Hey Blog! This time I\u2019ll relate an event I went to a few weeks ago and one which has given me a lot of ideas about my future!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Creative Careers day at Derby Museum of Making was excellent. There were eight makers attending, and while we had about an hour and a half, it was impossible to go round them all. I\u2019d need a lifetime to study each of their crafts, so the time we had was only adequate to scratch the surface of a few of them. The first maker I met was the blacksmith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blacksmithing is an ancient art. Smiths were highly valued throughout history, and while there is now less demand for high-quality, hand-crafted ironworking as there was in the past, there are still plenty of people pursuing this trade. The blacksmith we met, Jack, started as an apprentice quite near where I live now, and is now taking commissions from across the country, besides honing his skills and managing family life. He\u2019s also really supportive of other people who are even considering it as a future activity, and has encouraged me to build a forge in my garden. Sorry Mum, the veg bed in the lawn may have to go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not only that, but he has an awesome collection of hammers and other tools. One of the most interesting things I learned was the idea of patterns on the heads of hammers, which are used to make patterns in the steel that would be very hard to get otherwise. Another interesting thing was the idea of different traditions of metalworking: when you think \u201cforge\u201d you probably imagine a stone box with a roaring blaze inside, and a large man at a regular shaped anvil of the kind that is perfect to drop on roadrunner\u2019s head, possibly or possibly not working on a large, glowing blade. In other traditions, the forge is more like a pit filled with wood\/charcoal and the anvil has a completely different shape. Perhaps the most comforting thing out of our conversation was understanding that you don\u2019t need to decide your future when you\u2019re only 15, you can still work things out as you go along. (And yes, I have been told this before, but I never take it on board, so maybe this time I will be able to accept it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next, we went nextdoor to woodworking. I know about wood, and have extensively recounted my turning exploits before. However, it has been ages since I tried planing. This technique relies on sliding the plane, (a mounted blade that removes tiny flat shavings from the wood) across the plank\/other wooden item, to smooth and flatten it. We have got one (and Dad used it the other day, strange coincidence) but I had forgotten and not seen it in years. Therefore I was very eager to learn more about how to do it, and I\u2019m glad to say it went well. Yet another ability in my arsenal which I can practise \u2013 and who knows how it might come in handy with my woodworking!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Time was fast running out. We realised we would be unable to make it to the milliners or the potters, but we did just have time to visit the lacemaking table. This is a very fine art \u2013 and all the finer for the fineness of the threads it uses! Also interesting are the bobbins, the specialist dowels used to hold the thread and flip them across the pattern to make the lace. Many are fantastically decorated, hand-turned and painted with incredible detail. Maybe I have another outlet for my turning \u2013 apparently the practice at making bobbins can increase one\u2019s skill a great deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m sad we didn\u2019t get to go round all the makers and learn all about it. Yes, you would need a full lifetime to learn each craft, another lifetime to perfect it, and that\u2019s beside any other learning you do. However, next year there will be another opportunity and I hope to take it then, to see some more creative careers and maybe choose the one I\u2019ll start with in my journey through making.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Hey Blog! This time I\u2019ll relate an event I went to a few weeks ago and one which has given me a lot of ideas about my future! The Creative Careers day at Derby Museum of Making was excellent. There were eight makers attending, and while we had about an hour and a half, it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-home-ed-in-a-shed-2"],"yoast_head":"\n