{"id":1359,"date":"2017-11-08T13:51:48","date_gmt":"2017-11-08T17:51:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/?p=1359"},"modified":"2021-06-27T20:39:51","modified_gmt":"2021-06-28T00:39:51","slug":"art-for-arts-sake-and-i-am-not-talking-about-garfunkel-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beemandave.com\/beemanblog\/blog\/2017\/11\/08\/art-for-arts-sake-and-i-am-not-talking-about-garfunkel-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Art for Art’s Sake (and I am not talking about Garfunkel, here…)"},"content":{"rendered":"
Greetings and Salutations;<\/div>\n
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Just as a diversion from the ugliness of the day, \u00a0 I want to tell y’all a short story that is at least 40 years in the making.<\/div>\n
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When I was in my 20s, \u00a0 one of the pleasant activities I engaged in was to spend a day going through flea markets and Antiques shops. \u00a0 I really enjoyed finding some hole in the wall that was a bit off the beaten path. \u00a0 THOSE were the places where I would meet the most eccentric, unique people, \u00a0and find some amazing, \u00a0buried treasures. \u00a0 I ended up getting some fine tools for nearly nothing, \u00a0and exchanging some amusing stories with folks on these expeditions.<\/div>\n
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Wooden Bow Saw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
On one of these outings, \u00a0I ran across one of the stranger things I have seen. \u00a0 Hanging on the back wall of a little shop (as usual, packed to the gills with a variety of oddities), \u00a0was a very nice Bow Saw. \u00a0 \u00a0That was good, \u00a0as I needed a bow saw, \u00a0to deal with a bunch of branch trimming around the homestead. \u00a0 However, \u00a0 someone had used this saw as the \u00a0frame for a piece of woven art. \u00a0 Now, \u00a0at the time, \u00a0that was just an annoyance to me, \u00a0as I was focused on the utilitarian aspects of the saw. \u00a0 However, \u00a0since the price was right, \u00a0I acquired this odd mixture of the functional and the aesthetic.<\/div>\n
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Because life is always complicated, \u00a0I put it aside for a bit. \u00a0 Finally, though, \u00a0the work of using the saw came up on the list and bubbled to the top, \u00a0 I pulled out the saw, \u00a0with the plan of simply cutting the woven thing off it, and discarding it. \u00a0 However, \u00a0when I looked at it again, \u00a0it spoke to me, \u00a0and convinced me that destruction was NOT what should happen! \u00a0 So, \u00a0instead of trimming back the branches that Saturday, so I could mow without having to do the Limbo under them, \u00a0I carefully disassembled the saw, \u00a0and removed the woven art from it – intact. \u00a0 It was \u00a0rather fiddly work, \u00a0so it is probably a good thing that I am a tad Obsessive\/Compulsive!<\/div>\n
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Once the art was free of its frame, \u00a0I \u00a0got it rolled up, and tucked it away in storage. \u00a0 As for the saw…I spent a couple more hours putting it back together, \u00a0sharpening the blade, and then, was ready to saw. \u00a0 It worked great, \u00a0by the by… \u00a0Just at the moment, \u00a0I do not know where it is, \u00a0but, I am fairly sure I still have it tucked away in a box someplace, \u00a0awaiting the end of the chaotic moves that the last 5-6 years have been filled with.<\/div>\n
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As for the art…It stayed in storage, quietly sleeping in the dark \u00a0until last week. \u00a0 I was down in the barn, \u00a0feeding the barn cats (who I am gradually getting closer to being able to pet), \u00a0and moving some boxes around to try and evaluate what I have lost during the moves, \u00a0what has been stolen from the barn, \u00a0what has been destroyed by the storage, and what I still have left of the large collection of useful and useless things I started out with a decade ago when leaving the house in North Knoxville became necessary. \u00a0 The good news is that, so far, \u00a0my packing was good enough that, \u00a0in spite of less than ideal storage, \u00a0most of the things I managed to move are intact. \u00a0 As for the rest..well…no matter. \u00a0 The important thing is that I opened one box, \u00a0and found, \u00a0rolled up inside, \u00a0the woven art I had acquired all those years ago.<\/div>\n
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I took it up to the Octagon with me, \u00a0and,\u00a0 as you can see,\u00a0 above, after some thought and construction of a shadow box frame, \u00a0have finally gotten it back to a state where it can be hung on the wall, \u00a0and enjoyed again. \u00a0 Since I am older, and, I hope, \u00a0wiser, \u00a0 I find that I am looking at it with different eyes. \u00a0 I see more in it than I did when I first got it, and, \u00a0I am rather glad that I hung onto it, and kept it intact.<\/div>\n
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However, \u00a0Now, \u00a0I \u00a0have another problem. \u00a0 I would like to know more about it. \u00a0 Of course, the antique shop where I got it knew NOTHING about it, nor, \u00a0were there any notes attached to it. \u00a0 So…Here is what I know.<\/div>\n
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