Dave asked me if I was going to post my latest collaboration. Well here he is, nine months in the making. My partner Brandy did most of the work but I help when I can. What could be a more perfect artistic creation!
I spent the better part of the weekend working on the new overhead circle jig I dreamed up. While it has its issues (definitely a version 1), it worked pretty well and I am eager to continue using it.
Here’s a wall piece I did yesterday with a 10-inch square of cedar, burnt with a torch, then routed using the new jig. The main advantage over my earlier circle cutting jigs is that the pivot point for the router is under the work being routed, so the center doesn’t show on the front. I much prefer this cleaner look. It’s somehow more mysterious and powerful.
Another idea I had was to rout rings in a panel, paint the insides of the newly-routed channels, and then use the planer to remove any excess paint from the top surface, leaving paint only in the channels. It’s a crisp look I really like, especially the softer, more harmonious relationship between the red paint and the raw red cedar. The contrast will increase as the raw cedar silvers over time through UV exposure. This panel is 9.5 inches square.
Lately, I have using materials that reference the Pacific Northwest, and the red cedar, burnt wood (forest fires), and red color common to totem poles are good examples. A lot of my work is set in a post-industrial time, and I imagine myself making the work in this (hopefully) distant future. I believe I’d use materials common to the area I live to express myself, as those that went before certainly did. I really appreciate the visual simplicity in NW Native Art, and if I capture some small piece of that power in material selection …
Enough jibber-jabber – on with the power tools. Here’s a short, hastily-edited video of the new and improved jig in action. It could use some narration, but I think you’ll get the gist. Might want to turn the sound down on this one. Routers are noisy. I should also note that, though it doesn’t look like it in the video, I am wearing hearing protection.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.descendingashtray.com/wp-content/movies/router-jig.swf" height="350" width="450" /]
Yesterday I returned from completing a 10 day meditation at a Vipassana center. The center was located on a farm outside of the town of Pecatonica, Illinois. It was beautiful area with nice rolling hills and a wildlife preserve across the road. The Vipassana trust purchased the farm a few years ago. So there are still some old barns and silos around. Three ponds, that are fed from a natural artesion well, sit in the middle of the property. Then there is a farm house which was converted into the meditation hall, a large garage was renovated for the dining hall and a newly built dormitory sat up the hill. Overall it was a very peaceful and pleasant and the accommodations were more then generous.
There were about 15 students who attended the course. 9 men and 6 woman. At the begining we were asked to undertake five precepts and observe Noble Silence for the duration of the course. Noble Silence means no talking, gestures, or eye contact with any of the other students. We could ask the assistant teacher questions at specific times but that was to be kept to a minimum. At first I thought this was a little extreme. We could not even call home for the whole ten days! But after the course was over I really understood why the Noble Silence was so important. If we had been allowed to communicate it would have been very distracting and these distractions would have made it impossible to calm down the mind enough to learn and practice the meditation. The precepts and any other reading or writing of any kind were also prohibited.
The five precepts were:
1. to abstain from killing any being
2. to abstaing from stealing
3. to abstain from all sexual activity
4. to abstain from telling lies
5. to abstain from all intoxicants
The timetable was also very strict. We would wake up at 4 in the morning and start meditating at 4:30. Our meditations never lasted more than 1-2 hours without a break. Some of the breaks were five minutes while the breakfast and lunch breaks were longer and allowed about an hour’s worth of rest. We would have 3 one hour group sittings through out the day that we had to be in the meditation hall for but otherwise we could either meditate in the hall or in our room. There was an hour long discourse in the evening on video of S.N. Goenka (the founder of the current Vipassana Centers) speaking about the benefits of this technique of meditation. They were always very inspiring and funny. He is a great storyteller. Then after the discourse we would meditate for 45 minutes and then go to bed by nine o’clock. The schedule was always the same and it came to about ten and a half hours of meditating everyday.
