My friend, David turned 50 today. That is a truly happy event. David was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, so we are cherishing his health as he turns half a century. I enjoy crafting things out of barrels. I think the oak of the wine barrels is so beautiful. The wineries around here purchase them for over a thousand dollars a piece and then make wine in them. After three years of use they practically give them away.
In our shop I've made several light fixtures out of them, a coffee cup rack, a check out counter, and a bulk olive oil station. David wanted a wine cellar, and the idea of crafting one out of an old wine barrel seemed like it was meant to be.
I love cutting into one of the barrels and smelling the pinot noir that was created inside. The interior of the oak barrels swells and in some cases starts to deteriorate from contact with the wine. For David's wine rack, I cut the metal bands at a little less than half way around the barrel. Then I cut the barrel staves out of that section. I used the cut out staves to make the front support for the wine bottles. It turned out to be a fun project. The barrel holds 25 bottles of wine and is still strong enough to sit on (I know because I tried!) David really liked it as did many of the guests. Everyone at the party signed the barrel for David. As I was unloading it into the store before the party someone asked me if it was for sale. I don't really want to go into production. I really enjoy looking at a problem and then figuring out a solution. I like to make one of a kind craft items. I might revisit this one, I have some ideas for how to improve it with less screws showing through the barrel.
I really enjoy working on a project that I can finish is a defined period of time. That's something I rarely get in my work as a minister. God is always working with us, but never finished, and working with one another is more of the same. Ministry seems to go in circles a lot with no start or ending to anthing. It can be very hard, (if not impossible) to chart growth, or to have identifiable signs of progress. I think it's what can make some religious people so captivated by things like worship attendance.
But all of that is to say it's nice to have a project that you start on one Saturday afternoon and finish sometime the next. The fact that it bring pleasure to a friend and will be a joyful reminder of his 50th birthday is wonderful.
In our shop I've made several light fixtures out of them, a coffee cup rack, a check out counter, and a bulk olive oil station. David wanted a wine cellar, and the idea of crafting one out of an old wine barrel seemed like it was meant to be.
I love cutting into one of the barrels and smelling the pinot noir that was created inside. The interior of the oak barrels swells and in some cases starts to deteriorate from contact with the wine. For David's wine rack, I cut the metal bands at a little less than half way around the barrel. Then I cut the barrel staves out of that section. I used the cut out staves to make the front support for the wine bottles. It turned out to be a fun project. The barrel holds 25 bottles of wine and is still strong enough to sit on (I know because I tried!) David really liked it as did many of the guests. Everyone at the party signed the barrel for David. As I was unloading it into the store before the party someone asked me if it was for sale. I don't really want to go into production. I really enjoy looking at a problem and then figuring out a solution. I like to make one of a kind craft items. I might revisit this one, I have some ideas for how to improve it with less screws showing through the barrel.
I really enjoy working on a project that I can finish is a defined period of time. That's something I rarely get in my work as a minister. God is always working with us, but never finished, and working with one another is more of the same. Ministry seems to go in circles a lot with no start or ending to anthing. It can be very hard, (if not impossible) to chart growth, or to have identifiable signs of progress. I think it's what can make some religious people so captivated by things like worship attendance.
But all of that is to say it's nice to have a project that you start on one Saturday afternoon and finish sometime the next. The fact that it bring pleasure to a friend and will be a joyful reminder of his 50th birthday is wonderful.