.

Twenty days later, I received an email from my customer stating that he had not received his plaque. “Rats!” I thought. I went to the Post Office to inquire, fearing they had dropped it somewhere in the Pacific. The nice lady at the Post Office informed me that it had been delivered to Australian Customs 10 days ago and she advised that I call them. I did. It seems many packages get held up in Customs these days. The recent terrorist activity combined with the economic cut backs has really stressed these already over burdened agencies. I started wondering if the terrorist’s real plan is simply to bankrupt us. Making it so expensive to defend against them that we will just give up. If so, I think they are sadly mistaken. Of course, they are crazy anyway.I resigned myself to thinking, “Oh well, I can just refund the purchase and say I tried.” After all, I would only be out the $25 it took to make it and the $15 in shipping. This would not be the end of the world.

Yesterday, I received a happy email from Australia! My customer received their plaque and like it a lot! “Whew”, I thought. I never really intended to become an international man of mystery, involved in the intrigue of international customs laws and security, but here I am. One never knows where a journey will lead. Now I have a new friend in Brisbane.

Peace

George

I just received notice that it is time to “re-up” the shopping cart and the domain. I cannot believe it is getting close to a year since I began this little venture called Fishers Laser Carvers. I have made a lot of nice things over this year. I was just chatting with Miriam, the wonderful designer of Solas Web design who along with her husband Liam helped me so much, about some major changes we will making soon to the web site. We will be adding a gallery page showing some of the hundreds of custom plaques I have made. We will also be adding custom boxes and picture frames and 3D graphics. This conversation caused me to pause and reflect over the past 10 months.

People seem to really enjoy working together to create a special present. The excitement and anticipation of holding something precious made just for them is very rewarding. It has been especially rewarding for me. I recently spent a day with a lovely couple who drove from the Chicago area, just to meet me and share a day. I have shared funerals and baptisms, weddings and graduations with people. I have made humorous things that made them laugh. I have engraved poems that made them cry. I feel I have mostly made friends. These are the times we remember. These are the “tie that bind”.

We live in an ever increasingly impersonal world. We no longer know who grows our food or makes our furnishings. Our lives can be impacted and suddenly changed by events thousands of miles away. Our well being and that of our children can be influenced by people we don’t know. Is it any wonder we feel frustrated and often alone, frightened and alienated?

The ability to work individually with a craftsman on a very intensely personal item is refreshing. I had been laboring at this for more than 6 months before I realized that I am not in the woodworking or engraving business. I am in the sharing business. My customers sharing of their grief has brought me in touch with mine. Their outpouring of their faith and beliefs have strengthened mine. Their joy and celebration has brought me happiness. This is the gift of sharing. I think the reward has been mostly mine.

I have learned so many things during this journey. Some I really never wanted to know about photography and laser spot size and online marketing. I have also learned valuable lessons from the good folks who have visited my little site. Just recently, I was contacted by a client and asked to make a plaque that said only “Ebenezer”. “Hmmmm”, I thought, “Must be rapid Dickens groupies!” My customer explained the troubles they had endured and informed me that this comes from the book of I Samuel. When God had defeated the philistines, Samuel marked the spot with a stone and named the stone “Ebenezer”. This means “thus far the Lord has helped us.” I did not know that fact. I found this wonderfully interesting and inspirational. I learned something new. And so, as I push forward with somethings new, I will retain the things old to guide me. I have no idea where this journey may lead but when I doubt, I will now think to myself “Ebenezer”. Thus far the Lord has helped us.

