BRINGING NEW LIFE TO THE OLD

Heavy equipment intimidates me. The sight of bulky things tells me it’s a no-go area, especially lawn mowers, harvesters and even very large wheels. Somehow I associate them with muscles, the latter which I certainly don’t have much, despite some pathetic efforts in lifting kettle bells.

So when I saw a notice saying there was an upcoming workshop on making garden furniture, I knew I must give it a try - partly out of interest and partly out of a long-held personal belief that there is nothing under the sun that I’m not capable of accomplishing- so long as I set my mind to it.

I drove to the Scariff Community Centre that was hosting Creative Ireland Community Art Project. I was all ready to test out the potential of mind over matter for the next few days.

The first question I asked the artist cum instructor, Ian Kelly, was ‘Is it too difficult for me to handle as I have zero knowledge about carpentry?’ Like a true teacher who believes everyone has potential, he was most encouraging.

I wasn’t convinced.

When I saw the electric woodworking tools : the chop saw, the power drill, the electric sander, the jigsaw, the fretsaw and other strange looking equipment, my heart told me to flee as quickly as I could. I am not the sort who would sign up for something and not complete it come rain or shine, so I followed the orders of the brain to stay.

What makes a workshop fun?

The teacher factor. If there is anything more frustrating to a student is the teacher who knows her stuff but doesn’t know how to teach. I’ve had my fair share of such in school and in university.

Ian was very patient and taught me what I needed to know to make a hexagonal bench out of recycled materials. We had to break up pallets with a pallet buster so we could re-use the wood. After that we had to sand them and screw them together in such a way that some parts could be easily dismantled if there was a need to move the bench to another area. In the middle of the hexagon would be a metal bird feeder tree which was being constructed by another group simultaneously. The bird feeder tree would also be made from recycled materials.

I learnt a range of new words like bar-clamp, chamfer and the try-square. The range of glues and wood stains also fascinated me.

The environment. The free flow of coffee and biscuits helped to break the momentum. The seventeen degrees with a bit of showers in between was lovely altogether. We worked outdoors surrounded by plants and the occasional robin wondering what the hammering and the whirring sounds were all about.

The importance of safety. I wore goggles and gloves. But at times I forgot to do the necessary like holding down the plank while cutting with the chop saw and the saw ‘jumped’ and frightened the daylights out of me. Mistakes occur when fatigue sets in.

Like most tasks, the first day was the hardest. I went home with sore arms as I was more familiar with holding the pen than anything heavier than a pen.

Jo Malone, who founded the fragrance bearing her namesake (now owned by Estee Lauder) said she never went back to what she had created before. She went on to set up a new brand called Jo Loves.

In a way, I’m like Jo Malone. I want to do new things, to try out areas I haven’t ventured, within reason of course. Case in point was when I was terribly excited the time I made my first teddy bear. After making five teddy bears for different people the process became predictable and thus it was no longer challenging.

It is the process of learning that makes it interesting. More so when it is a hobby craft where we are under no obligation to make a living from it.

 I like it when there’s something untried and as the brain tries to comprehend the unfamiliar, I feel like there are so many cogwheels rotating all at once in the head like the inside mechanism of a clock. The moment the clock chimes is like the moment when it all makes sense to me.

The workshop lasted three days and although I was happy to see the finished product, I was sorry that the final day had to come.

So what next?

I think I must learn how to drive a tractor instead.

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE NEW STRAITS TIMES 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 https://www.nst.com.my/opinion/columnists/2018/09/410286/bringing-new-life-old