Reflection on the learning journey

[SVB]

I read this recently (it was about glass making but no matter). I do recognise this (on-going) journey in myself, any other takers?

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one piece. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through."

So, thoughts?

Simon

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You gotta ... sounds American? Chihuly?

 

[gregmcateer]

Sounds about right to me.

Having said that, some good one-to-one tuition with a creative, technically-sound and able teacher will almost certainly reduce the iterative process - hopefully leading to satisfactory+ results sooner.

 

[A.Tryer]

Thanks for sharing.
Reading that has given me hope and the incentive to get back in my shed and switch the lathe on again.
I've recently had a couple of catches on some bowls and it has been frustrating to say the least to see my average efforts turned into scrap by my ham fisted under practiced hands.

 

[woodpig]

I've recently had a couple of catches on some bowls and it has been frustrating to say the least to see my average efforts turned into scrap by my ham fisted under practiced hands.

You could get some lessons if you can afford it or join a club. Another alternative is to buy a round carbide tool, it's very difficult (but not impossible) to get a catch.

Or then again you could use a scraper:

https://youtu.be/ZM4ak8ygzS4

 

[Finial]

All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap.

I'm not so sure. It seems to me that a lot of beginners in woodturning take it up because they like the process, and the idea that they could learn to do good work. And there is obviously a skills gap in the beginning. But often they have to learn what a good bowl looks like as well as how to make one. We've all seen reasonably well-made beginner bowls that have poor form - assuming there's an objective measure of good form, which could be a whole other discussion. I look at my own early work and it's rubbish. I hope my later work is better, but that's not just because I'm better with the tools, it's also because I have a better idea now of what to do with them. Taste doesn't always precede skill, it develops along with it.