Risky Business

Some artists and craft people do one thing without variance their entire careers. In fact, some are very thoroughly tied to the form and tradition of their work, and deviation could bring negative consequences. If you make Windsor chairs, many traditionalists who purchase your output might look askance if you suddenly began experimenting wildly with asymmetric designs, new construction techniques, or polychromed chairs.

However, change does find its way into even the most conservative workshops, albeit gradually. While a few chair shops still rely on whip stave and pedal-powered lathes, the majority have transitioned to electrically powered equipment, striking a balance between tradition and innovation.

In carving, there is room for carvers who use powered tools and traditionalists. I use mostly traditional hand tools in my shop, but my electrical Dremel tool is great for working in crevices and sanding tight corners. The tools are complementary and help me get my work done.

Several years ago, my eyes forced major changes in how I carve. I had a hole in the retina of my right eye, and it needed repair, or I’d lose vision in that eye. One side effect of the repair was that a developing cataract required surgery soon after the macular hole repair. The surgeries, while successful, resulted in visual challenges in the shop. Where my vision focused changed, and in the right eye, the healing left a small amount of scarring that distorted my vision slightly.

The vision changes made me step back from carving until my eyes, and I came to a new understanding of how things worked. I was out of the shop for a bit over six months. When I went back to work, I discovered that there were things I had trouble doing. The worst was small lettering. Anything under an inch was almost impossible, and I had to relearn other aspects of carving detail work.

The small lettering problem bothered me. It wasn’t a significant part of my work, but it became a fixation for some reason. I took a risky step and invested in a laser engraver for small lettering. It has paid off. But as is often the case, when you change one thing, other changes cascade along. Art and craft are esthetic equations. Change one thing, and it changes what appears on the other side of the equals sign. Having opened myself to change in one area, I began to experiment in others. The mixed media carvings I’ve produced are the result. They combine fine laser engraved lettering of text, traditional carving of the vessels, and paint and colored stone for the texture of the waves.

It was a risk that paid off and has started a wave of evolving change in my work. Exactly where it will take me, I don’t know. But that is the nature of risk and change. Outcomes may not be predictable.

Daily writing prompt

Describe a risk you took that you do not regret.

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