The "Alexandria, VA: Part 4 - The Torpedo Factory Art Center" Story

It was an ordinary day. Sunday's schedule: up at 8:00 AM, shower and pack the bags. We are in Alexandria, VA for the week-end and enjoying our stay. Carol and I as well as Jerry and Sue traveled to Old Town Alexandria yesterday for the Scottish Parade, shopping, food, and the Light Parade of Boats down the Potomac River last evening. Today we plan to have out final meal in Old Town and head to the Torpedo Factory before driving back to Lancaster. Found a FREE parking space in front of Christ Church. I take that as a sign that our day will be prosperous. Now to find a place for breakfast. Walked a few blocks to King Street and found restaurants on either side of the street. Neither one had eggs and bacon and that is what we were looking for. As we were standing on the corner looking in all directions for an alternate choice a young man walked up to wait for the light to change. I asked him if he was from around the area. Got a negative response. Then I said we wanted a place to eat breakfast. That got a positive response. He told us he worked a few blocks toward the water in a restaurant and they had great breakfast. Even had the eggs and bacon we wanted. We followed him to the Monaco Hotel. Very ritzy! We all agreed we were cold, so let's eat in the Monaco's restaurant, "Jackson 20". Can't be that much! The food, atmosphere, wait staff and price was great. One of the best breakfasts I have ever had. The scones were scrumptious as was the honey smoked bacon, hash brown potatoes and eggs. Got three eggs for the price of two. The price for two was a little extreme, but hey, the atmosphere made up for it. Got to watch the street traffic, since they gave us seats by the window. Perfect! Now, for our trip today. We are going to the Torpedo Factory Art Center which is located along the water at the foot of King Street. The building was used to manufacture torpedoes during WWII. Once WWII ended, production ceased and the building sat empty. Then the US Government used the building as storage for the Smithsonian, Congressional papers, and other stored records. In 1969 the Government sold the building to the city of Alexandria and in 1974 it was renovated to house art studios and to support a community of artists. Really neat building with three floors of small shops filled with every type of artwork imaginable. Got talking to Don Viehman who specialized in contemporary Cloisonne. His jewelry was beautiful. He would start with a piece of silver, coat it with a special enamel and fire it. He then took extremely thin brass wire and make compartments on the piece of silver and re-fired the piece. He then used what he called glass powder to fill the compartments and then fire one more time. The results were stunning. I would have purchased a piece for Carol, but we weren't prepared for the hefty prices that he got for the pieces. I have used a few of the ideas I have seen at the Torpedo Factory for my own artwork, but doubt if I will ever try what Don showed me. He is truly a fine artist. Shortly after noon we walked to our car and headed back toward Lancaster, after having a thoroughly enjoyable trip to Alexandria, Virginia. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - pixs from the top are: Carol and Sue waiting for breakfast, my extra good breakfast, the exterior of the Torpedo Factory, Jerry looking at the explanation of how the factory was established and how it became an art gallery, an interior shot showing the levels of the factory, Don Viehman's glass powder used for his jewelry making, and a pin designed by Don using the Contemporary Cloisonne method.