Is it just me or do we all suffer from the curse

[Zahid Naqvi]

Being a beginning woodworker that I am, everytime I look at a piece of furniture instead of appreciating the styling and aesthetic appearance of the piece I am drawn towards the jointing and other mechanical details of construction. And this is not limited to pieces that I look at in person, even when looking at various objects in magazines after the first look at the overall design, I am drawn into; how the maker would have put it together, how did he/she make these curves, how did he/she made a certain joint etc.

Most photographers are of the opinion that photography and tourism can't co-exist, because as soon as you lay your eyes on anything of visual appeal your start doing exposure, apperture and angle calculations in your head instead of enjoying the view in front of your. I wonder if woodworkers feel the same way.

On the other hand having some familiarity with the craft makes me appreciate the work that goes into making some of the more complex objects.

[Chris Padilla]

Some guy once said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...." (...or was it an infinite amount of monkeys hitting an infinite amount of typewriters or ....)

So I say, "However you beholden what you see, that is your business!" :D

Zahid, as long as you enjoy what you see, that is all that matters.

[Ken Garlock]

I agree with Chris. But, I, like you, are impressed with the mechanics of how it is constructed.

Consider a group of college grads looking a new building....

The civil engineer would ask about the foundation, how deep is it, what is the soil like?

The mechanical engineer might ask about the size of the I-beams, and how they are connected?

The accountant might ask about the cost, how it was financed and for how long?

The liberal arts graduate might ask" "do you want fries with that order?" :)

[Brian Hale]

Most photographers are of the opinion that photography and tourism can't co-exist, because as soon as you lay your eyes on anything of visual appeal your start doing exposure, apperture and angle calculations in your head instead of enjoying the view in front of your. I wonder if woodworkers feel the same way.


Had to bring up Photography didn't ya!! :D :D

Being an avid shutterbug (Big understatement) i agree with your point; to a point. One of the many reasons we grab the 'pod, calculate DOF in our head, see where the sun is, look for foreground objects to include for scale, choose a focal length to include all relavent objects etc. is so we'll have a visual record of the beauty we saw. Better yet, we can bore our family and friends with the dreaded Family Vacation Photo Album circa 2001, 2002, 2003...

So it is with WWing. We see the work of others, take note of the details like scale, joinery, materials, finish, function and overall appearance and log those into that vast dark corner of our brains so that someday in the future, as we ponder a design feature, we'll smile to ourselves, pick up a pencil and sketch in a portion of what we once saw.

Knida cool, eh?

Brian :D

[Jim Becker]

What you describe is true, but it's not a curse! There is much to learn from both observing what others have done, but also from contemplating how it "might" be done. More often than not, there are multiple ways to accomplish joinery and other design considerations and the longer the list you learn, the more creative you can be when you make your own pieces. So...look at those catalogs, browse through those stores and visit the museums and exhibits as much as you dare.

Now...if you want to be truly cursed, consider the "lowly woodturner". Folks with that addiction have a problem worse than a hand-held cell phone in one hand and a Big Mac in the other...all at 70 mph behind the wheel! You see..."thars bowls in them thar trees" along the road. Yup. Bowls in there. Darn! The bumper on that truck in front is hard! :eek: :D

[Greg Mann]

Zahid,

I have memories of many beautiful images with black borders around them from so much photography while traveling, but that process helped burn in the memories.

Greg

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Zahid, it's the curse of the curious mind! Even when I'm traveling I find myself killing time in airports looking at the construction details of the buildings! When I shop with my wife for furniture, she's looking at color....shades.....I looking at contruction details saying .....NO....it's poorly constucted....bad joints.......it's a cheap laminate that's why it's priced so low! I do this everywhere I go! I just want to know ......how.....why.......

[Dennis Peacock]

Zahid,

This is the exact reason why the LOML will NOT take me furniture shopping any more. The last time we went to look at furniture, I spent most of the time "under and around" every piece examining how it was built and put together only to find myself "fuming" about how sorry or sloppy the work was on each piece.!! :eek: I fussed so loud that LOML had to escort me out of the store and swore she would NEVER take me furniture shopping any more.!

Yes, I was mad about a piece that was $2K and it looked like it was put together with 5 gallons of glue and a framing nail gun. I believe my comment was something like...."I could build THAT with my eyes closed and one arm tied behind my back and all without using a tape measure."

