Final buffing, making sure any spray finishes are as perfect as can be, takes it toll, more on my mind than anything else. Two hours of burnishing by hand of the stand for my last piece reminded me of Police training when we would sit in a room bulling our boots with a rag through thousands of small circles until the finish was perfect, only to have it ripped apart by the drill Sergeant on parade the next day. On occassions we would spend the whole of the Saturday pressing our best uniform and bulling our number 1 shoes ready for Monday that it would drive me mad.
Some time after I left the Police to persue Turning I bumped into an ex-colleaugue who by this time had climbed the dizzy heights of promotion. We talked about the job and old times and he told me something that I will never forget, he said "nothing is ever wasted".
This rang in my ears today as I was going over the last finishing stages of the pieces ready to go to the gallery on Monday. The attention to manotonous detail when I was training taught me to be thorough to the extreme, to take note of, and deal with the fine detail.
This is not so far removed from making. Paying attention to every process and achieving the best that can be acheived before moving onto the next part builds not only a foundation to add to but also a method of methodical process which I can really get absorbed in. Being involved in each of these processes to the exculsion of all else is for me the only way to work.
It is a waste of time if I do not give my full attention to each part in fine detail,,, the here and now.
These are a few pieces that I have been finishing.
The top of the page shows an ash lidded form 18inches high x 11 inches dia.
The second is one of my chilli forms.
The bottom being a horse chestnut enclosed form/vase. 7.5 inch dia x 11 inch high.
1 comment:
Hi Mark.
I agree it is the fine detail that counts and not calling a piece finished until you can no longer find a single fault with it.As I have said before i believe the only difference between a poor Turner and a good Turner is Form and Finish.
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