Success is not a permanent achievement. We have to continually work at maintaining it.
The Fugitive Nature Of Art
Cycles
Working in wood offers the opportunity for lots of contrast and continuity.
The Golden Zapf Chancery M ©
For about six years, I made an annual pilgrimage from Massachusetts to Maine to teach marine carving at the WoodenBoat School.
A Certain Avoidance Of Good Fortune
It was a slow day—the type of show where artists and craftspeople spend most of the time talking to each other.
Bricolage
Items like models, patterns and proportional dividers are as important to your carving as sharp gouges and knives.
Media
Two of the best artists I've known were fluid on the choice of media.
Wild Wood
Around late October, I put some time aside from whatever projects are ongoing in the shop to work on treen - woodenware.
The Shop
A twelve-step program for compulsive tool buyers might help. But I have a thing about being away from my tools for meetings. Just taking the time to write this keeps me away from browsing the Lee Valley site, not to mention Rockler, Woodcraft, and Highland Woodworking.
Compact Tools
Lots of us have small shops either through design or necessity. In my case, I deliberately downsized as I shifted from doing larger maritime work like quarterboards and transoms and started focusing on ship and boat portraits. Whatever reason you have for smaller quarters, I encourage you to rethink the conventional wisdom that large is always best.
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.
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