The problem with long periods of no practice is that you think you are doing great, but then realize that your technique has atrophied.
Practice
Seeing Is Believing
Seeing may be believing, but feel will give you a less biased second opinion.
Collections
My mentors were just that, mentors. Several couldn't afford the expense that having an actual apprentice would cost; others were not interested. But then by the 1960s, the old apprenticeship programs in crafts like carving were gone.
Sign Work
There is a parable in the boat building Trades, it also applies to maritime carving: Want to know how to make a small fortune in the trade? Start with a large one—best of luck.
Sources
In January, I started what I thought to be a quick project for a portrait of the halibut Schooner Republic. There was not much online where I began, and even less available in terms of print sources. My collection at home also came up dry. I was able to complete the project in March but wished that I had better documentation.
CAT
I was at my booth at a boat show in Maryland when another maritime carver came to visit. Lordan was the local "yaahd cavaah," as we'd describe it in New England.
Share
Share; be generous.
Create
We so often admire the complex and then seek out and appreciate the simple
Tide
The scent of place ties me to the memory of it. Walking into my shop and smelling varnish and linseed oil transports me to boat shops and boatyards where I've worked. Without a moment of transport, I've returned, even if it was long ago.
Hancing Pieces
You might have a hancing piece in any place that needed a graceful transition.
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