Celebrating Inefficiency

One of the most enduring qualities of Art & Rugby Endeavors is the holistic nature of an experience. In beginning a project in the woodshop, we first talk about where the trees grew that provided the lumber we are using. Participants consider the intricacies of every piece they select for their creation. It takes time to work through the instruction and precautions for every piece of equipment that is used to create something from scratch. As the general principles of respecting blades, handling materials, and considering grain are internalized, things move along more quickly, but each machine and specific application have their own considerations and lessons to teach. Then there are worthwhile distractions that demand attention, like recalling memories of my childhood as I explain how to use the drill press that I grew up with.

By the end of the project, the participants know just about every detail of their piece. They can tell stories of challenges faced and victories won all along the way. Different steps speak to each person in a unique way. Some are thrilled by the transformation of an edge by the router.

Another person finds satisfaction in the plunging of holes with the drill press. Others are awed at the fine surface and stories revealed by newly exposed grain as their glue-ups pass through the planer. And so on.

Soon a person who noticed the ease of holding her piece a certain way shares it with another who may be struggling to find a comfortable way to execute a particular step. Tips are shared, laughter and smiles overtake the sound of machinery, friendships blossom, and the character of the group is established.

The ARE woodshop is not set up for production. It is more like an artist’s studio, with many things within reach to produce from start to finish on a small scale. A production space will move parts around to different stations where a different person or robot will perform a single task perhaps thousands of times in the process of manufacturing products that are all identical. At the ARE woodshop, people pay to engage with the whole process, and come away with a single product that they themselves created from scratch. In this way they truly own it.

It costs fewer dollars to buy a tray from a big box, but the value is far less. And the real cost of those manufactured products cannot really be tallied. The materials come from all over the world, the production and distribution are hidden as the product is packaged, stacked, and displayed in a market that is as homogeneous as the myriad clones all stacked up next to one another. Do the operators, workers, drivers, and clerks who move this product from raw materials to our door share the same satisfaction in their labor? But this is all part of a larger system. We all must do our minuscule part to contribute to the larger economy that sustains us. Right?

And now here we are; a microscopic organism has our global economy at its knees. For those at home, maybe this is a golden opportunity to engage in some inefficient production of a good that may or may not serve a purpose in the execution of our lives. This is where the Art & Rugby tagline comes in:

Learn Create Experience Share

What better formula for holistically realizing every aspect of an endeavor? (That is actually a real question. If I’m missing something here, you would be doing me a disservice if you didn’t bring it to my attention. Commentary below is encouraged!) We grow as we learn new things and apply them to create something that is useful, and sharing it with the world inspires others to do the same.

What better time than right now to take on a new Endeavor as we distance ourselves socially from everyone else? Why not try knitting, fly tying, painting, origami, the guitar, cooking, remodeling, singing, tomahawk throwing, yoga, writing, linear algebra, carving, or juggling? And if your kids are home, incorporate it into their education.

Well, I gotta run. The buckets are overflowing with sap and I have a long day of boiling ahead. The kids are pumped for it, and I sure don’t want to deprive them of such a sweet opportunity. See you soon!