Annandale area artists specialize in wood and glass

Among the dozens of artists showing their creations at the Annual Holiday Arts and Crafts Show at the Audrey Moore RECenter last weekend were several from the Annandale area.

Rochelle and Peter Salter make gorgeous precision-crafted wooden boxes.Their most popular items are tea boxes, ranging from $130 to $290 (including a variety of tea), says Peter. They also make jewelry boxes ($200 to $300), men’s valet boxes ($280 to $300), pencil boxes with sliding lids, keepsake boxes in all sizes, tables, picture frames, and coat racks. 

The Salters began their woodworking careers after they retired about six years ago. Peter was an architect, and Rochelle was a biomedical researcher. Peter says he “enjoys the exciting journey as design possibilities emerge from the rough-hewn slab as the wood reveals its natural grain, pattern, and color. These characteristics often dictate the development of the design while it is being made.”

 

Annandale resident Veta Carney and her son Daniel make beautiful glass jewelry pieces in sparkling colors, including earrings ($10 to $30), pendants ($20 to $85), bowls and plates ($25 to $120). They specialize in dichroic glass, which contains mico-layers of metals or oxides that cause the colors to shift when viewed from different angles.

For Veta, glasswork is a sideline. She is a criminal defense attorney and a former federal prosecutor. Veta and Daniel’s work has been displayed at Arts Afire in Old Town, Alexandria, and will be featured at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun in Tucson, Ariz., in January.

Both the Carneys and the Salters are members of the Northern Virginia Handcrafters Guild.