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After the hustle and bustle of the day, taking a few minutes out and having some quiet time can be welcome relief.
Everyone had just left the workshop and I had a few short minutes before my expected arrival home for tea. There was just enough time to get to my bench to fix the top on my table. It’s just a dry-fit; I’ll take it off when the finish is due. But working in the silence, feeling the torque through my wrist as I turned the screws in and then seeing the project take another step forward worked wonders for my mood. It reminded me not only of the obvious utility value of making things, but also the well-being that creating something can bring.
— Graham Haydon
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My best time in the shop is when I’m slowly and carefully working on a task, maybe a baseball game on the radio, maybe some classical music or meditative yoga music (savasana is my favourite pose) or some Grateful Dead playing kind of low, just background noise, really. I’m not paying attention to the music, though, because I’m in the zone. I have tunnel vision on routing out that little bit for some inlay or jointing an edge.
And when I’m done, and I check that edge with a square or testing the piece of inlay in the recess, and it’s dead nuts perfect? That’s a great feeling, knowing I’m doing the best work I can, and that I’m achieving exactly what I set out to do. It’s better than a hundred “likes” on FB or IG, that little smile I give myself during those quiet times.
Thanks for the thoughts, Graham.