Sunday is the first day of bowl-turning class with Robin Wood – but I have been hewing bowls lately.

I have only ever made these one-at-a-time, and then usually years between versions. Right now, I am working on a batch of about 6 or 8 of them. One thing I miss is having room to really photograph some of the process, and a store of scrap wood to shim, wedge & otherwise cobble stuff in place. Had to use a carved rail to shim the underside of this bowl while I shaved the end grain.

Some of them are the “upside-down” orientation. I have most of these ready for drying, so I plan on finishing them later in June. But by then, my head will be filled with the possibilities of turned bowls and wh0-knows-what-else from my trip to the North House Folk School.  

Exciting times.

I have known…

If there is one thing the mad men knows works every time, it is telling people that you can get slim and fit without doing a damned thing. People will buy and gulp down absolutely anything based on that promise. Anyone knows deep down inside that Prof. F. J. Kellogg’s crappy “scientific” product is just as useless as the drugs and patent medicines he is warning against. But instead of considering actually slimming, now as back then people get hooked in case this particular product just might work.

But as we all know it doesn’t work of course. Not the ones back when the add above was made or the similar crap they’re pushing today. Had it worked there wouldn’t have been one lazy fat slob left in the overfed self indulging western world – Ted 😉

ADX in Portland is a makers’ dream. It’s a 12,000 square foot facility filled with tools, space to work, and other like-minded folks. There’s a wood shop, metal shop, factory floor, and design lab; all equipped for pretty much anything you can dream up. All you have to do is get a membership, much like you would at the gym. That membership gives you access to the space, help from the staff, and the chance to sign up for on site classes. And when you need to a break or a caffeine fix, head on over the the cafe for a pick me up. 
Meet Yelena Prusakova. She’s an artist and member at ADX. Take a look as she puts together a frame for a poster in the wood shop. With her background in Industrial and Interaction Design and access to whatever she needs at ADX, Yelena can bring her…

But the tobacco companies claimed that smoking was completely harmless and if you can’t trust big business who can you trust. Yeah right – Ted

Image found at Casa de Ricardo