more spheres

Richard Bazeley sent another image of his carved sphere, this time sanded.  Richard is using the  holesaw as a guide for sizing and to compare the roundness of various surfaces as he sands.  I've wondered what a handful of sand would do to a carved ball. Would it even all the surfaces just as one can make a ball from a piece of clay?

This is all what Froebel would have called "self-activity..." learning by doing and learning that arises naturally from curiosity and self interest. All my readers would know something about this or you would not have found your way to this blog. If you think of how a gardener tends her plants, you will know about Kindergarten and how a kindergartner tends children. You carefully build the garden bed. You make certain proper nutrients are in the soil. You plant the seeds carefully, and then watch closely as the new growth comes forth. You are attentive to every new shoot, and remove weeds before they deter growth in your precious crop. You take nothing for granted and you protect your tender shoots from damage and disruption from any number of garden pests. You make sure that water is provided at just the right time. And you trust the innate qualities of the plants to bear fruit at just the right time. These same rules apply to wood shop.

I've been chipping away at my own sphere number 3 which has been a bit more labor than the others as it was less perfectly marked.

At Clear Spring School this week teachers are planning for next year, and we are working to tighten ship. In the Wood shop, Les Brandt is teaching adult wood turning, and the floor is littered with shavings of walnut, pear, and other interesting woods.

My own floor is littered with tiny wood chips from my own carving.

Make, fix and create...