yet another prototype...

The interesting point about making beautiful and useful objects is how one leads relentlessly to another which leads to another after that. As one develops a bit of skill, the most natural inclination is to test it against other challenges and opportunities. Writing the tiny box book has required  that I apply what I've learned  from other projects to a smaller scale which then will be applied down the road to other beautiful and useful objects and other teaching and learning opportunities.

This summer I taught two classes in making Scandinavian bent wood boxes, so what you see here is my first prototype of a tiny bentwood box. The woods are elm and crotch figured walnut. I will also offer a shaker variation of this box and one made by boiling veneer stove top (if successful).

On the NPR this morning they talked about the origins of the phrase "tooting one's own horn." It appears the origins were that when royalty walked into the room, the trumpets would be blown by loyal minions, not by the royal personage him or her self. For a royal person to blow his or her own horn would have been an embarrassment, not an honor.

This box, and so many simple crafted objects like it may not be the cause for fanfare in a culture that has lost touch. But to hold what you have made in your own hands may be trumpet enough.

Happy Labor Day. Here in the US, we celebrate labor once a year by taking a 3 day weekend to escape from it all. Our small town is jammed with tourists this weekend, so it is a good time to stay home and make tiny boxes.

Make, fix, create. Encourage others to do likewise.