Close Encounter with a Snapping Turtle

I had seen real, live snapping turtles before, in zoos or shelters, but not in the middle of a lonely country road. As snappers go, he wasn't even that big, but he was still an awesome sight. Here he is, just as I saw him from the car, happily basking in the late afternoon sun smack in the center of the road in Greene County, New York (which is in the Catskill Mountains).

Enameling with Catherine Crowe

Since this was my sixth time attending Catskills Irish Arts Week (CIAW), I decided to try my hand at one of the Celtic art classes: enameling. The class was taught by Catherine Crowe, who made the enamel crown on my new flute.  I took a pretty consistent set of pictures during the work on my first piece. These pictures offer a glimpse at the process, starting with the copper strips above which will become earrings.