Frank B popped round this morning to see the two glued together sticks, now technically one stick that will (if it survives the tiller process) be his bow.
As he is a fan of the american indian clulture I am making a traditional american flatbow, the kind of bow that red indians used to hunt with.
Frank is enthusiastic, as always, I wish I could sustain the same kind of cheerful outlook that he seems to have all the time. I sometimes wonder if on his day off Frank grouches around and is miserable just so that he can have a change :)
Probably not.
"Why don't you do this for a living" he beamed at me, well if I had somewhere to work, I think I might actually do that as part of a living (I have other plans for the rest).
So, I spent today shaping and sanding the bow with old fashioned hand tools, feeling the wood as it became something new beneath my fingers, doing something simple, yet at the same time complicated. I worked first one limb then the other and rounded the middle. I think I got lost in that piece of wood at more than one point. The sense of relaxation and joy at making this item was beyond words. If it hadn't started to rain I would have still been there now.
I need to do this more often, I think it may be time to start making the archery things again, I have let it go and I need to do something I enjoy again.
why dont you make a few and see if there is a market for them. This may be a little untapped goldmine.... you never know.
Posted by: fave sis michelle | August 31, 2008 at 08:52 PM