BUT. I have recently written a bit about my forays into carpentry while building the box in which the bears will dance, so please allow me to offer you words in the place of photographs (though I'll try to snap some of those on Sunday during my next bear-box work session).
Now, without further ado: JESS' ADVENTURES IN POWER TOOLS & BOX-BUILDING.
I. In Which I Revel in the Glory of Power Tools
Today I, for the first time since high school, got my hands on a heavy-duty power tool (drills don't count, they're the lightweights of the kickass power tool world. Useful but kinda boring) - a CIRCULAR SAW.
ONE OF THESE.
The time has come to properly start work on my one show-project that involves a bit of carpentry, and, being determined to finally learn how to wrangle one of these saws (my dad has one, I've always been to scared of it to attempt any wood-cuttin'). Thankfully, my project-partner Anibal had confidence in my ability not to cut off any of my limbs (or his) and soon there I was, lining up the saw along the wooden 'fence' (a.k.a. flattish piece of ply) I'd stuck on the board to make sure my cut didn't look like the work of a drunk chimpanzee.
It took me a few seconds to gather the courage, but the moment I pressed the trigger and the saw started gnawing through the wood, I was hooked. I mean, I know they're called power tools because of the electricity and stuff, but man - the secondary meaning of the power part is all in the way they make you feel. It's feral, way the saw's teeth just rip through the wood, screaming and tossing up splinters, and the fact you can control it, guide the coiled potential of its chomping momentum and make a near-surgical cut, a perfect edge that will join with other perfect edges to make a perfect cube...man. It's one of those goddamn natural highs and now I want an excuse to do this regularly, cutting those silly pieces of wood down to size with my doom-tool.
Just two things, though. Next time I'm going to (a) wear earmuffs of some kind, and (b) NOT wear a lowish-cut shirt, to avoid ending the work session with tinnitus and a sawdusty cleavage. Besides that, I am officially hooked on power tools and I don't care who knows it!
II. In Which I am Surprised at my Ability to Actually put the Box Together
My forays into carpentry are coming along quite nicely. There have, of course, been some hitches, but overall I'm impressed with my ability to translate my slightly slapdash style of art-creation (both 2D & 3D) into the realm of wood and nails and things-that-need-to-be-much-more-exact-or-everything-will-be-terrible-forever.
I mean, not only is the majority of the box now constructed (all but the back door-bit, which goes on last anyways), it FITS TOGETHER almost perfectly and looks like a thing! I cut all those pieces with my own hands (and a bitey power tool) and somehow the edges are straight and the nails I hammered in are holding everything together and it LOOKS. Like a THING*!
Another accomplishment during this construction-adventure has been my mastery of the hand-saw. Anibal has a fancy schmancy Japanese saw called a Ryoba, which is much friendlier than normal hand saws (which regularly leave me slumped in a pile of defeat and failure), and, after some sketchy early attempts, I found myself sawing through 2x3" stud-boards with aplomb. It was fantastic.
I'm beginning to get a little worried about finishing the damn thing on time - there's still SO MUCH to do - but hopefully our next work session (on Sunday) will bring our progress to a less stressful level. I can't wait to get all the motor-stuff going (well, Anibal's putting it all together, but I'm hoping to help a bit, as I wanna learn all sorts of new things for future projects) and start decorating the insides of the box.
Man. Can't believe the show is in THREE WEEKS. Don't mind me as I sit in this corner and weep for a few hours.
*This was our refrain all yesterday evening after the box was together - "hey, look, it looks like a thing! It's really a thing! Look at it - a thing!"
