I spent a week in St Louis at the GAS conference. GAS stands for GLASS ART SOCIETY. This was a working trip, but I stayed with my brother, his wife Alice, and their two very cute boys. It was a lot of fun being around them; the kids have so much energy. It's great to be an uncle because I can have all the fun of being around kids and then give them back when I get tired. I found an old Winnie the Pooh book that I began to read. I just love the artwork, the stories are so great; no wonder it's a classic. Children and their books have become a major influence in my work in the last couple of years. Lately that aspect of the work has grown more prevalent. I am striving to make paintings that evoke the beauty of old illustrations in great childrens' books. St Louis is a great town, barring the weather. There are so many beautiful old buildings, many of them abandoned, great old architectural details are all over the place. So many of the museums and zoos are free to the public. The Art Museum has a whole room full of Max Beckmann's; I spent a good amount of time studying his paintings which are truly great works of art. St Louis is a town that any artist could make a working home.