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.
The photo is of the almost-disappeared apple cake I made yesterday afternoon. I used some of the apples we picked the previous Friday. The cake was wonderful, moist, and flavorful. If the applesauce cake I'd made previously had been consumed, this would have been devoured. The photo shows all that was left of two loaves. …
Daily writing promptWhat’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain?View all responses One thing? How about a shopping list? Doctrine for the young fool seemed to be do it all, no matter how stupid it was. There was that trip to Texas in '65. Oy vey. …
It was just good fortune. I was a high school evictee, second-rate coffeehouse performer, retiring Pius Itinerant, and there I was a student at Boston University's Metropolitan College. I was the boy turned loose in the candy shop after hours. I had engaging, and sometimes madcap, professors who believed in exposing their students to the …
It's the garden clean-up season, and my morning routine starts after the dog and cats are fed, with coffee and an overview of the seasonal mess that my garden has become. By this time, all the winter wood has been stacked and covered. In my email, I have discarded all those fall nursery promotions for …
In the old days, when I was a peripatetic roamer on a quest, my general rule was to go where the locals go, eat where they eat, and get involved with what they find interesting. Amazingly, when I became an anthropologist, I found that exactly the same approach worked the best for meeting people and …
First, let's get this clear: we are already here. What was left of our ship we cajoled our new servants to bury beneath one of those crazy pyramids. They even decided that we were Gods; what a chuckle. But the chow was good. Worshippers greet a cat-filled Mars lander as it arrives beside the pyramids. …
I never had the luxury of being a Johnny One-Note. I was booted from High School early and ran out of my home to avoid an inevitable confrontation with my father about it. What I left with was my guitar, maybe five dollars, a change of clothes in a suitcase, and a lot of desperation. …
Now, I'm not being evasive, but it is complex. It may depend on the situation. For instance, there was one I learned in ancient times when I trained to be a medical first responder. The instructor was clear: " Don't become a victim!" He meant that you can't save human lives in a crisis if …
What? Do you think it's easy to make sure that these birds take their turns at the feeder? Those greedy sparrows spill the seed all over the place; the woodpeckers are so choosy, and then the darned squirrel shakes that tail in front of the dog, and it's off to the races as he runs …
When young, I couldn't afford fancy tours of new places. And the places I needed to find, like lowdown musical venues where I might play in exchange for some coin, were not on those tours. The well-to-do tourist tours were in limos, buses, or chaperoned walking tours. Mine started at the local bus terminal and …
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