A saleperson told me that the Cherry bedroom suite was Solid Cherry. :rolleyes: I of course said...."prove it to me". :D The salesperson tried their level best to convince me that it was solid cherry. I asked them if I could take a single drawer front and cut it in half and if it was "solid cherry" I would purchase the whole bedroom suite..... ;) Needless to say that they finally stated that it was a solid cherry wood "veneer" and the rest was particle board or MDF....... :eek: :mad:

SEE....I TOLD you it wasn't solid cherry.!!!!

Needless to say.....LOML and I don't EVER go furniture shopping any more. ;) :D

[Steven Wilson]

If you really want to feel frustration try listening to music that you've recorded, either as an engineer or musician - or worse try seeing yourself on TV. When I was younger I hosted a couple of shows that ended up on PBS. It gave me the willies to see a show I did 5 years earlier. I also can't listen to music that I've engineered, I get too hung up in the technical details of the production that I can't really hear the song which is why I ended up recording music that I didn't really like. Woodworking is much less intense than that, in a very pleasant way.

[Mark Singer]

Zahid,
Experience hightens your sensitivity. As an architect I try to evaluate each place as a place for living. This keeps me from seeing just as a piece of architecture designed for a great photograph. It can also be beautiful, functional and even poetic. I never stop hearing the birds singing or the movement of the clouds. You can still see with the innocence of a child or evaluate each work with the eyes of experience. Try to see it on all levels....how does it stand up to a fully inclusive ctitique? Beauty....workmanship...design ... function...originality...timelessness. Your question is excellent and as comlicated as life itself...we each hold our own answer

[Tim Sproul]

I guess I never considered it a curse...

but first thing I do is look at the aesthetics....if you are completely ignoring the use or disuse of grain patterns and colors and shapes and edge profiles and proportions and light and shadow and such in a piece....then I suggest you start paying attention to these aspects. Joinery only goes so far...I'll take a piece that uses average joinery and was put together with apprentice level joinery craft but has "master" level aesthetics over a piece that could have been constructed by a "master" but aesthetically...nothing was paid attention to.

[Ned Bulken]

Zahid,
As a Pro Photographer, I find that looking at Portraits is very frustrating, I apply my aesthetic to any portrait I see, and immediately start picking it apart. Landscapes and studio still lifes aren't as bad, I did primarily portraits for ten years.
I've found that I look at furniture these days much the way that Dennis does. Luckily the LOML and I aren't shopping for furniture much, I've decided that I"m building a new bed, and dressers for my kids' rooms, instead of buying anything else that is poorly made. I was helping friends move this weekend, and found myself holding back on comments about some of the furniture. It was pressboard stuff, but given that my friends and I aren't rolling in dough, I held back. I did notice how things were made. ONe piece surprised me, very nice visually, and fairly hefty, but it was plywood with veneer. The thing that caught my attention was the drawers, which had a curved design to them, I had to find out how they did that, kerf cuts and mulitple plys was the answer.

Enjoy the excercise of figuring out how things were made, and how you would make a similar item.

[Greg Heppeard]

My biggest problem with that is, when I see a nice piece, I tell myself (and LOML) "I can build that. And I can make it better and stronger and faster for about $6,000,000." :rolleyes: What I don't tell myself is, "I don't have time and this piece will do it's job until I do."

[Jerry Ingraham]

Zahid,
In school I had the good fortune to have a great drama instructor who had a wealth of knowledge about theater and filmmaking. He directed me in a couple of productions during my high school years. For a number of years after that, I could not watch a movie or tv show without my mind stripping it down to actors going through the motions. I could not get engrossed in the show as I was so distracted by the mechanics of the acting! It absolutely ruined my cinematic enjoyment until it slowly faded away!
I guess it doesn't matter what your interest is, the mind always wants to know what's behind the scenes!

Jerry

[Gary Whitt]

"Some guy once said, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder...." (...or was it an infinite amount of monkeys hitting an infinite amount of typewriters or ....)"

Dang, Chris...
I thought it was "Booty is in the eyes of the beer holder!" :rolleyes: :D :o

[Jerry Olexa]

I agree with you. I'm also drawn to the craftmanship, the joints, attention to detail, the sanding, the finishing, etc etc That's why wer're woodworkers!! You are not alone!Jerry