Thursday, November 6, 2008

Off duty...

What does a furniture maker do in his spare time except spending even more time in the shop? Sometimes it's good to get away from the woodworking environment altogether and just do something completely different. In my case I like to get back to nature and do some hiking or kayaking in summer, skiing in winter, or anything outdoors for that matter. This past week my wife and I were away in the mountains for a few days of just this, getting away from everything, clearing our minds, and regaining focus. I have to admit, it's very hard for me to pull myself away from my studio and from my love of making furniture, but in the end I'm always glad I got away. Shifting focus is a good thing and often puts things into perspective.

We often head to an area two hours or so away, in the mountains, which prides itself on a very outdoor way of life. The surrounding towns and villages offer great craft and art type shops which open up the mind to new design possibilities. Something both my wife and I love to see is other crafts people's work, regardless of the media. We both have a soft spot for crafts and craftspeople in general and their typically modest, rewarding and fulfilling lifestyles.

While visiting some small shops, I found this beautiful small irregular shaped bowl, handmade in Central America. An ideal small piece to complement one of my small cabinets. The workmanship that went into this decorative bowl is amazing and I had to have it. I already have it placed in one of my cabinets.

I also had the opportunity to read parts of a good book, it is furniture related, but nonetheless I had the free time to be able to sit down and focus on this book, which I've sort of read before, but never really in depth. I find I need to set aside an hour or so every day to be able to catch up on my reading, usually much later in the evening at home. This doesn't always work out, and I begin to accumulate partially read books, etc. I'm a book hound and have shelves full of interesting books that I've read, but also a few small piles of books in the process of being read.. I still hope to address this dilemna somehow, maybe I'll just pack a pile of books into a bag and get away for a few days to do just this.

4 comments:

Bob said...

Ok...you got me interested in your blog, and now there seems to be a bit of delay in anything in the way of a new post.
I know it's presenly cold in Ottawa...(fellow Canadian here) but hopefully all's well.
Looking forward to the next project.

Norman Pirollo said...

Hi Bob,

What happened is upon my return from my getaway I was informed my full-time position had been eliminated. I needed 2-3 weeks to sort out what to do next. Not to dwell on this to much, but I'm hoping to make a go at full-time furniture making even though it could not have occured at the worst possible time, the beginning of a "recession". I will be resuming work on the cabinet shortly. Thx for asking however, I appreciate it.

Norman

Bob said...

Oh Man!

Sorry to hear of the job news. Surprising how that "theme" has played itself out in several other blogs that I follow.
Hopefully you can make a go of furniture making. I know I certainly never could, since I found that I would just spend way too much time on the details. (plus my skill level would need to come up a notch)
Thankfully I was gainfully employed at the time. Most times I would scare people off with a price I knew that I'd have to get...(hey, if you want IKEA, I'll draw you a map...it you want an heirloom...better sit down)

Hang in there.

Bob.

Anonymous said...

Hi Norman.

I am a woodworker living in Gatineau and just discovered your blog lately and have been enjoying it. Keep it up.

Was the picture in this blog entry (beside the creek) taken in the gatineau park near Meech lake, looks familiar

Cheers

Martin