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12,000 volts of electricity are applied to wood that has been pre-treated with and electrolyte solution. The current is traveling across the woods surface, between the two leads, in order to complete the circuit. The electricity creates the designs, called Lichtenberg Figures, and the wood grain, moisture and other factors influence the flow of the current.

“The things that make me different are the things that make me.”—A.A. Milne It’s National Autism Awareness month. I haven’t had a lot of experience with autism, but I know it affects many people in my community. To raise my awareness, I did some research including reading articles, watching videos and following several Instagram accounts. It’s a far cry from living with autism, but it’s a start in my understanding of this disorder. Knowledge leads to compassion and acceptance. Here are a few of the many things I learned: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is “a brain disorder that that affects a...

May 9 is Teacher Appreciation Day. Who sparked your love of learning, inspired you and built your self-confidence? I love teaching when: The light bulb goes on and they finally get what you have been teaching. — Cheryl, middle school band teacher for 22 years. My favorite teacher was: Mrs. LaPlante, my French teacher. I don't remember a lick of French, but I remember how much fun I had in her class! We had a small class and she made a point of getting everyone involved and made us feel like we all mattered. — Helen Mr. Bierer, my public...

“What ONE unique aspect will make you succeed over the next year?” This was the first question I needed to answer on the application for the American Small Business Championship and SCORE Awards contest. Like those essay questions from high school English, it seemed simple on the surface. But when you start writing the answer, you realize it requires quite a bit of thought and analysis. I knew our vision statement and value proposition, our features and benefits, our product and our story, but what should I answer? It needed to be concise, clear and creative and also had to...

I figure that because my mom and sisters are amazing seamstresses, I must be too. It's in my genes. I grew up watching them sew and I took home economics in sixth grade. Sewing prowess isn't reallly hereditary and my son wore a sad bat costume one Halloween. I made my own pattern so it barely fit, the seams were crooked, the hat was a mess and it wasn’t what I envisioned. The next year I called on Mom. Many of my seams are still crooked, but I keep sewing. We may have natural talent, we may have earned skill,...