cork balls and toothpicks

Yesterday I received a small package from Portugal containing 100 5/16 in. diameter cork balls to experiment with in sticks and peas, Froebel's 19th gift and the Kindergarten exercise that launched Buckminster Fuller's interest in architecture and engineering. My play with this gift to myself is shown in the photo above, and is one of the last non-editorial steps in completing my book on Froebel's Gifts. Who would have thought such a simple thing could have such a profound effect on human culture?

I am in the process of using the cork balls and toothpicks to build a bridge-like form, but I have to mention that this kind of thing is not easy, and would not have been easy for children if their hands and fingers and minds had not been made nimble by the earlier gifts.

In the wood shop, I have been chasing loose ends and applying my time in various directions. I have an order from my wife for business card holders to be completed for her to give as gifts. Those and small bentwood boxes will be finished today. I also glued up three guitar necks to use with the box guitars I'm making, and have nearly settled on a bridge design for one. That one is nearing the point of being strung. 

Make, fix, create, and extend to others the joy of learning likewise.