The First Chalice

Pictured are the first four of our drinking chalices which will be used at our wedding. Steph did the ceramic bowls in a Floating Blue that I think really turned out sharp. I then turned the bases from Alder. I will be making other bases from Mahogany and Walnut she plans to do bowls in a Spearmint color and I think a red but I don't know what shade yet. As we finish these I will put a few more pictures into this post. Leave me a comment, how do you like them?

Ok we have finished 19 chalices. The above left chalice is in the Spearmint color. Steph does not care for it so it will go up for sale. What do you think? We have about 20 more to go before we have reached our production goal. I have now turned bases in Alder and Mahogany and have a large block glued up for Walnut bases.

The First Cooperative Project

Pictured left is the first project out of the shop combining some of my work with my sweeties. She turned and fired the ceramic pot that you see. It is glazed in what she called a floating blue glaze that I think is just beautiful. It is glazed both inside and out and will hold about 1/2 lb of tobacco.

I have added the turned top made from Alder wood. The outside has been oiled and garnet shellaced. The inside of the lid is natural wood. A rubber gasket was added to retain the freshness of the stored material. This will be on my bar from now on and it is the first of a series of Tobacco vaults that we will be making. If you like it or have any suggestions please let us know what you think. Thanks for stopping and looking.

Why is Global Warming Bad?

I have been giving the global warming debate a little thought and a number of questions come to mind. None of these questions I have has yet been answered by those so afraid of this "theory". Lets begin with what is the normal temperature of the Earth? In our past the earth has been both warmer and colder then it is now. We have fossil records indicating that the earth was once much warmer and we have written records indicating that just a bare 1000 years ago it was also warmer. So warm in fact that England exported wine.

Why would global warming be a bad thing? Isn't one of our great advantages is that we as a species are adaptable? We have managed to outlive many other animals adapted to both warmer and cooler climates then we presently have. I know that 27" rise in ocean levels (that's the latest UN figure for the maximum rise) will make living in places like New Orleans and the Netherlands a bit tougher.

I read an article that pointed out that the Earth actually warmed more before 1950 then it has since, what caused it then and why did it slow down? There are more factories, cars and power plants now then there were then so again why the slow down? Maybe this change in temperatures is part of the normal cycle of life and we just happened to notice it this time and we are arrogant enough to think we can change or stop it.

Why do we except computer models of the climate projected out 40 years when the weather can't accurately be predicted for tomorrow? This lead me to wonder when and how did Mr. Gore become an expert on this theory? I checked his degree background and he does have several degrees in Government, Law and Divinity all from very prestigious universities. The problem though is that none of these programs of study have hard science any where in their catalog.

Oh and what happened to all of the folks who were predicting the coming ice age in the 70's? Those are just a few questions that really bother me.

What is self esteem?

It would appear from the training I received in my instruction on how to become a professional educator the primary focus today is how to build a students’ self esteem. We have become so concerned with the student winning we have forgotten that at some point we have to teach the student how to lose. Is it possible for both teams to win in a game? If it were would there be any point to playing the game?
Statistics show that regardless of effort any group of individuals working toward a measurable goal will fall out along a bell shaped curve. So many will earn A's and so many will earn F's. The operative word here is the students will “earn” a grade; the teacher does not give them one. If all students in a group regardless of effort earn an A what would be the point in the lesson? Did the students really learn anything? Yes they learned that regardless of the effort expended they will win. With this in mind what would be the point in putting out any effort?
If the student is not taught the value of effort how will that student learn anything or improve on any but the most basic of results? After all few great artists, inventors or writers produced great works without practice and requisite failures. We all learn from failure and one of the first things that we must all learn is that failure is possible. When we can accept the possibility of failure we can also accept the concept of improvement. No great work comes about without the proper foundation.

An element of that foundation is an appreciation for well done hard work. In today’s society though we have become fixated on making sure that all work is “safe” and that all workers are “secure”. A product of that drive has been to push young workers out of the entry level market. As a boy growing up on a farm in the 50’s and 60’s I learned from my father how to do hard work well. With that lesson I could hire myself out to neighbors when he did not need me on our farm. I was in competition with all of my friends so it was incumbent upon me to do a good honest days work.
Today though federal regulations have made it all but impossible for kids to learn to work and be proud of the accomplishment of that work. Because of that we now hear about the invasion of workers from the south willing to do work that Americans will not do, but I believe its not that they are unwilling to do the work, they are forbidden to do the work. We have allowed our government to intrude into the entry level training grounds that used to teach us how to work.

A job well done provides self esteem. The realization of truly winning provides self esteem. Learning that we don’t always win provides self esteem. Practicing at anything till we become good and striving toward excellence is its own reward. Like many worthwhile things in life, self esteem cannot be given, it must be earned.

Other projects revisited.

I have returned to several projects that I will finish in the next few days and as they are completed I will post their pictures here.

First a vanity for the master bath. In my favorite Arts and Crafts style I have made a small vanity in Purple heart and ceder. The top is a tile with an above the counter basin in multi-colored glass. It has brushed Nickle hardware. I don't like the faucet I bought for this project so it will be replaced in the near future.

Second is the cabinet that en-closes my wet bar. This project is mostly oak stained to match turn of the century Craftsman style. The top is covered in marble tile with brushed Nickle hardware. To make sure my liquor is safe from the under aged I will also be installing cylinder locks on all doors that house consumables. Here it is, what do you think?

Third I will complete all of the trim work in the master bedroom. It has been cut and shaped and is now only in need of paint. Once the paint is dry the air tools will make the work very quick.

Planning stages have now begun on a matched pair of tall chests for the master bedroom. These will be a combination of natural ash and mahogany to match the bed. I will be doing a frame and panel style on the sides and the drawers will be extra deep. I have also considered some inlay work on the drawer fronts to match the foot board of the bed. Most of the chests I look at down town aren't deep enough to be really useful and the upper thin drawers are totally useless to most people.