Blanche Dubois
Would Have Loved Woodturners!
Woodturners are a weird bunch of people. I have yet to understand them, even though I have become one of them. What they do makes no economic sense whatsoever (at least at first blush).
What I am referring to is the willingness of all turners that I have met, either in person or over the Internet, to share their knowledge. Now you may say that that is true of anyone, but that's not the case. When you are at your next craft show, go to a craftsperson and ask them to explain to you how they made or did something, and then go to a turner and ask the same question. The depth of information you get from the turner will far exceed what you get from almost any other craftsman (enough of being politically correct!) And this is true of amateurs as well as professionals.
The first time I encountered this was when I saw a picture of a spiral piece done by the late Phil Wall of Pennsylvania. My wife loved it, and she e-mailed him to ask him if it was for sale. In her note, she mentioned that her husband was a turner also. Phil responded that the piece had already been sold, and suggested that she ask me to make the spiral for her, and that he'd be willing to tell me how. So, he and I corresponded, and he found out that I lived about an hour from his place, at which time he invited me to his open shop for First Wednesdays at Phil's, where he'd show me how he did it. Of course I was skeptical, but I figured I had nothing to lose, so I went. And watched in amazement as Phil turned a bowl from green wood, drew the spiral lines on it, and put it aside to dry. Then he took another bowl that was dry, drew lines on it again, and cut it with a bandsaw, explaining each step in detail, and answering any questions I might have had. You can bet I was at FWAP every month after that!
This experience has been repeated again and again with members of my club, professionals at shows and demos, and turners on bulletin boards on the Internet.
Can you imagine this happening in, say, the business world, where companies are so secretive about their processes and technology, even though the effort usually only has a short-lived result?
And that is why Blanche Dubois would have loved to have been surrounded by woodturners. If you remember, in Streetcar named Desire, she says, "Ah have ahlways relied on the kindness of strangers." Well, I have certainly relied on the kindness of many a woodturner to show me how to do something.
What I don't understand is why we are all like that. The only explanation that I have come across is one that I heard Frank Sudol articulate, which is that there is the certainty among turners that it is not a one-way street, and that if I help someone today, someone else will help me tomorrow. Sort of like in the movie, "Pass it forward". Now that does make sense, but it still begs the question. I mean if turners have figured it out, why haven't other crafts and other professions? I'm sure that some other crafts have, but they are still the minority.
All that I can say is that I am really glad that we are so weird, as I am a much better turner today than I would have been otherwise. Plus it is so much more fun being around other turners!