Peace

George

Snowy was a labrador retriever, who for 17 years dwelt in this place sharing a life of love, devotion and loyalty. The gentle nuzzle at the end of a long day or the playful antics in uncompromising expression of joy, endeared Snowy to the people who shared this unique life. When Snowy died this year there was a great void in the hearts of those who felt so privileged to have participated in this life. They mourned. They missed their friend and devoted companion.
I have always been a keeper of dogs. I can’t imagine being without dogs. They teach us so much with their ability to unconditionally love and constant willingness to share their lives with us. I have lost faithful petted friends and I know the sorrow that comes when they leave us. So when the friends of Snowy contacted me about a little keepsake box to hold the cremated remains for their departed friend, I was a bit reluctant. I felt I was putting them off. “I have several large commissions right now”, “I could not possibly get to you for 6 weeks”, I would say. All the while actually meaning I was not sure my skills were fit for such a task. They kept insisting and so I decided to send some rough drawings and ideas.
One day in the mail I received a letter with a deposit for a small keepsake box and the assurance that time was not a factor. They just desired something special and wanted it made by me. I must admit I am susceptible to flattery so I agreed to take the commission. This began a series of correspondence that brought me into the world of these wonderful people.
As I started working on the piece, hand planing the cherry or sawing little dovetails, I thought of my past friends. I thought of Spooky, my childhood dog who ran along beside me on my paper route or Muffin who was always there throughout my high school and college days always patiently waiting at the window. I thought of Lady, our black cocker spaniel, my daughters puppy and my wife’s constant companion. I remember how Michelle mourned for weeks when Lady died. I thought of Kelsey, our current dog who came to live with us and helped ease our loss. As I started to carefully shape the little legs on the box, I thought about how Kelsey is now 11 years old and having trouble with her hips and I worried. I remembered when I had heart surgery and Kelsey refused to go to her bed but stayed under my feet for six weeks. At times, standing at the bench, chisel in hand I would find tears in my eyes.

Slowly, the box began to take shape. I could not decide on a shape for the top. I think I made about 4 attempts, working through the process of design James Krenov called “composing”. “This is too heavy”, or “This is too flat”, finally arriving at a shape that seemed to please the overall shape. I wanted this box to be something special, something precious, something carefully and thoughtfully made. Everyday throughout the summer, I would toil on the little box filled with anxiety over mistakes, realizing this was not a box, it is a monument. This needed to be a chest for something very precious.

I chose for the engraving:

“I thought of you with love today but that is nothing new
I thought about you yesterday and days before that too.
I think of you in silence, I often speak your name.
All I have are memories and a picture in a frame.
Your memory is a keepsake, with which I’ll never part.
God has you in his keeping, I have you in my heart”
Beloved Friend
Snowy

The care and love of our fellow creatures brings us in touch with our humanity. It has been said that “Compassion is the basis of all morality”. If this be so, then dogs may be here to teach us about ourselves, a constant reminder that love may be unconditional and devotion and joy is life. This life that enriched us for 17 years, enriches us still. I know I have been moved and touched. I have been changed. I felt a bit sad when the time came for the little box to leave and make it’s way home. I knew I would miss it. I am a better person for having the privilege to share with these wonderful people and in a small way participate in this unique life that was Snowy. Snowy continues to give and share in that unique way that at times only dogs seem to know. This is Snowy’s box.

Peace

George

Tomorrow is September 11th. It has been a busy summer. I am finding it hard to believe that September is here. I think it appropriate to take a moment and pause and reflect. I remember September 11, 2001 as being a beautiful fall day here in the midwest. One of those days that makes you think that all is right with the world. Then it happened.

Much has changed since that gorgeous fall day, but I like to think that we haven’t changed. I made this plaque with words from President Bush, which I think were some of the most heartfelt and sincere words I ever read. The quote reads;
“I’ve learned to expect the unexpected, because history
can deliver sudden horror from a soft autumn sky.
I have found you better know what you believe,
or risk being tossed to and fro by the flattery of friends
or the chorus of critics.
I’ve been grateful for the lessons I’ve learned from my parents:
Respect every person, do your best, live every day to it’s fullest.
And I’ve been strengthened by my faith and humbled by its
reminder that my life is part of a much bigger story”

We are not a perfect people. Our leaders are not perfect people. The great wonder that is The United States of America is that we still believe we can be perfect. We argue about it, debate it, fight over it, always reaching, always in “pursuit” of that more perfect union. Other cultures seek a state of being. We seek a state of becoming and that makes us great. I am working on a commemorative plaque for September 11th. I have not finished it but here is the design. I found it very interesting that The Star Spangled Banner” asks a question. It does not make a declaration, the author is wondering if it could be possible after such a bombardment(the 19th century version of shock and awe) if the symbol of the idea called America could possibly survive. It waves! The symbol of freedom and self determination still waves. The hope and light for the world still waves! The banner of the right of people to pursue their own happiness and beliefs still waves! It has been rough at times. We have struggled and we are still struggling. Battered and torn, poorer and bruised, troubled and worried the banner still waves.

We may never reach perfection. We may never have a time when we do not disagree. We may never vanquish all of our enemies. We will continue to believe. The Star Spangled Banner yet waves o’er the land of the free and home of the brave. God Bless us all and God Bless the United States of America.

George