My Weekends in Solitude [WE: 108]

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A long time ago, during a creative writing workshop I learned about the craft of writing. It is a place of contemplation. You don't spend too much time around others because you wouldn't get much written. It isn't a lonely place, tho. Writers usually have good friends to spend time. However, all writers need to master the craft of being by themselves. Lest they don't want do their work.

Other crafts follow the same pattern. It isn't like artists always want to be alone but the fine work of all art is made on solitude. That's when we sift our ideas and come to terms with all that needs more work. Even collaborative arts requiere time alone. Dancers might actually learn more about what they need to do. Musicians need to study their part before a rehearsal. So on and so forth.

It isn't different for woodworkers. Tho, we tend to be a little bit cranky about our work. It follows the idea that two of the same trade can only agree to disagree. So, it's a lot of working alone unless one is teaching an apprentice. And even so it's like working on oneself.

I'd like a lot of my weekends in the nearby future an long term to be spent in such a manner. Of course, once o have my workshop, weekends will be the time of planning. Taking the woods for instruments and pairing them to make the best aesthetic choices and experimenting with the sound qualities of timber. Designing new patterns for ornaments. Maybe new shapes for instruments. It will be a time to learn.

I remember when I was in school that weekends used to be a time where I could go scout the things I actually wanted to learn. There was music and plenty of books to read. I was left alone. No homework. No other things to do but time for myself. And needless to say I grew fond of this times. That's also one of the reasons I hated Sunday school. There's no need to get a child into religion if there's no interest in it. But mothers usually think they know better. They usually do, but there are a few exceptions.

Of course, there's the need to understand that solitude and loneliness aren't the same thing. The latter has to do with this idea of fear. Being afraid of being alone means there's something you do not understand about yourself and that's actually quite scary. Imagine your thoughts going rampant and no one there to help you break from that spell. The former is a harder thing to achieve. It means being in peace with your mind. Bad thoughts being dismissed with little effort. Having the time to enjoy your own company. It sound vexing. But solitude is enjoying quality with yourself. The activities don't matter. And that's the beauty of it.

In solitude, great music is composed; amazing novels come to life; dancers get their steps just right; crafters make their art; instruments come to life.

My perfect weekend of solitude starts on Friday night planing all the work that will be done on Saturday. It might be the start of a new instrument. With more accuracy, it could be the tougher job of preparing the pieces for assembly. There's a lot of elbow grease involved on it.

For example, right now, I'm about to begin these two instruments. First, batch of my Golden Series. I could think of other ways of spending my weekend, but all of them include working on my crafts.