Authentic Nautical Accessories, and Custom Furnishings
Figureheads get lots of attention in maritime museum exhibits. There are even museum collections of figureheads lost at sea. Often, the names of the ships they graced are unknown. If we knew, we could reconstruct a travelogue of all the ports they'd seen. But many ships lacked figureheads. The old figure went overboard in a …
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, a Drummer was not just a percussionist. A drummer was a traveling salesman who'd make the rounds with tools, clothes, or anything else you might wish to purchase but could not easily find at the small retail establishments in your town. Think no internet, no Walmart, and few …
Yesterday, I spent a significant part of the day working on a carving of a large schooner. I based it on research I did for an earlier schooner built by the same yard around the same time in the late 19th century. I used skills acquired in the earlier carving to ease the work on …
Photographs help me remember steps and processes. Years ago, I used photography only to record the results. But pictures of the in-between stages were more than a bit helpful. One of the big reasons I say this is because there are some things that I only do rarely. Reminders are valuable.I need to be a …
If you studied economics, process engineering or are an enthusiast of popular psychology, you might have heard of the Sunk Cost Fallacy. It's alive and well in woodcarving too. Sunk costs are costs you have paid and can't get back. That's fine if everything works out. But if the project just hasn't been the success …
This is my second run at the Steam Yacht Zaida. I've used different techniques and am more satisfied with the outcome.
I found the wood sitting in the shorts at my favorite hardwood dealer. It was very dark, heavy, and dense. It was mahogany but so dark and heavy that I felt it was a wayward piece of Dominican, not Honduran. It was just what I wanted.
We all want to be instant experts. One of my sensei describes this in terms of the training montages that are standard fare in martial arts movies; the neophyte progresses from clumsy beginner to skilled pro in thirty seconds of cinematic snapshots.
I admit that the sort of non complex carving that happens when I carve a small bowl is pretty alluring. No antsy detail. No pattern that needs to be followed. Just follow the will of the wood.
We can easily get lost in the weeds talking about tradition in crafts.
This chest was not in stock long enough for me to do a proper set of photos. It sold at it's first appearance at the Maine Boatbuilder's Show to a pair of Boston Harbor pilots who were going to give it as a retirement gift to a colleague.
As consumers, there is much that you don't know about your favorite woods.
It sails on my wall with a cherry ocean and sky heading east from Japan or China towards Los Angelos. I think my father is pleased that his ship is restored to an essential place in our lives, through the unexpected kindness of a fellow seaman.
While teaching, I always like to decorate the workshop with carving examples for students to use as a reference. Week-long excursions to teach away from home mean emptying the house of many of my carvings. But samples in three dimensions often are better than pictures or demonstration, and the extra work was worth it.
The problem with imagination is that it's boundless. On the wall is a poster telling you that you can do it if you can imagine it. Don't take it too literally.
Yes! We are not amused. We demand an apology from those fantasy-loving fools at WordPress Prompt Central. Now! WE know you fools have monthly get-togethers in your meeting room - the one back behind the old bathrooms that no one uses ( leaky, we understand). You get together, eat greasy takeout, and challenge each other …
I had a friend who had abandonment issues with her recurrent boyfriend.
In the'60s, the backside of Boston's Beacon Hill was a sort of working-class neighborhood of hospital workers, refugees from the urban renewal projects in Boston's West End, and folkies like my friends and I. If you wandered up Grove Street you might find us stocking up on a Friday with cases of Narragansett Giant Imperial …
The complex sort of antihero popular in fiction was not what I encountered in the "more interesting bits and pieces" of New York City, Philly, Boston, Baltimore, and other locales. During my long and lean years, good neighborhoods were beyond my means, and I lived close to the sharp edges. If there were soft edges …
"Never believe anything until it has been officially denied." ~ Claud Cockburn
The longest book I ever read is probably the one that left me counting the pages I had to slop through before I got to the end. At this moment Madam Bovary springs to mind running neck to neck with Titius Livy's History of Rome. My favorite was most likely the one that ended too …
You may have heard the old saying that the best advice is no advice. Well, I frequently adhere to that adage. I'll offer practical advice in the case of a practical matter; say you're using a tool all wrong and it's dangerous. I'll also offer advice if asked. Sometimes I could conceal advice as a …
And the number is 752: trout lily Noh Mask? Catalino's is a bookshop and cat lounge in Milford, New Hampshire Marcus wondering why he wanted to go outside so badly. detail from my carving of the steam yacht Zaida. One of the mural panels from Cat Alley in Nashua, New Hampshire. Trout Lily. One of …
Something that every town needs is a place to get a morning coffee. Somewhere the local folks drop in to grab the local news along with a fresh cup and a light breakfast before heading off to work. I've lived and worked in places like that, and the little diner, coffee shop, or the mom-and-pop …
One of the longest trips I ever took was just a short hop from Mid-Coast Maine to Boston. It was the final act in the drama between my first wife and me. The summer had been spent in a little cabin on the west side of the island; daily I commuted by bike to either …
Continue reading "Distance, Time, Emotions, and States of Mind"
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