Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Unemployed
I had time to sit. Time to sit and watch fall. Fall was a season I hated every year, it meant time to return to school. Last year was the first fall that I was not in school, I had time to enjoy it. This year, I knew what to expect. I was laid off from my job and I didn't really want another. I had time to think, time to read. No one was expecting much from me. When I had a job i would always bust my ass, but today I sat on my parents back porch. I watched dead leaves dangle from the trees. The wind blew them in every direction. They were hanging from the smallest of fibers and could drift away at any moment. I sat on the wood deck with my legs bent and in front of me. My elbows rest on my knee caps, my hands cradled a pellet rifle. I picked a far off leaf and studied it, it's broad face would catch the wind and it would twirl. One side green, the other brown and the edges curled. I set my crosshairs on it. When the wind picked up the leaf would move violently to the left and spin, then relax. My right index finger tensed. I was waiting for the brown side of the leaf to turn my way for just a second.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Fearless
"Folks will laugh, but the truth is I have very little ambition. I got into this framebuilding gig by complete serendipity. I was unprepared for the task. When Peter and I were asked to make Witcomb USA frames in Connecticut because the family in London was unable to supply our boss with product, I felt unprepared for the task. When I got fed up with my boss and set up my business in late 1975, I was unprepared for the task. Before too long, I was taking orders and making bicycles and never, ever felt as if I had the complete and proper training. So much of what I do is seat of the pants and intuitive. I’ve never seen anyone else make frames from end to end since I left England in 1973. And by the time I got up a head of steam as a commercial framebuilder, nothing – not a single task – resembled what I saw or did abroad. I am routinely confounded by the process. The lack of confidence or the deeply rooted feeling that, since I am self-taught, something is missing – this is an emotion that envelopes every working day I have and every frame I build. Because of this simple fact that I am never completely content with what passes as a finished bicycle, I continue to come in every Monday to see if I can redeem myself for all my past gaffes, miscues, and blunders. It sounds so drama queen-esque typing out these words, but this is how I feel. If it ever changes, maybe the word “retire” can be used in a sentence. For now, I have 7 years worth of work in which to see if I can possibly get it nailed."
-Richard Sachs
When I read this quote I think of Bob Ross. It's kind of insane to relate Bob Ross to...well anyone but he had a thing for making mistakes. As in he never made them, he didn't believe in mistakes when he was painting. I remember watching episodes of his show where he would paint a black line right down the center of the canvas and make a beautiful scene look like shit, but only for a few minutes. In no time it was "a pretty little tree, a happy tree". Richard Sachs may take mistakes more seriously, as well he should given his medium of creating, but there has to be a fearless approach to making mistakes in there somewhere. I think that is what takes a creator/artist to the next level. The ability to relax enough to let your own work take form.
-Richard Sachs
When I read this quote I think of Bob Ross. It's kind of insane to relate Bob Ross to...well anyone but he had a thing for making mistakes. As in he never made them, he didn't believe in mistakes when he was painting. I remember watching episodes of his show where he would paint a black line right down the center of the canvas and make a beautiful scene look like shit, but only for a few minutes. In no time it was "a pretty little tree, a happy tree". Richard Sachs may take mistakes more seriously, as well he should given his medium of creating, but there has to be a fearless approach to making mistakes in there somewhere. I think that is what takes a creator/artist to the next level. The ability to relax enough to let your own work take form.
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