Thanks for coming out Blogger! So if it wasn't bad enough that I failed to find time in the last 5 months to sit down and write anything, when I finally do, Blogger crashes and has apparently deleted that post from existence. I've been waiting on promises that things would be restored but now I'm giving up, the show must go on! I'm not even going to attempt to re-create what I said in that post because it never quite comes out the same twice, plus it is now three weeks later.
To quickly re-cap:
Ten or so of our class returned to the creek for the year end show and had a blast catching up. It was really great to see those friends again and fill in the blanks from the past year.
The Inside Passage class of 2010-11 did some really great work that I was so glad to be able to see in person. They also, not surprisingly, seemed like a really great group of people and I enjoyed talking with many of them.
The curriculum and format changes at the school seemed to have paid off as productivity seemed to have been up despite the machines having been on for 450 hours less this year. There is a lesson in there for all of us who are perhaps still too reliant on electricity in our work. Needless to say, with all that extra time spent at benches, the quality was as high as ever.
Personally, I've been working as a carpenter since January. We're building a massive house that backs on to the river, just south of downtown Calgary. I'm really enjoying the mix of interesting, challenging work that pays the bills and then woodworking on the side. I find myself in a much more comfortable state in which to work well when I know the groceries and mortgage are already taken care of. I see it as the quality vs. quantity thing. Although I now have far fewer hours in the shop, they are far more enjoyable and I value them a great deal more.
What has that amounted to then? Well, four chairs are complete and the final two are awaiting glue-up. I realize that I skipped ahead from wood-selection to completed project but worry not, I am going to follow this post with a whirlwind review of joinery, shaping, finishing, glueing and weaving.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
no pictures? =(
ReplyDeleteAwesome Ian. I wish I could have been out there!
ReplyDeleteI hear what you are saying in "time management" lets say. It's something I have yet to come to a balance with. Get's me thinking a bit :).