On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 02:42:30 GMT, Bay Area Dave
wrote:

Everyone keeps asking for plans, plans, plans. snip
I'm constantly amazed at the things people ask for plans for.snip
If I said I was as painter,
I sure as heck wouldn't get a paint by numbers kit and just paint within
the lines. That's NOT a hobby. OR is it?? Am I all wet??

Yes. Think "gray." Not everything is Black and White. See below.

Do I have the wrong idea about what woodworking is about?

No, but, (to use your analogy), you do have a tendency to assume that
Rembrandt and Picasso were born masters of their art. They weren't.
They had to be taught, they studied and copied others' work in order
to learn their craft before they developed their own artistic style.

Buying and making from plans is a valid way of "learning the craft."
The "art of creation" comes after.

Very, _very_ few people are born with the talent to do anything at a
level of mastery. So as romantic as the notion sounds-- that wood
workers here should just build what they want to-- it isn't very
practical. The worst you get by winging it is a horrible mess of both
materials and wasted time, and the very best you can hope for by just
"seeing what happens if I try THIS(!!!)" is something that _might_
pass as....

....."studio furniture." ;

M2c, ymmv, etc...
Michael Baglio
Chapel Hill