This isn't meant to be a journal, or a place to show off what I enjoy doing. It isn't just a place for project ideas, directions, or DIY build-alongs (though there is some aspects of that at play). I had to really think about what I plan to serve up that is unique for your discerning palates.
As I was doing some carving this week, I had to stop to make a new tool. That led to needing a new jig for sharpening, which in turn led to a web search for jigs. That turned up an awesome jig for turning the ends of large stock into tenons for the rustic stools I'm working on. So I made one. Could have bought it, would have been easier. I would have gotten a tool made by a pro that would surely have done an excellent job, but I made one instead.
As I was doing some carving this week, I had to stop to make a new tool. That led to needing a new jig for sharpening, which in turn led to a web search for jigs. That turned up an awesome jig for turning the ends of large stock into tenons for the rustic stools I'm working on. So I made one. Could have bought it, would have been easier. I would have gotten a tool made by a pro that would surely have done an excellent job, but I made one instead.
I could keep going, but you guys are smart enough to recognize the pattern forming. Everything we do creatively is interconnected. It is a process. Though heavily influenced by my ADHD like attention span, it gets the job done. I really only have a few goals with my creative time. First is the actual act of creating something. This one is by far the most mundane goal, and surprisingly the least important to me. Second, is to learn something new. I don't know how masters of a craft can stick with it after the initial stage where everything is exciting and new, with new knowledge gained daily. Next in the reverse hierarchy is the experience itself. I choose my projects based on what the experience will be like. I enjoy cooking more than eating. The trip is more important than where we're going, get it?
The process culminates in the understanding and definition gained. This is different than simple mechanical learning. Once I create something I can step back and reflect on how that affects and applies to so many aspects of myself and the world around me. Bushcraft gets me in touch with the environment, and mankind's place in it far more efficiently than any amount of philosophical introspection. Composing fiction gives me a chance to see things from another perspective, unlike anything my eyes could ever show me. I create in an effort to understand. To understand the project at hand, what it is and how it is made. To understand the job or task the finished product will be used for. And above all, to understand myself.
And that is where it is all heading, understanding. If the goal was learning, then you could just read a book. But we create. If the intention was just needing something, there are far more simple methods of acquisition. But we choose to create. Not to dive too deeply into philosophical babbling, creation is the cornerstone of understanding. It is active participation. It is a method employed to engage the reality we perceive around us.
Creativity is one of the few things that separates us from the beasts. Our most powerful tool for defining, and even redefining our environment. I would offer that you are not what you have, nor what you do, you are what you have created. And what have you created lately?
The process culminates in the understanding and definition gained. This is different than simple mechanical learning. Once I create something I can step back and reflect on how that affects and applies to so many aspects of myself and the world around me. Bushcraft gets me in touch with the environment, and mankind's place in it far more efficiently than any amount of philosophical introspection. Composing fiction gives me a chance to see things from another perspective, unlike anything my eyes could ever show me. I create in an effort to understand. To understand the project at hand, what it is and how it is made. To understand the job or task the finished product will be used for. And above all, to understand myself.
And that is where it is all heading, understanding. If the goal was learning, then you could just read a book. But we create. If the intention was just needing something, there are far more simple methods of acquisition. But we choose to create. Not to dive too deeply into philosophical babbling, creation is the cornerstone of understanding. It is active participation. It is a method employed to engage the reality we perceive around us.
Creativity is one of the few things that separates us from the beasts. Our most powerful tool for defining, and even redefining our environment. I would offer that you are not what you have, nor what you do, you are what you have created. And what have you created lately?
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