Yesterday, after an hour at the Dontist (no, that's not a misspelling
of "dEntist" - "dOntists" are the Formula One drivers of dentistry),
and in a Vicodin induced state, I spent several hours exploring the
Association of American Woodturners (AAW) site - specifically the
Galleries dating back to 1987. It was astounding how this area of
woodworking has evolved in just 20 years. From familiar plates
and bowls, it's gone in so many different directions, many of which
seem impossible, if not flat out crazy. And since turning seems
to be a pretty crazy thing to do to begin with - "take this sharp
piece of steel and poke it into that spinning chunk of wood", you
have to do something really insane to meet my "crazy" criteria.

If "thinking outside the box" means not being constrained by
"convention", there are turners thinking "out of this world"
Now I'm not talking about Star Trek's "Going where no one's
gone before" - but going to a "there" where you couldn't even
imagine a "there" there.

So my (rhetorical) question is:

In the turning world / solar system / galaxy / universe
how the hell can I "think outside the box"
when
there doesn't seem to be a "box"?

Check out where the links on this page take you
and poke around for a while - say two or three
HOURS. If you're looking for a Muse - I'm betting
she's hiding in there somewhere.

http://www.woodturner.org/gallery/

Fun this woodworking thing - and turning is
The Funnest (sp?).

charlie b