Can’t begin to tell you all how much I enjoyed this class. I sometimes wonder if my students can imagine that I get more out of the classes than they do, or at least as much. Seeing bright-eyed individuals gain so much in such a short time has always amazed me and here is the reason it happens so rapidly and so exactly; One, they want to be here; two, they want to accomplish; three, they pay for it with their devotion and intent.
Today went so quickly as the last day of class usually does and of course it was a fast learning curve. It’s easy to fix your eyes on the project and forget the process. Learning is sensing the work, the tool in the hand, the wood cells unseen but felt en mass. Smelling the wood for these men is different than inhaling the dust from machines and teasing the fibres with a sharp chisel radically different than say using a router or radial arm saw. The mallet blows were going most of the day and though that’s the case everyone talked back and forth between tasks, demos and such. That’s the difference too, you can talk.
The youngest there was Idwal Jones who stayed focussed through the workshop and who made his first dovetailed box. I think that it’s admirable that young people are prepared to spend time learning craftwork.
Phil is a friend from here in Bangor and he works in a popular cafe in town where I sneak an hours respite to write sometimes in the week. he too has a talent for woodworking so my task of teaching was made the easier.
All in all the class went really well and I am looking forward to next weekend when we have a two-day workshop designed for but not exclusively for beginners. Perhaps I’ll see you there!
BTW, my next three day Part I Foundational in December is full so please book early for the late January one as we will be heavily promoting it in the next month.
