A line cast, a hope followedFriday, February 27, 2004
I am surely crazy.
I decided to learn to carve wood, and typically enough, not just a little whittling project, but a Native American Transformation mask. I tried for years to get the poem out that related to the symbolism these masks have for me, and never succeeded. So what the heck, I'll carve one I impetuously decide. First I order a book which shows how to do it. I get the book and laugh hysterically at the folly that made me believe I could do this. Do I give up? NO. I sign up for a 3 hour class called beginning wood carving, go to the class, show no particular talent whatsoever at it, and do I give up?
Ha. The catalog arrives for the institute that I wanted to take a poetry workshop from (with Kim Stafford! Wow!) and in what must be fate playing a massive joke on me, there are two carving classes offered that are teaching exactly the type of carving I need to do to make this mask. So without thinking, I sign up for both. I am talking about this with my ex last night, to be sure our schedule with the kids allows this, and it finally sinks in, I've signed up to spend 8 full days of my life this year dedicated to learning something I have no obvious ability in, or need to learn. Time is so precious...I ask myself what was I thinking???? But further down in my gut, I admit that I trust this impulse. The little voices which whisper "what if you hate it from day 1?" get resoundingly told to shut up. But it's still crazy.
Masks shown carved by David Boxley
