Time is all you have, for some reason I have been obsessed with it, at least looking at it. I am that person that needs a watch on my wrist all the time. I have a digital clock in my bedroom that send the time up on the celling using a laser. I mean, am I right? Totally cool.
I had grown up around woodworking and working with your hands since I was a small child. My maternal grandfather was a woodworker, and a true maker of his time. Together he taught me all I know about working with tools. He used to say, “let the tool do the work, don’t force it!” I still hear that in my head today. We made toy guns, knives and anything else I could make up in my head. He had a hug selectin of wood, he was a collector of the stuff. It was a great childhood, and I think shaped me into the artist I am today.
I made my own clock when I was a freshman in high school. It was shop class and it happened to be my favorite subject. We all did it, everyone in the class that is. We all used tree slabs cut to about 1.5 inches thick, made the clock face and covered it in a thick clear two-part resin. It was a glorious experience, I still have that clock and several others I made long ago.
I lost sight of woodworking for about 25 years after that year or so of high school vocational classes. They don’t even offer them any more to students at schools across the country. Such a shame.
I have always had the clocks hanging in my spaces, and proudly declare, “I made that!” But, I almost always must follow that up with, “in high school, a long time ago.” Don’t get me wrong, I have always created, just not with wood. I went to art school and learned how to paint and draw with charcoal, I learned about colors and how they interact. Most of all, digital graphic design. I did that in the corporate world for years.
One thing about creating that way is that you don’t really use your hands. You tap your mind, creativity and foresight, yes. But, not your hands. There is something to be said about creating something using hand tools, the touch, the feel.
I found someone on Facebook, in a group I belong to, selling log slices cut from Aspen, which is an abundant species here in Colorado! I took a trip over and selected about 10 slices. They are all fresh cut so need some drying time, but I could not help myself, I must make at least one!
I ended up making about three clocks out of the slices. I have since used reclaimed wood and made several clocks out of those as well. I even made one out of some old wood flooring pieces we had left over from the remodel. I used dominos for the number system on the face.
It is good to be back in the game of woodworking. I think I will take a little more time and start a section dedicated to that on my Blog. Work out in the shop a little, come back in and write for a bit. Ah, the life!
Cheers,
CC
