Tools vs. Toys

When doing something you love the distinction between tools and toys becomes quite blurred. A rake and hoe can enhance the fun of the experience to someone who loves gardening. To others they are tools to get a job done. They might make the job easier, but there is still no passion and no joy in it.
To me the angle grinder my spouse got me for my birthday has all the potential of becoming a toy. I plan to experiment on how it works on different materials. and if it works well and I feel comfortable with it, it can indeed become a toy that lets me explore sculpting and texturing and polishing a variety of things. However if I never use it for fun, it stays firmly rooted in the world of tools.
Maybe every tool aspires to become a toy in the hands of someone who love the things they can do with that tool. I only wish every tool I picked up could become a toy. But alas, much as I wish it otherwise, the rake and hoe will remain tools.

building the future touching the past

As I spend so much of my creative energy these days on construction I am often thinking about my family; specifically my father and grandfather. Both brought their skills and creativity to bear when they built the house I grew up in.
Every block in the foundation or piece of siding knew their touch.
In the heat of the day, struggling with the effects of anemia, I still push on to finish whatever phase of the project we are working on. I keep the vision of my grandfather and father with their masonry and carpentry skills before me as I push back the wish for some strong virile young back to come finish my work.
The creativity is a collaborative effort with both my husband and I working to bring to reality a comfortable house where we will hope to raise kids, entertain and shelter friends and live the many decades we have ahead of us.
I also think of my mother as I work. She too was an integral part of the house they built. She helped to design the floor plan, selected materials for construction, and planned the landscaping, all while taking care of 4 kids.
I do not know what my forefathers would think of my results but I feel sure they would appreciate my process and effort.

tick tock

Time seems such a precious commodity these days. Somehow from morning till night I never run out of things to get done. finding a way to schedule in creative time is really tough. I reentered the facebook realm and I have been swallowed as I try to figure out all the ins and outs. What happened to those 2 hours I was going to spend working on designs or calling friends. Instead i have washed through the lives of others like a peep show they have orchestrated for my amusments. harumph. I think I will be putting that away until another day when I do not feel the drive to do something creative so strongly pushing at me.
The irony here is that I came back to post something on my blog as I plan to list it among my websites on my facebook page.
gotta laugh.
K