Many years ago I started carving in acrylic and sold the pieces through a couple of art galleries. As interest in the pieces grew, I was carving more and more to keep up. What started out as a fun and creative hobby was becoming work. I would have to come home from my day-job and start carving, not because I felt inspired, but because I had obligations. It reached a point where the fun was gone and I didn't want to even look at a piece of acrylic. I put down the carving tools and walked away. I didn't carve anything for a number of years.

Recently I met a remarkable individual who is a doctor, college professor, and author, among other things. He so generously gave me a copy of one of his books, and as I started to read his wonderful book I realized that just saying thank-you was not enough. I got the idea to make him a carving in return. I dusted off the carving tools and started...and it was FUN! I had forgotten the joy that I got by creating my own little worlds inside these cubes of acrylic.

I got a huge creative burst from doing that one carving and have since made a couple more. I'm not sure if I want to go the gallery route again because I don't want to encounter the same things that led to "burn out" before, and I was never happy with how they take your artwork and double the price for retail sale. But I am having a lot of fun making them, and time will tell how it developes this time around.