I consider rebates to be a kind of iniquity. I must send in the information electronically or by mail, wait until it is verified, and wait until the rebate is redeemed. Frequently this takes so long that I am left trying to figure out where the check for $1.98 came from.
How It Works
The popular press and media like to paint human creativity as extraordinary "aha!' sort of moments. And I guess that some creative insights do fall into that category.
Shorts
In the 90s, the government was busily downsizing, my Department of the Interior program was eliminated; My position became reinvented out of existence.
A Calm Sea
've done a number of these signs. Being that I often carve for a sea-loving clientele, the themes relate to life aboard and on the water. Each sign is graced with an individually hand-carved sloop, schooner, or other vessels.
Flotilla
This small flotilla of a schooner and some sloops all came together in days. I found that I had a terrible itch to carve. I'd been working on some designs in Illustrator, and I am no maven when it comes to graphics programs. So the frustration built up until I had to go out to the shop and get my hands on real tools and make chips and shavings.
Invent
Currently, I am bandsawing small planks, turning blanks and spoon blanks for future projects. Admittedly my storage areas look like I am a packrat. But the materials were either free or very cheap compared to buying plank stock in length and thickness for the work. Nothing goes to waste.
Stability
A while ago, I read an article in the New York Times on how artwork produced in the past seventy years was disintegrating rapidly. The deterioration was due to impermanent pigments, aging materials, and chemical conflicts between elements in a mixed media artwork. Some things were never meant to last forever, and others were never intended to be together in art.
Glossy
You probably receive several monthly fliers from the tool manufacturers. If you've worked in wood longer than six months, the shiny things come in every few weeks. These insinuate that you'll be a better craftsperson with their reverse bobtail jointing jig ( only $175.00). Of course, you don't even know what a reverse bobtail joint is, but you'll pour over the glossy pages with pure tool lust in your eyes.
Acorns to Oaks*
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.
Curly
Smoothing curly grain or decoratively knotted wood can always be an issue in carving. Cabinet makers have tricks with scrapers and planes, but they generally are not working in the tight spaces that a carver has. This spoon was a particular issue.
You must be logged in to post a comment.