quick and classic...

Yesterday at ESSA we had a great turnout for our 20th anniversary celebration. I did a wood turning demonstration and made a Rude Osolnik style candle stick from walnut in about 15 minutes on the lathe. Rude made thousands of them. I've made few, but they are a good exercise in development of skill. Turning one is a good demonstration exercise for showing an audience something simple and delightful that can be quickly made and last for generations.

The human inclination is to make things complicated. Osolnik cut to the chase, removing the non-essential distractions from elegant design. An unexpected payback is simplicity in finishing the work. After turning the form, the removal of tool marks takes just a few minutes with sandpaper. The application of shellac only a few minutes more. A coat of wax polished while the wood is still spinning in the lathe brings the wood to a pleasing luster.

My audience was attentive. It was fun to pass the candle stick around through the audience so that each could feel it in their own hands. I think the audience was surprised to see it develop from a chunk of rough walnut to a finished form in so little time. Osolnik's candlestick form is elegant and expressive.

NASA decided that schooling is diminishing our student's creative capacities. I could have told you that myself,  as  there's been other research on the subject, but it is good to hear common sense from the authority of the Space Administration.
https://ideapod.com/born-creative-geniuses-education-system-dumbs-us-according-nasa-scientists/

Spring break ends this morning so my classes at the Clear Spring School will resume.

Make, fix, create, and adjust schooling so that students can learn lifewise.