Very early morning to you. On a day I no longer have to awaken to a
6 AM alarm, here I am shortly after 6 formulating a message to Orchid
with my head still on the pillow.
Early Orchidians will understand, more recent comers, well trust me.
Hanuman Aspler M.D., had a dream, and has tirelessly moved that dream
into reality. More known dreamers and their reality have been Apple,
Micro-Soft and Hewlett-Packard.
Today, I am musing about the massive amount of free advice resting
amongst the pages of Orchid.
I personally know the volume of messages on a daily basis, can be
daunting, and I too am affected by this. I find myself waiting a few
days, and reading Threads. That works for me. Yes I may not be as
prompt, but I do understand the topic from many angles.
Having said this, I want to focus on something closely within my
realm of awareness. First a disclaimer. This comes from my heart,
without a financial motive for me.
Some time ago, Hanuman shared an idea and a request. That was the
germination of Bench Tube Videos. Hanuman knew that I had gone to
work part time for my jewelry instructor, Jay Whaley, at his
personal studio. My job is strictly clerical, I have yet to sit at a
bench there.
Hanuman suggested video clips useful to Orchid members, and Jay
agreed. With none of us having a clue, we borrowed cameras, and
enlisted the aid of my son Gregg, and dug in blindly. Jay’s video
clips have, at last count had over 18K viewers. From feedback, which
I see, I know many out there are now making things, and using
devices they were previously fearful of.
Hanuman and Bench Tube, have opened a path of enlightenment to many.
If you have not yet spent the time to open these video clips and
watch them, you are unwittingly limiting yourself.
I will give one concrete example, yes one of Jay’s, and one I am
intimately familiar with. Pouring an ingot.
The time known crucible within which to melt metal, was some 18
inches away from your hand. Ungainly, and not comfortable. Many
never tried. I hated it.
While a student in Jay’s class at UCSD, one day there appeared a
pouring device, and I decided to go for it. Jay has in the past
worked on a more user friendly pouring device, sculpting one
carefully out of a fire proof material. It worked, but was fragile.
Then one day, he took a wire hanger apart and fiddled with it, and
The WHIP was born. That is one of the Video Clips on Jay Whaley’s
channel on Orchid. The WHIP is now distributed by EuroTool, and sold
through many Catalog Companies, as well as on Jay’s web sites. This
device alone has generated so many emails of thanks from users
around the world, I so enjoy opening and responding to them. I now
know that Jay on video, is as effective as he is face to face in a
class or workshop. To me, that is very satisfactory, to viewers in
remote areas, valuable.
Hugs,
Terrie
whaleyworkshops.com