Moments before midnight. Sweet gentle coastal rain begins to fall on the garden outside my wide open window. Shushing sound like a loving mother calming an agitated child. First of the summer, only minutes long, quiet. Moving forward, today I worked on my workbench. Slow, methodical, meditative, creative, art. Working on my workbench has been one of my greatest joys over the years. Every surge forward in carving or smithing ability has been proceeded and accompanied by some breakthrough or perceived breakthrough in the evolution of my workbench. Art for me has always been about a journey, discovery, visiting other worlds and finding myself in the process. My workbench is my mode of transportation. I can journey 80,000 leagues under the sea and visit an octopuses garden or travel through space and time. Memories, fantasies and visions write stories in stone there while I watch mesmerized and unable and unwilling to walk away. My workbench has become family, it lives and it gives me life and purpose, comfort and quizzes that challenge me to grow and gives me the nourishment to succeed. When I realized this I started to dress my bench, to adorn it with the regalia of mysticism. It recieves gifts. Imagine if you will steampunk technology crossed with old forest magic and an organic living organism. I have dreams of an entire rebuild and taking it to the extreme, but for now it is still pre molt. My workbench has been a revolution of endless ideas, discoveries and inventions. Just looking at it gives me comfort. When I can’t sleep sometimes I visit it and just look at it, or sit with it. I hope my arm is well enough to carve soon but in this forced down time I can do various improvements. Today I created the absolute best pressurized air/water mister I have ever made, by far. Perfect atomization, perfect spray pattern and perfect adjustability of air or water. Working under magnification I find running water or water droplets absolutely and completely distorts my ability to perceive the truth in my fine detail. Pressurized atomization of air and water creates and spray that works to cool and lubricate the burs and restricts dust expulsion but it also provides the best optical aid without distortion. Dry carving is horrid, dust, dust caked on the surface, burs ruined faster than imagineable and an oddly distorted surface. I have a collection of many of the various incarnations of misters I have made. Some have names based upon the look. Colibri, kingfisher and ibis are a few. Flawed, all flawed. From poor mixture control to excessive droplets, poor spray pattern and so on. Today’s however, gives me excitement. I can’t wait to try it. This one is actually one of the simplest, easiest and most accessible. It does not fit onto a hand piece, it is fixed in place. I cleaned, I decorated, I adorned and I adored. Art has given me freedom in life to discover. It is my science and my religion, my therapy, my friend and my constant challenge. I was never given the choice to be an artist. It was my only real option, I just don’t fit in anywhere else except my workbench. Past midnight now, rain long gone, I will dream of the next journey of discovery that I will have the honor to take with my workbench. Do you have a special creative space?
