finishing bows, playing gaga and box making.

My students at Clear Spring School are finishing their bows and with only a couple exceptions are as interested as I am in the quality of how they turn out. There is a magic in holding something you've made whether or not it reaches a level of proficiency and perfection. The bows have the power of launching arrows, and so there is an excitement building toward putting them to use.

At the beginning of our school year, the GaGa court we had made a couple years ago was idle most of the time, but having put just a bit of energy into restoring it has brought it back to mind as you can see in the photo above. The game starts with kids of all ages and sizes crowded into the small court, but the number of students inside quickly shrinks as the ball taps legs. Some of the smaller children are over looked at the beginning of play, and often stand up to the taller kids who have more body exposed as target due to their greater size.The ball has to be kept low to avoid exiting the court, and so is never hit with enough force to injure even the smallest child.

In my wood shop, I've been cutting slots for barbed hinges. I've devised a new system of locating the part on my shop made hinging machine and it was a pleasure to work so effortlessly and accurately with a machine I made myself.

In the meantime, I've been trying to get into the text of N. Christian Jacobsen's book and give it the attention it deserves following Barbara's translation from Norwegian. I've had so many things going on at once that it has been difficult to find time.

Make, fix, create, and extend the power to others to learn likewise.