fixing...

explaining a few things... It's always about the hands.

My friends Murdo and Nancy have started a small video production company, and this morning we worked on a short demo that we can use in marketing. Murdo is making a demo reel for his business so others can see what he can do, and I volunteered to help. I will use the video he produces to further explain myself. The lines from the blog that particularly intrigued Nancy and that she wanted to feature in the video are "Make, fix and create... and as a studio potter, Nancy knows a bit about the hands. In fact most craftsmen and artists get exactly what I'm talking about and why, and understand that our children need to be educated as makers of beautiful and useful things.

In the meantime, my cordless  phone is on the fritz, and the system is far too complex for me to fix myself. For $10.00 and a two week wait, after sending them a copy of my original sales receipt, they will replace the base unit with one that may last just as long as the first. They couldn't handle the transaction over the phone at the time, however, because their computer system was down. I could just go to the local big box store, buy a replacement and get it over with, but then what can I do with the left over junk? The excess packaging bothers me. And is the whole thing worth the 40 minute round trip drive to the big box store?

Certainly, there are some wonderful things about technology. But if its intention was to make us feel empowered, 20 minutes on the phone attempting to find a solution to your most recent technological challenge will help to dispel that illusion. Remember when phones were made to last a lifetime? These days, it seems that we simply make room for them on our desks for a time before they move on to the landfill. So for now, a 30-yearold Ma Bell made-to-last-a-lifetime corded Princess style phone (off-white) has taken the place of the base unit and useless remotes, and it's become clear that the more technological devices we have in our homes, the greater the likelihood we'll face frustration from one or more things at any given time being on the fritz. Having to contend with that kind of frustration makes time in the wood shop, where we can screw up on our own and fix what we've messed up a time of greater joy than it would have been in a less technologically screwed up life.

This afternoon in the wood shop, I am attending to photographs and cutting parts for chapter 3 which will be an exploration of proportion. We are expecting snow.

Make, fix and create...