Craft and beauty

Not too terrible, thankfully.

Not hurting? You're probably playing it too safe.

A frustrating failure this morning after a day's work preparing the blank. While growing increasingly frustrated because of several small mistakes, which added up problematically, I ended up burning important parts of the workpiece. Not worth continuing: into the scrap bin it goes.

I guess it's called an advanced course for a reason.

Started again this afternoon. Will the second try turn out better? Much has been learned (ouch).

I'm not exactly sure what my dream is. Is that because I've never dared to enunciate my dreams? Or because life just feels too wide and open and full of possibilities which I wouldn't want to exclude?

Probably both.

So, what changed?

I'm allowing myself to be drawn towards a life that feels more fulfilling. Intuitively.

It took me until my mid thirties to really allow myself to stray from the boring path of living life as I perceived it 'should be' (and being unhappy). And until my mid 40s to set aside the crushing sense of intimidation and insecurity to actually force myself to devote real time to my passions. Who cares that someone is watching? At least they'll see me try, and watch me learn.

Without time and devotion, our potential withers. Without being ready to fail, we will never learn anything of meaning. Without opening ourselves to others, we will be alone, in this endeavor and beyond.

People are drawn to others who have a clarity of purpose. Instead of chasing them away, it turns out that my choices actually help them understand who I am. Joining a group of more experienced folk is intimidating but essential. We stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and should not try to walk alone.

Take the time. Meet people. Make friends. Put in the work. Show it to others. Allow failure. Improve. Meander.

This is the third one of this type I've made.

Repetition is helping to find the techniques and design choices that matter. I swear that the next one will be good better.

Slowly getting the feel for them.

The double scroll is lots of fun.

It's challenging because it curves in two directions. This ends up giving it a twist which makes it very pleasing to my eye.

It actually starts out with this weird pre-form:

The first two days of the course were again fantastic. Great fun to share the passion with others and learn from those more experienced.

Some scrolling, a fleur de lis.