back to the wood shop...

I worked in the wood shop for a couple hours yesterday and a bit longer time today but have kept a slower pace due to jet lag. One must be alert and jet lag can have an adverse effect on one's ability to hold a clear focus. I have begun making 70 inlaid boxes for a corporate gifts order.

Yesterday we were invited to a meeting called by two of our local elected legislators to share ideas about our SWEPCO power line threat. The legislators were shocked by the number of people who showed up, and concerned that they might be overwhelmed, asked me to help moderate the meeting. What a thing to ask of someone who had just returned from Europe in the last 36 hours. I heard after the fact that I did a good job of things and was more coherent than one would expect to be having so recently arrived from Paris. Unfortunately this fight  against the power line must go on until either AEP/SWEPCO withdraws their application or the Arkansas Public Service Commission rejects it. Due to the range of their violations of state law, the best course would be for them to stop it now, before they do further damage to their reputations.

I saw so much inspiring work in the museums of Norway. The model ships in the National Maritime Museum were amazing as were the Viking Ships. I took about 1800 photographs while in Paris and Norway, and could thereby bore you for months. Here are a couple photos of the Viking Ships preserved in the Viking Ships Museum. These were buried in mounds as grave ships and contained skeletal remains as well as the objects needed for new lives in Valhalla.

When you make something from real wood, it can last hundreds of years if either cared for, or buried in the right soil.

If folks understood this, would they seek their immortality through craftsmanship? The attempt to achieve useful beauty is the first step.

Make, fix and create...