The food they served was all vegatarian. Alot of steamed vegatables and rice. There was always an available salad to make with all of the fixings. They did have some traditional eastern dishes with tofu but one day they even made macaroni and cheese. All of the food was very good and thank you to all of the volunteers who cooked the wonderful meals. I do have to say that sometimes it was very difficult to maintain the “Noble Silence” after eating all of those vegatables! In the evening there was no meal, the new students were allowed to have some fruit and tea, while the older students just had tea.
Now after reading all of this, this question might arise, “Why?” That is a very good question and one that I asked myself many times especially during the most difficult moments. But after making it through and completing the course I am glad that I did. It was challenging both mentally and physically. The technique of Vipassana is very old and it is based on the teachings of Buddha but it is also rational and scientific.
Basically the technique is a way of purifying the mind of any negativities, depression or unhappiness. When a negative thought arises in the mind our breath loses its normal rhythm and we start breathing at a slightly harder pace. So one of the first things that we were taught at the course was to observe our breath. Observing without visualizing or manipulating the breath was important because the more that we would practice the subtler the breath we could observe. Eventually we broadened this the area of observation to the whole body. At a much deeper level, a biochemical reaction starts happening that will result in some sort of sensation on the body. This sensation is either something positive and pleasureable or negative and resulting in something unpleasant. Our natural tendency is to crave the pleasant sensations and avoid the painful ones. This constant habit of craving and avoiding only leads to never being satisfied and ignorance. With the practice of observing the sensations, one develops an acute awareness of how one is feeling and what the causes of the feelings are. With this awareness combined with the mental discipline also practiced with the meditation one can become equanimous with any complication or challenge in life.
The whole experience was difficult and it took alot of discipline to make it through but the rewards are more than worth it. The technique was not meant only to be done for ten days be really should be practiced on a daily basis. Already I feel more focused and patient in dealing with things in my life. I have had many creative ideas run through my mind. Including some larger scale wood sculptures. I feel that it has also really helped to make my relationships with Brandy and my friends even stronger. It was great and wonderful!
It is coming up in November. I was looking at some old archives and it was interesting just to read our thoughts and ideas from last year. It really is like a sketchbook or journal. I think it has helped inspire me and it is fun to be apart of. Thanks, Dave!
Maybe we could do something to commemorate the past year?
Wow, I can’t believe I let it get that bad. “How bad WAS it, Dave?” So bad, I hadn’t worked out there in a few weeks, that’s how bad. 5 hard days of cleaning, and two full trash cans later … it’s done. And I’ve been out there tinkering two nights in a row. Tomorrow begins production on the Labyrinth project. It’s really a pleasure to work in a happy shop. Hopefully I can keep it that way! I realized I’ve never done a proper shop tour, so here’s a quick one.
Front and center is the Jet table saw
The white table next to the table saw holds a Bosch 1617
To the left of the drill press is the area I call “the gallery.” Here, I keep sculptures and artwork in progress, and odd rusty bits (washers, springs, bottlecaps, bolts, house numbers, glass fuses …) for use in my flowers and other art projects. The “ART” sign above was “borrowed” from Waveland Golf Course in Des Moines by one of my friends from high school. The “C” and “S” in “CARTS” were scratched off and the sign has always pointed the way to my workshop studio.
Every workshop needs a dart board, and mine does more than most, being unofficial headquarters for the Fart Duckers. I have a strict rule against alcohol and power tools, so these kegs are a bit of an aberration. Long story short, they are leftovers from my friend Bruce’s wedding. There’s another keg in the beer fridge, which gets used at backyard parties, mostly. To the left of the kegs is my newest toy, the big 18″ Jet
I think that’s enough Tool Talk for now. Suffice it to say, the shop is making me very happy right now, and it’s been a joy working amidst so little clutter. Here are a couple of cutting boards I whipped out in my jubilation! I’ll mail one to the first reader other than Drew or Gabe to comment (be sure to include your e-mail address). Unknown species-es, probably 7×10 inches, with a foodsafe oil finish.
For any readers (hello?) in the Portland area, PICA’s TBA:06 festival begins tomorrow. I am planning on checking out the visual art exhibits, perhaps the opening music performance by John King tomorrow, as well as the Scout Niblett show.