Seems like woodturning is beginning to divide into the two traditional
camps: "Those who learn more and more about less and less until they
know everything about nothing and those who learn less and less about
more and more until they know nothing about everything". I suppose there
could be a hidden covert coven of turners who know naught about naught
and know naught about knowing naught.

Chick Sales said it for the ages in his classic about outhouses, "The
Specialist". The little book he wrote so that copyrights could protect
him from plagiary, ought to be in our turning libraries as a balance to
some of the puffery written about the importance of turned vessels. For
goodness sake, what's a vessel in the larger scale of things? A bowl is
a bowl "for a' that and a' that". Does Its form, design and
metaphysical qualities ever establish a world view or explain the
meaning of life or even of curved space? Maybe, but if not we are
permitted to lighten up.

I reckon perception is everything and
turning a vessel means different things to different turners. For some
it's a dollar sign on the road to fame, tho not likely to fortune. For
others it's like a bowl of salad, a toss of tool collecting, ego
building, stress relieving, boredom salving or domestic retreating.
Whatever it means to you, whether you obsess, try to always do your best
or are laid back and just having fun, enjoy the trip and pay no
attention to this COC's gritchings.

You are in for a well deserved rest. He's off to the Florida Symposium
plus a few day's vacation, expecting to have fun and learn a little
about the importance of turned vessels. Hope to see some of you
there... you can't all take evasive action.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



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