Involuntary Aesthetic Decisions
May 11th, 2009 by Doug Berch
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Doug Berch
Musician and Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer Maker
Been there. Once I accidentally turned the toaster oven to 100 degrees too high, and totally burned a batch of polymer clay which was made by my goddaughter as Christmas presents for her parents.
Once I sewed a Christmas shirt for a very special friend and sewed the collar on backward… and then trimmed the fabric down to almost a nub.
Once I tried to sew something out of lovely fabric and cut it wrong. You can’t put fabric together any more than you can make 2 boards be one. Fabric is usually not as expensive as walnut, though.
Whoever falls in love with the dulcimers, will fall in love with the dulcimers. It’s courageos of you to admit this out loud here.
Your choice of artwork is inspiring.
Thanks Lynn. There are mistakes that just seem to happen, sometimes producing unexpectedly pleasant results. Then there are the major “ooops! moments.
Fortunately these dulcimers will be very nice, just not as planned. I sometimes have to remind myself that the eye of the beholder has a different perspective than the eye of the artist.
At a recent festival the dulcimer that received the most attention visually was the one I found least attractive. I almost didn’t bring it to the show. It was on a table with 5 other dulcimers but it was the first one many people reached for.
And it sounded as good as the rest of them.
So it goes!
Thanks Mary.
I have a sort of collage of interesting pictures on my hard drive that I look through for various kinds of inspiration.
Every now and them when I am writing the “Picture is worth a thousand words” concept makes a lot of sense!
My first thought was OH NO! Then I laughed at the pictures, esp the train. Then in the ‘misery loves company’ category I thought, you mean I’m not the only one things like this happen too?? Thanks for sharing (and you too Lynn). I’m sure they are beautiful instruments just the same.
Thanks Kris. Sometimes the most interesting things happen by random access!
Oh, Lordy! You are remarkably calm about this — must be all that meditation. I’m sure they are still beautiful in their own new & unintended ways but I bet you’d like to sell them and put it behind you! I hope neither was made for a specific person. And part of me really, really wants to see them!
Hi Cynthia,
I’ll put them up as soon as they are finished. I’ve got several that are waiting for finishing and several more behind them under construction. I’m building up some stock for some festivals I;ll be going too.
Luckily they came out very nice, just not as expected!
Sometimes, the wood chooses. Sometimes, the maker chooses.
Thanks Safiya. That’s well put. I did decide to replace the back on one of them. I started making it tonight. The other still works for me!