Artsy updates

Yesterday when I got home from work, I got to check out what Giles and Jose had been working on.  All I can say is, WOW.  Giles has the construction complete for a Spanish Elizabethan that just looks great on him.  Jose' is just one helluva tailor.  What I find the most impressive is his ability to "flat-fit."  Unlike me, who relies upon putting fabric on the body and marking things accordingly (primitive in many ways), he is a mathematical fitter who creates patterns according to key measured amounts.  Ultimately, the proof is in the pudding.  And the results amaze me.

I gotta say, I feel truly humbled by the talent of my friends.  I look back at my SCA beginnings in Florida and remember being awed by so many incredible items created by the people around me.  I wanted to learn to do so many things.  I want to learn woodcarving, and stained glass, and glassblowing, and nailbinding, and etching, etc., etc., etc.  It is all just so cool!  And then when I moved to California, I saw even more things.  There are artforms represented out here that I had not previously really seen.  And with each new item, I find myself in a brand new sense of slack-jawed wonder. 

Don't get me wrong - I LIKE living in the 21st century.  Having air-conditioning and antibiotics is a really, really good thing.  I just have to wonder sometimes if modern Americans really have a good sense of appreciation for things that are created by hand.  If I were to, say, weave a basket and present it to the average American, would that person look at it and think, "Wow!  That reflects at least 8 to 10 hours of work and is really cool?!" or would that person respond with "Why did you do that?  You could have just bought one of those at Walmart."  I'm not saying there is anything wrong, or stupid, or anything else about such a person.  My observation is simply that 21st Century Americans, for the most part, have become very removed from those days when we could not take technological advances for granted.  That and, I believe, there is a certain sense of earned pride that comes from doing it all yourself.  Sure, you COULD go to the grocery store and purchase a vegetable.  But I think it is much cooler if you grew it yourself in the back yard.  Sure, you COULD just order your mom's birthday present off the internet.  But I think it is much cooler if it is something that you make yourself. 

My friends humble me.  The more I see created by other people, the more I realize I have MUCH to learn and so much further to travel in terms of artistry, ability, and knowledge.