Orka du?

The first supper.

I continue to study both Norwegian and Swedish using the program Duolingo.

Orker du is a Norwegian phrase and according to Duolingo it means "Do you have the energy." According to Google translation it means "Do you breathe?" or "Do you work?"

The Swedish phrase Orka du, according to Google means simply, "Can you?"  And I must say, "Yes, we can!"  It's not just because we breathe that we can, but because we do and have practiced doing until we've become better at it. Together, we can make the world a better place, and transcend the selfishness that holds us back.

Yesterday the electricians turned on the lights at the new Eureka Springs School of the Arts wood working studio. I can assure you that a lot more than breathing has been going on. Now we have plumbing, and lights, and soon will be able turn on any number of power tools at the same time. We are aiming toward the opening day of June 4, 2017. Everything will not be perfect at that point, as it will take some time to put everything in tip top shape. Today I plan to go out and assemble some tools.

Our first wood turning class using all new lathes and turning tools in our new building is nearly full at this time.

Our maiden voyage class in the bench room and machine room will be a three day class in woodworking techniques taught by Steve Palmer, furniture maker from St. Louis. http://essa-art.org/workshops/wood/basic-wood-working/ There are still openings in that class that we hope to fill. Steve has taught before at ESSA and has received glowing reviews from his students at ESSA.  His class will cover the basics of safe and appropriate tool use  and absolutely no prior experience is required. I plan be there for part of it to assist. Students will carry home lovely wood art as evidence of what they have safely learned.

At that time I will have just returned from classes at the Marc Adams School and will be preparing for my own 5 day class in box making.

I invite you to join us. Steve's class would be a good introduction to woodworking, and woodworking is worth being introduced to.

The image above is of our publicity photo for the grand opening of our new woodworking complex and for our incredible edible fundraising event on June 4. It features woodturning tools used as forks, and a Lee Valley workbench as our lovely table.  The bowls holding fruit are made by Les Brandt.

While the image may vaguely resemble the famous painting, the last supper, there is more serious painting going on this week in Eureka Springs as the Eureka Springs School of the Arts hosts our second annual Plein Air Festival http://essa-art.org/

Make, fix, create, and encourage others to learn likewise