incremental growth

As I explain to my students, learning a craft involves very small increments. It is not like school where they try to instill large concepts without the underlying foundation of experience. Even subtleties of hand position and grip are important. The photo above will better illustrate yesterday's incremental, a no big deal discovery... that I can make inlay with two different colored bandings in a single operation. It won't change the world, but in my own life, it simplifies by a small step. To the left is walnut and to the right linden. The ink pen line at the center is used to mark the pattern as it is formed and then used to guide realignment of the pattern as it is glued and clamped.

In terms of large concepts to be taught in schools, this is really no big deal. But the ability to actually accomplish something, is dependent of having an internal catalog of available techniques, none of which by itself is a big deal. But those techniques, cumulative through experience, are the foundation of creativity.