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The writing on the wall...

odie

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On my shop walls, I occasionally write things that help to keep me inspired and focused.

These are things I see on my shop wall......some date back 20, or more years.

==============================

You can't rush art

Drone on

Observe and learn

Keep tweaking the notes

Do it now

Don't mess with it, reject it

Keep improving

Evaluate and revise

======================

Sooooo......what can you add to these things? ;)

-----odie-----
 
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..............
..
 

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Donna Banfield

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I have writings on my walls all over the place. Here are just a few of them:

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong" - Joseph Chilton Pearce

“If you only look to other woodturners for inspiration, your possible outcomes are limited. If you look around your world at all objects, there​
are unending possibilities for inspiration.” Beth Ireland

“…developing a signature work is what happens when you focus. If you force it, it'll look forced. Don't rush it, just make lots of what you like to make and some day you'll say "that's my signature". Too many new turners are in too much of a hurry to be "there" before they get there….”
Cindy Drozda.

If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. Have we learned anything? Dave Fritz.

"If you hear that little voice in your head saying, that's good enough. It probably isn't." Wally Dickerman
"If you’re not out there on the edge, you’re taking up too much space." David Nittmann, J. Paul Fennell

‎"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London
 

odie

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I have writings on my walls all over the place. Here are just a few of them:

“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong" - Joseph Chilton Pearce

“If you only look to other woodturners for inspiration, your possible outcomes are limited. If you look around your world at all objects, there​
are unending possibilities for inspiration.” Beth Ireland

“…developing a signature work is what happens when you focus. If you force it, it'll look forced. Don't rush it, just make lots of what you like to make and some day you'll say "that's my signature". Too many new turners are in too much of a hurry to be "there" before they get there….”
Cindy Drozda.

If you always do what you always did, you'll always get what you always got. Have we learned anything? Dave Fritz.

"If you hear that little voice in your head saying, that's good enough. It probably isn't." Wally Dickerman
"If you’re not out there on the edge, you’re taking up too much space." David Nittmann, J. Paul Fennell

‎"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." -Jack London

Some of those are really, really good, Donna.

The level of work you do, shows very plainly that the quotes that inspire you, are not just nice quotes......they are taken seriously! :)

If these are only a few of your "writings on the wall", maybe you should give us a few more!

-----odie-----
 
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My father was a Will Roger's Fan, I visited home this weekend and copied this from one of the papers above his workbench. I herd these many times growing up.

From Will Rogers:
1) Never miss a good chance to shut up.

2) If you find yourself in a hole,
stop digging.

3) The quickest way to double your money
is to fold it and put it back in your pocket.

4) There are three kinds of men:
The ones that learn by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to touch an electric fence.

5) Good judgment comes from experience,
and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.

6) Everyone is ignorant, only on different subjects.

7) Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier’n puttin’ it back.

8) Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

9) Never let yesterday use up too much of today

10) There are two theories to arguing with women….neither work. (See advise #1 :) )
 
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From an interview with an old New Hampshire boatbuilder, Bud McIntosh,

"About the only thing you can say about an oldtimer who has survived a miserable occupation like this is that you've learned the balance between how good it should be and what they'll pay for, and how good it has to be before you lose your reputation."
 

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odie

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On my shop walls, I occasionally write things that help to keep me inspired and focused.

These are things I see on my shop wall......some date back 20, or more years.

==============================

You can't rush art

Drone on

Observe and learn

Keep tweaking the notes

Do it now

Don't mess with it, reject it

Keep improving

Evaluate and revise

======================

Sooooo......what can you add to these things? ;)

-----odie-----
I have added a couple of great quotes since the original post:




My altitude is defined by my attitude.

You will never have a dream come true, unless you have a dream.




"If you hear that little voice in your head saying, that's good enough. It probably isn't." Wally Dickerman
Donna.....thanks! :)

I've decided to adopt this one.....it'll go somewhere in my shop.

