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"Spiritual turning"......

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Tongue in cheek question, my imoji :)didnt show up. To do the the things I have athletically, academically, and professionally require just a bit of attention to detail, what some may consider a little or a lot OCD. Pursuit of excellence has been a mantra for the last 50 years or so. If you want to associate that with the term “spiritual”, ok, I never thought of it that way.
 
Joined
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Tongue in cheek question, my imoji :)didnt show up. To do the the things I have athletically, academically, and professionally require just a bit of attention to detail, what some may consider a little or a lot OCD. Pursuit of excellence has been a mantra for the last 50 years or so. If you want to associate that with the term “spiritual”, ok, I never thought of it that way.

OK, I think I understand your meaning, Doug.

I don't believe there is a direct relationship between "pursuit of excellence" and the essence of "spiritual"......until you throw in the psychological condition of "OCD" into the mix.....then, those three things can have a definite relationship, but that connection is not necessarily a foregone conclusion.

Now.....do I have OCD, when it comes to my pursuit of excellence through my woodturning passion?......that question might be worthy of consideration, but the answer to that makes little difference to me! The only thing that makes the slightest bit of difference, is the progress I make in my own very personal pursuit of excellence.......no matter what it takes to garner that progress. :D

-----odie-----
 
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John Jordan

AAW Advisor
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With all due respect, and I mean that sincerely, I must disagree. I believe many of us, be we professional or amateur, are capable of that dedication and that it shows in our work. That little bit of soul we leave in each piece that is loved by future generations, makes us immortal
I would tend to agree with that, John. :)

John
 
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I really didn’t know how to respond to this thread when first posted. I still am unsure this response is what fits. I do not take any commissioned work. Everytime I put wood on the lathe I have a concept of what the finished piece will be. However sometimes it ends up different because I feel the concept and wood didn’t match. Not always. For the connection I am always striving to make that one unique piece no one has ever done. I also try to make the best piece I can. I achieved that with my ship. I made the ship as a challenge from Hockenberry. I had made a natural edge bowl with a hole in the bottom. For fun I put a sail in it. Hockenberry said I need to make a ship with more detail. So my connection to this turning is strong. But there are pieces that are in a word awful that I had made. Some are ugly and I call those art and others are not the concept I had in mind and just no connection. In December I had what I call an “event” requiring two rounds of CPR. I was at the hospital doing cardiac rehab at the time, so I was in the right place. After I wanted to give several key personnel something and began making things. I had turnings made, but wanted these to be after the event, as they would not exist without their quick response. They had to be done well. I took them in last week and the staff were grateful to receive the gifts. One said that they will remember me when the look at the turning. I passed that connection to those responders.

This is my ship. Things just went well.

ABD7995A-6A3B-4022-AA99-F440CE0E4E0A_1_201_a.jpeg

Now with that said, I guess I didn’t satisfy the Fire God. So I have an additional offering. This was my first attempt at a mini cowboy hat. brim was 9” in diameter and about 4” tall. Actually I got further along than I thought on my first attempt , but one cut too many on the inside top.

70E85D4A-5C18-4A5D-87F9-DFE7B7D79553_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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Whatever you do, don't toss it to the fire. Covid will lift someday and we'll be back attending symposiums - you'll need something to wear. Every piece in the gallery and every piece made in the demos will be forgotten - all that will be remembered is your hat
 
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Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Part of that "spiritual-ness" is being alert to all the input your senses, body, and tools are giving you during the act of turning......and combining that with all other available precursor data and knowledge. This leads to contemplation, and then conclusions, thus realizing an advantage that can only be had through a spiritual connection.

I'm convinced the only persons who can relate to that, are those who don't need an explanation...... :)

-----odie-----
 
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