so i finished this book a couple of weeks ago. i read a review of it somewhere, i dont remember exactly where, but i thought i would like it. im interested in how the mind works, as mine often seems such a mystery to me. aha moments and all. ive read other books on thinking and drawing and memory and i almost alchoices seem to come achoice with something, at least temporarily. usually temporarily. but i have acquired a personal design library. a lot of the good stuff i like is in there and i think ill add this one to it. i asked the librarian to buy it, which she was kind enough to do, but she also asked me to write a review of it, which this kind of will be. im sure its more than shes looking for, but the book was more than i was looking for too ... anychoice, you can see from my postits (theres a section on inventing them in here) that i thought some of it was important. i go to the library on saturdays and im late with it. i spent a half hour reviewing my postits, and now, here i am writing. im trying to hit the highlights. click the images to enlarge them ...
hold it up over your head when you need it ...
early on he talks about dylan and how he wrote like a rolling stone. well, actually in an interview with ed bradley that i was lucky enough to see when it ran, (you can see it here), dylan says he didnt actually write it. it was a bit of penetrating magic, or as mr. lehrer says, it was like a ghost writing that song.
in the 60 ,minutes interview, bradley asks bob about that and can he still write like that? dylan famously responds something like you cant do something forever; i did it once, and i can do other stuff now, but i cant do that. ... insight, inspiration, the creative process; alchoices a mystery to me, even after this book.
next we spend some time with milton glaser, a titan in the world of graphic design, who discusses drawing and thinking and the fact that art is work. amen. he also hits on the subject of drawing as thinking, a concept dear to my heart .. i wrote about that myself in 2009.
but then next, we have to think about stuff to get creative ... kind of absorb it all, let it rattle around in the brain and let the subconscious (right side of the brain) blend it all together for you and spit it out, someitmes fully formed, or not. thats where the work comes in.
and then, we talk with more musicians like yo yo ma, the cellist and brief discussion of emotion, and performance, grounded in acquired skills and then the risk of creativity, the casting aside of perfection, which brings to mind a couple of our favorite phrases perfectly executed as in dead. the perfect is the enemy of the good ,,, stuff like that. from there mr lehrer goes on to pixar and toy story, 3m and postits, a visit with david byrne and a discussion about letting other stuff in as an inspiration. this guy is rangy ... i loved it .
and towards the end, he reinforces one of my main touchstones, the sharing of ideas. in our shop, we have the phrase all of us are smarter than one of us, and here lehrer reinforces that truth ... i could go on and on, and i have, but i think personally, for me, this is an important book. other people will disagree, and i have read at least one fairly critical review. fortunately, a book is different for everyone; maybe it will work for you, maybe its not your cup of tea. try and get it from your library first ...
i leave you with two last thoughts
and
After a short break for some odds and ends .. fireplace screens, a couple of repairs, a very short one step railng, and some work on a couple more cockatoo chairs, Sam has headed into another big railing project with his builder friend Scott Thompson. This design is one loosely based on a previous project for a contemporary house Scott built in 2008.
These are the first two completed sections and Sam and Jim oiled them up before they left today. I havent been to the house or seen the full drawing, but these two 7 sections will be installed next week and measurements will then be taken for the other 7 section that will connect them and complete the open balcony area. Then I understand there are at least two angled railings that go down the stairs ... I cant wait to see the finished house ....
Heres an end view showing the half posts that will bolt to the inset beams at the ends of the open section. The railings jut out from the posts on short angles so they can attach to the vertical edges of the beam which will provide a secure and rigid connection. Apparently there are some other angled elements on the floor below that suggested this interesting and artistic concept. Ill have to see it when its all finished.
As usual, Sam made the drawings and then Trevor cut a spacing jig on the cnc that enables Sam to quickly and accurately weld up the pieces.....
The angled jigs were a little trickier, but a lot smaller and worked slick ...
We are currently having a visitation from a sculpture that Sam gave to his friend Jennifer a few years ago ... She is waiting to move into a new house and is storing it here for the moment .. Kit and I want one ... It has a real nice David Smith like presence. We have an official (read valuable) nude woman sculpture at the top of the garden that we are guarding for a neighbor who is currently living in Boulder, but imho, Sams can easily holds its own with that one.
Back view ... its about 4 tall ..
Side
In the garden ... if you enlarge this one, you can see the neighbors sculpture center right ...
The island
Process ...
Parts ...
The balcony mentioned above, in a test install on the front of the shop ... gotta love that rough sawn siding ... youll never know it was there when its gone
Future home ...
Starting out, Sam explored a couple of options for the support brackets ...
the finished brackets bolted to the upside down platform ...
hanging it all on the front of the shop ... 
getting started
Starting the detailing ...
He should be finished construction this coming week and then it will be off to the paint shop ..
9/25 .. all done now
9/10/11 ... were moving along on the table were making from the model above. i posted that picutre, i think, in one i wrote back in june sometime. great concept; exceptionally stable for a small base/big top table. the 3" hollow steel tubing has a nice weight to it, and the 30 x 30 footprint under a 60" diameter top allows plenty of room for chairs and knees.
sam did a great job mitering and welding the pieces. he did have a nice jig that trevor made for him on the cnc, but i cant find the photo of it. it was a simple piece of mdf with a u shape the size of the base routed into it. it made mitering, fitting and welding the pieces of tubing a piece of cake.
add the aprons
and the top plate ...
and the moin equalizing slides ...
i think the model is 1.5" = 1 or 1/8 scale
these runners actually opened further than we needed them to ..
with the leaves in (96" long)
closed, and ready for the black conversion varnish that will go on the top. sam still needs to roll and polish a piece of 1/4" x 2" steel that will be attached over the 1.75" wood apron currently seen under the top and it will be ready to go. fun new concept. gold star to my client for her design input ...
