Making Things

When I was a little girl, my favorite book was the McCalls Make It Book.  It had a shiny hard cover and inside were directions for making things.  It was a gift my daddy brought me back from a work-related trip to Kentucky.

We didn't have Amazon or even book stores in my town, so we mostly read books from the library.  The Make It Book was one of my few hard-cover books, and I loved it because it was big and full of possibilities.

Today (between car maintenance and hair maintenance and phone calls)  I painted a large mirror red.  With chalk paint, I can paint over and over the same thing until I get the effect I want.  Red (my color of the year) is this mirror's third incarnation.  I used the same Emperor's Silk used for much of La Casita.

Speaking of which: the sign over the front door (La Casita)  was handmade by my friend Linda Quintera, an artist who recently moved to Hondo.  It sets the tone for the interior--lots of barn wood, weathered tin, and antique pieces, accented by bright reds and greens.  Handmade coconut masks from Mexico cover the bright green kitchen wall.

Most of the objects in my house were made by people I know, including lots of colorful things by Day, who shares my love of many colors on one thing.

When we make things, we're kids again--playing with paint, cloth, wood, paper, or recipe ingredients.  We start, make mistakes, and start over, learning from each attempt to get the thing we're making to match the image in our minds--or to be surprised by something new that shows up on the imagination trail.

For several weeks, I loved watching Mike making things.  If something went awry, he was never discouraged, just kept the music playing, and made it work.  Sometimes, he'd "sleep on it" and wake up knowing the solution.

Last night, Nathan asked me to text Mike and ask him if he would teach him how to make a Go-Kart. His eyes lit up when Mike texted back, "Yes!  I'll start looking for the parts."  Mike would love nothing better than to teach him how to use tools and build the Go-Kart he has in mind. Isn't that the legacy of makers--not to make the Go-Karts for the boys, but to teach them how to make their own?

I won't live long enough to make all the things I want to make.  I watched a Ted Talk tonight while painting that made me wish I could build a house out of bamboo--which I have neither the skills, the time, or the patience to do.  But it's so inspiring to watch people making beautiful dwellings and objects out of natural materials. Even if I never build a bamboo house, I'll treat those fast-growing stalks showing up in my back yard with more respect from now on.

https://www.ted.com/talks/elora_hardy_magical_houses_made_of_bamboo?language=en