Vlog #4 Was Great Fun
I enjoyed Vlog #4 very much and having it as a premier gave me the chance to interact for half an hour or so. This is a new challenge for me but in many ways not so different to what I already do in writing my blog, being at one with nature and then interacting with the people I have never met before. Every day I am out and about talking to people in my life here in Abingdon. I always say hello to other cyclists, runners (that always pass me) and then the walkers with and without dogs. I met someone lately who is a potter and we chatted for some time as she worked at a new job. I asked her why this job and not just pottery. She said she spent far too much time on her own and it made me think how a craft centre for crafting artisans usually alone could share workspace and thereby gain the interaction they really need beyond and within their own craft arena. 
The vlog this week was about the closing of seasons and then the opening of others. How they affect us when we go with the one thing that we seem unable to change except , as is proved, by the negative impact our greed has played on it. Thankful we have to accept seasons and all that they bring. Whether its nature or our choices to change things, they all have a dramatic affect on our wellbeing, but along the way we need to help others achieve their own wholeness and that often happens not so much in big things but small and friendly things we can input and make happen.
Anyway, take a look at the vlog and suggest it to others if you like it. I must say, I m loving it!
I personally liked your stop bys at the shop to review what your working on and the associated struggles you are or have worked through. In this blog you explained with your prototype that you discovered how you had to move the mortise over for a more solid joint.
I can’t say enough good about how valuable it is that you share those struggles and / or mistakes you might make….and how you decided to fix them.
If people only see the perfect result, without seeing the struggles that got you to that point, I think it makes it more frustrating that we can’t just do it as good as you the first time.
Making mistakes / having struggles from time to time is just reality and I consider your sharing them with us is a very important part of your training so thanks!
Paul,
I liked your references to mix media crafting. This is taking off here in the Pacific Northwest in the US. We have two that have sprung up in the last couple of years I am familiar with. The Arbutus Folk School, (www.arbutusfolkschool.org/) and The Anvil Academy (http://anvilacademy.info/) There are others but I am not as knowledgeable about them. They are collections of People teaching the crafts they know and appreciate. All are wonderful learning experiences.
I am going to do a vid on splinters and how to deal with them soon. Not just about extraction but natural expulsion too, then cutting them out where needed and such. Keeping the area clean without sterilising. This is another area of reality too.
“Makes me want to buy a building for mixed media crafting artisans working with hand methods. An application based body if you like.”
I have thought about this. They had an artisan tour here where you drive around a few counties and stop in at people’s homes/shops to view their works and ask questions. I noticed at one stop there was a potter that owned the property, then a blacksmith and weaver that set up there for the show. I thought if they had a place to do this all the time, they could share ideas, collaborate and have a place where they public could stop in and do it all the time. Then maybe a store area where they could sell their goods.
Never being involved in something like that leads to a lot of questions. How would a thing like that work from a business aspect?
I enjoyed the vlog Paul. I like all of them you did. I really like how you use inspirations from Nature, like the swans and the poppy flower head. I especially liked some of the boats. I wonder if they have any wooden structures on the inside that were made with traditional joinery.
Paul,
Just watching you sitting by the pond watching the swans reduced my tension and blood pressure. I lingered over the film as I needed to get on with the day. Thanks. It our own Walden Pond. Thanks so much.
WD Elliott
Not so much a comment on your Vlog as the photo of the railings by the riverside that you post here. That’s a lovely composition. Your framing and the choices you made about alignment really draw my eye. Fantastic colours too of course. As a landscape photographer myself I see considerable skill in how this image was created.
Nice contrast and balance between nature and shop. Perhaps not so much contrast, who is to say the spider did not make adjustments to improve its web. Thanks for making the time to share.