distractions in the pleasure of contemplation...

Gartside's 19 ft. cutter

I was telling my students in my last classes about Paul Gartside's description of a "design spiral" in that one thing leads of necessity to another in the contemplation of design, and that each minor thing affects the totality of the form. The same is true of craftsmanship. When you've proved yourself in cutting miters you must inevitably try finger joints or dovetails, or vice-versa, and the intertwining of incrementala refinements of design and craftsmanship are the path through which the craftsman arises. Just like DNA.

Since I'm deeply in the throws of planning for tomorrow's public hearing on the SWEPCO powerline project that would tower over our home and destroy our woodlands if it came through our property, I have limited time to blog. I invite you to enjoy Paul Gartside's website for the enjoyment of my favorite distraction in the pleasure of contemplation, where Paul notes:

"Few pleasures compare with that of contemplating the next boatbuilding project, and there is surely no better distraction from the complexities of the world. As vices go it is entirely innocent—at least until the first load of materials arrives and the neighbours become alarmed."

When it comes to the powerline project, the SWEPCO engineers were no doubt delighted in the chance to build that massive project, but the neighbors have become deeply alarmed. Perhaps those engineers would be more deeply fulfilled if they had taken pleasure in making less destructive things... wooden boxes or wooden boats.

Make, fix and create...