day 5

I am ready for my 5th day of box making class at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking. Real life is the best form of learning, and the students are excited with each learning at their own pace.

All the students have several boxes in the works, using a variety of joints, woods, hinging types, proportions and decorative effects. Some students are more adventurous than others, depending on confidence and goals.

One challenge is that we are trained to look to others to provide feedback with regard to what we do. My students are sometimes puzzled when things don't work out quite as they expect. So I say, "look at this," and ask my students to look very closely at the object itself to provide insight into why things may not fit quite right. If things don't fit, then its because some small earlier step may not have been done quite right. And that requires inquiry and careful observation.

When you do something for the first time it takes extra brain power as the hands are trained to perform and feel what you are doing. The hands both sense and perform, but in an untrained condition in a newly introduced task may not get everything at once. In woodworking, all the senses are required, and and require training.

This afternoon I will take a class photo with my students and their many boxes.

Make, fix, and create...