The Breadth of It All

Katy Uncategorized Tags: Leave a comment

I’ve often envied those people who “found their passion” at an early age and pursued it with gusto. But I also recognize that I’d be missing out on what makes me happy if I attempted to emulate them. As I’ve told people in the past, I like breadth, not depth. I’m always interested in knowing a little bit about a lot of things, rather than taking a deep, focused dive on a single (limited) range of subjects.

That’s not to say I want dive beneath the surface when something draws me in….I’ve been knitting for over a decade and enjoy watching my skills grow. That said, there are some knitters out there that can name the designer just by looking at the finished piece, know the ins-and-outs of all the independent yarn makers, or have even pursued the knitting mastery program. They’re diving deep and loving every moment of it.

Meanwhile, I enjoy my knitting and what it brings, but I’m also slowly getting sucked into the world of glass-blowing. And loving that as well.

Similarly, when it came to my career, I left science for science communication because I couldn’t see myself spending the rest of my life focused on one facet science for the rest of my career when I’m interested in all science.

This is a long way to say that this site is not going to have a singular focus….or really much of a focus at all…beyond what I’m thinking about that day. Yes, there will be lots of crafty-goodness. And there’s going to be thoughts on travel planning and then tales of my trips. But there’s also going to be thoughts on current events, reactions to books I’ve read and just random thought rambles (much like this one) based on whatever struck me that day.

For those LOOKING for a more focused approach, I’ll tag and categorize as best I can. But for the most part, as referenced above….be prepared for breadth…maybe a little depth.

Glass-blowing lessons: The importance of starting off well

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I’ve recently started taking glass-blowing lessons. One of my favorite things about it is that it forces me to be in the present.

When you’re walking around with a ball of molten glass at the end of a pipe, the day’s workplace irritation or latest horrific political headline can’t enter into things. There’s no room to think about anything else when you already need to be thinking about what you’re doing, what the glass is doing, what your next step is, what your body position is, which tool to use, how hot the glass is, how hot it needs to be, etc.

The outside world has no place in the workshop.

However, as I learned this week, the reverse isn’t as true….things I learn in the workshop can have bearing on my outside world.

For instance…Here is last week’s effort:

20180116_212552 (1)

The one on the left was my first attempt of the evening. This was the first time in the workshop after the holidays. After nearly a month off, I was a little rusty so my initial gather and starter bubble were poorly shaped and off-center. Every step after that was difficult in some way and the piece never fully recovered.

Onto my second piece. This time, I took some extra time and focus to get the initial gather and starter bubble set-up correctly. Everything was much easier. Not perfect, I’m still a beginner after all, but noticeably less of a struggle.

When I picked up the finished pieces after they’d cooled, the lesson became even more clear: Starting from a solid foundation makes the following steps that much easier and leads to a better finished project. Something I’ll be keeping in mind both in AND out of the workshop.