Creation

I tend to divide the word creation into three meanings:

♦brand new

♦new to me

♦and new right now.

The first kind of creation is something we don’t get to do. In order to bring something into the world this way, we couldn’t use what is here already with its potentialities. For instance, there’s an old joke about some scientists competing with God. They announce that they can produce life just like God does. God’s response is, “That’s alright, but first get your own dirt.”

The second kind of creation is something I’ve never made before. I must figure out the possibilities of my medium (wood and/or glass and plastic) and then find a route to getting them where I want them.

The third kind of creation is something that doesn’t, as of right now, exist until I make it. The examples in the picture for today (a couple of octagonal easels in pieces) show this. Much of what I make, I’ve made before. Therefore, the decisions are worked up and set before me in order. I used to have a job that required me to be responsive to the telephone. When it rang, I had to do what the person on the other end told me. Therefore, I had to break down my other duties into separate tasks so that I could return to them when I was interrupted and pick up with no loss of time. That’s how these easels are made. I’ve broken them down into specific tasks with the necessary jigs. When I’m interrupted, I can come back with very little time wasted.

Making things over and over again can be boring, but my business sometimes demands it. It’s all part of being a good and creative craftsperson. These repeating objects give me space to create in the second sense.

You can find my work at Berkeley Art Works (Martinsburg, WV), Bent River Trading Post (Capon Bridge, WV), and—new this week—Orr’s Farm Market (Arden, WV).