-----odie-----
 
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RichColvin

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The brotherhood of the lathe must be almost unique in friendly encouragement.
Bill Jones (1920-2011)
 

odie

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And to help me fight being a perfectionist

IMG_1023.JPG

Tom...... This quote from Aristotle, reminds me of those turners who worry about getting an exact degree measurement on their gouge angles......when, in reality, this is a prime example of "close is good enough"! :)

-----odie-----
 
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Not in my shop, but I saw a sign once that read something to the effect of 'Warning - this machine can kill you and it will hurt the entire time you are dying'. There is also 'This machine has no brain. Use your own'. Another favorite of mine is 'There are 2 kinds of people. 1 - Those who can extrapolate from incomplete information.' Related to the last is one that those of us in the IT world understand 'There are 10 kinds of people. Those who understand binary, and those who don't'

Now I need to start a list of 'witty sayings' somewhere in the shop. If I can find wall space, that is.....
 

odie

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Not on my wall yet but to help me get “outside the box”:
”What I know, keeps me from knowing what I could know”.

Hi Russ..... :)

Just my opinion here, but a philosophy like this could be problematic for me, if I consider knowledge as others define it in their attempt to influence me, when it will ultimately alter my own trajectory .....or should I reach out for knowledge as I discover it, using my own initiative? For a few of us, there is that knowledge that is acquired through individual discovery, and this kind of knowledge has the potential to be fulfilling beyond what would, or could be possible otherwise.

If you are having success, then why not refine what you know works and at some point, ignore (most, but not all of) that outside influence.....rather than continually alter your path in an attempt to "know what you could know"? Isn't this similar to the mindset of "career students", who continually reach out for knowledge, earn their "credentials", and know only what they have been taught, rather than using their creative mind to blaze new trails?

Of course, this is only my personal thoughts, and acknowledging that others follow their own sense of what methods can lead to personal gains, and should be their own methods for achieving success....you know, the "I'm OK, you're OK" sort of thing... :)

-----odie-----
 
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Hi Russ..... :)

Just my opinion here, but a philosophy like this could be problematic for me, if I consider knowledge as others define it in their attempt to influence me, when it will ultimately alter my own trajectory .....or should I reach out for knowledge as I discover it, using my own initiative? For a few of us, there is that knowledge that is acquired through individual discovery, and this kind of knowledge has the potential to be fulfilling beyond what would, or could be possible otherwise.

If you are having success, then why not refine what you know works and at some point, ignore (most, but not all of) that outside influence.....rather than continually alter your path in an attempt to "know what you could know"? Isn't this similar to the mindset of "career students", who continually reach out for knowledge, earn their "credentials", and know only what they have been taught, rather than using their creative mind to blaze new trails?

Of course, this is only my personal thoughts, and acknowledging that others follow their own sense of what methods can lead to personal gains, and should be their own methods for achieving success....you know, the "I'm OK, you're OK" sort of thing... :)

-----odie-----
I agree with what you say Odie! My best example is:

I had a dear friend who loved woodworking; he was a talented bandsaw box fabricator. He received a segmented wood bowl from an older neighbor around 1976. While he appreciated the gift and the effort, he decided that the lathe was an “old man’s tool” and continued thinking that way the rest of his life. What he knew, kept him from knowing what he could have known! If he had seen some of the things that Malcolm Tibbetts was doing on the lathe, I know his attitude would have been 180 degrees, polar opposite!

Jerry Bennett forgets the rules (when designing his whimsical pieces) and then invents techniques to pull off his ideas! Of course, his new techniques become the “new“ rules. When you attain satisfaction doing what you do, more power to you; when you want to move on (often, not for the better), you need to climb out of your “rule made” box!!

Of course, the same thing can be said about all your beliefs; “what I know keeps me from knowing what I could know”……also known as “set in one’s ways”!!
 

odie

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I agree with what you say Odie! My best example is:

I had a dear friend who loved woodworking; he was a talented bandsaw box fabricator. He received a segmented wood bowl from an older neighbor around 1976. While he appreciated the gift and the effort, he decided that the lathe was an “old man’s tool” and continued thinking that way the rest of his life. What he knew, kept him from knowing what he could have known! If he had seen some of the things that Malcolm Tibbetts was doing on the lathe, I know his attitude would have been 180 degrees, polar opposite!

Jerry Bennett forgets the rules (when designing his whimsical pieces) and then invents techniques to pull off his ideas! Of course, his new techniques become the “new“ rules. When you attain satisfaction doing what you do, more power to you; when you want to move on (often, not for the better), you need to climb out of your “rule made” box!!

Of course, the same thing can be said about all your beliefs; “what I know keeps me from knowing what I could know”……also known as “set in one’s ways”!!

Hey, I hear ya, Russ..... :)

As applied, I understand how you meant it to be. As I implied, this philosophy may not apply to everyone equally.....nor should it!

All is good, though! ;)

-----odie-----
 
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