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Sunset view of Shea’s shop and home.
Am I protecting myself or holding myself back?
There are several woodworking mediums I have yet to dip my toe into. Some, like turning, are because I’m sure I wouldn’t want to do anything else if I dared to add a lathe to my shop. Others are more reflective of my inability to maintain a task — I’ll cut dovetails for a single case, but not for a set of drawers — the novelty wears off suddenly and my ADHD takes over. I like to think that these self-imposed guardrails are there for my protection a bit. I don’t need to go out into the shop to be hounded by unfinished projects that no longer spark joy. If I wanted that, I’d wander around in the house and take stock of those projects instead.
I spent most of the past week in Virginia watching the eminently talented Shea Alexander and Albert Kleine put together a handful of projects for upcoming articles, and it’s making me rethink my approach a bit. I’m realizing that I’m shortchanging myself of some valuable skills and experiences. Among other things, Albert makes marquetry inlays and Shea builds chairs. And if you had asked me if either of those were areas of woodworking I was going to investigate I would have politely passed.
It was a conversation with Albert that opened my eyes a bit — I was complimenting him on the detail of his work while explaining that marquetry was a bit too finicky for my mindset. His immediate response was that I shouldn’t compare myself to his work. Marquetry didn’t need to be complex to be authentic, I could make something with only one or two components to add detail to a piece. I had not considered that before; that I didn’t need to fully dive into a certain skill to utilize it in my work and become a better woodworker.
I’m in an incredibly lucky position working for this magazine where I have access to amazing teachers and decades worth of articles. It also means that I hold myself and my skills up to these masters of the craft. I don’t need to make complex marquetry or build a full set of stick chairs to be a real woodworker in those fields. I can cut a simple outline of a rose, or make a basic three-legged stool. And if I really enjoy it, I can build my skills from there. I won’t grow if I don’t take down my guardrails and try though.
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