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Like a food dish that is too beautiful to eat, Jim Thompson’s painted kites are too pretty to fly.

While his craft only started in March 2011, the Montpelier, Vt., resident made his first kite many years ago. “In my early twenties, I was teaching art at a special education school,” Thompson says. “I made some kites with the kids, and then I made some on my own just to fly.” The kites that made their way home were transformed into lions and butterflies with acrylic paint.

He is dead.  With arms sprawled out in surrender, Jonathan McFarland lay flat on his back with his shield and sword flanking his sides.  Sweat rolls under his pointed, battle-battered helmet that has seen war for nearly 15 years, but now it rests on the ground in defeat.  His body is motionless, but in less than five seconds, McFarland is back on his feet, ravenous for more.

McFarland has been killed many times before when training for battle. That is, ever since he became a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).  The SCA is a world-wide organization with more than 30,000 members dedicated to researching and recreating the pre-seventeenth century of the Medieval Period.

If pianists injure their fingers or dancers hurt their feet, they will worry that their artistic career is over. But when carpenter and owner of State of Mind, Dennis Arthur, busted his knee, he turned to his dexterous hands to lead him to a more fragile craft—glass blowing.

It all started with restless boredom rendered by his injury. Arthur first learned about the art of glassware craft and signed up shortly after for a class at Corning Incorporated in Oneonta, N.Y. After continuous practice and progress made, Arthur eventually established a shop in downtown Plattsburgh, N.Y., to sell some of his homemade glass art.