I collect old rusty hand tools and sharpen and polish them, then use them to build things out of walnut and cherry that I harvest from fallen trees in the woods.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I have a thing for tools.
When I was younger we had a grape arbor, and my mom would go out and pick grapes and make grape jam in the sink - boil it, put it in jars, and give it away as gifts.
It takes a lot of help - nature, friends, family, craftsmen - for me to make what I make.
For everybody in their busy lives, you need to invest in sharpening your tools, and you need to invest in longevity.
I'll need my whole lifetime to polish my craft.
I don't make things with my hands, although I studied woodworking and made furniture.
I make paintings, try to get others to look at them and hopefully buy them.
I would begin by collecting lithographs and etchings. It's a way of coming in and benefiting from real quality art. Even younger artists make wonderful prints. Prints can become very valuable. That's how I began collecting.
I spend a lot of time doing carpentry. Sometimes there is nothing that gives me the contentment that sawing a piece of wood does.
I carve stone. I've got hammers and chisels and I carve from sandstone. I just did a big mural of birds and trees.