[Flaming_Rat]

I've lately taken up the art of carpentry
luthery to be specific, the art of making stringed instruments
it's captivating work
especially if you're like me and you do everything by hand

Working with wood is a truly awe inspiring and evocative experience
similar in many ways to listening to a good eleven minute blues boogie
...you just get lost in it
an hour, two hours, all goddamn day
it still always seems like you're just getting started
the only thing marking the passage of time is the ache in your joints after the first hour

I'll often put on an old Charlie Christian or Elmore James album while I work
letting the saw move to the beat of the music helps the time pass more quickly
and of course, you have to have patience
wood doesn't enjoy being pushed around
you need to work with it, and not against it
let the wood tell you where to go, and not vice versa

The experience is humbling and ego enhancing at the same time
seeing the absolute messes you make and comparing it to the grandiose constructions of ancient others
things you once thought werent all that impressive...
all of a sudden they are absolute brilliance
and getting lost in the wood is better than any music out there

The other day my friend came by my house
walked in the cellar door unanounced as usual
after the usual "hey"s and "hello"s and "fuck yous" he looks at the dobro I'd been working on for the past week
examines it closely
inspects every inch carefully
"what'cha making here, brother?" he asks

I looked down at my unfinished project, which I've already gathered a lot of pride in
looked back up at him...

"Sawdust," I said.
"I'm making sawdust."