For use on this website it specifically refers to those activities for which I have a direct interest in learning about or (more importantly) actively participating.
These are the activities that I involve myself which give me the satisfaction of actually producing something of value and/or beauty. There are a large number of hobbies and activities we as members of the human race can find fulfillment. I’ll only be addressing those for which I actually do – or am wanting to learn how to do. I’m a “project” kind of guy. I always have multiple projects working.
What does it include?
- Build & Restoration
- Home & Gardens
- The Arts
Build & Restoration
Since I was a kid I’ve always loved to take things apart, clean or repair the components, and put them back together so they look great. I also like building things from scratch. This can include fixing up cars & motorcycles, home improvement and remodeling, creating beautiful landscape gardens, building web sites, fixing just about anything mechanical, working on personal computers, etc.
Home & Gardens
This will include projects specifically oriented to building a beautiful place to live. My wife and I call our home and gardens “Elysium,” an ancient Greek and Roman term meaning Paradise or Heaven. Our intent is to create a haven for our souls to relish, an oasis of beauty and tranquility.
The Arts
This will include various art forms I’ve either personally participated in or desire to attempt myself.
Sculpting – For some reason I always had a desire to chisel on stone and ‘release’ a figure. A local sculptor, Matt Weir, helped me do just that – in an adult-ed-type class held out in beautiful Bernheim Forest over a few Saturday sessions in 2011. Wow, it really resonated with me and I felt a natural affinity wielding chisel and hammer to the limestone. I haven’t had a whole lot of time to pursue this craft, but I hope to produce more works.
Music – As an adolescent I learned to play the organ (electronic keyboard). I only took lessons for about a year and a half. Over the last decade or so I’ve felt a desire to learn to play piano, specifically several Nocturnes composed by Frédéric Chopin. My intent is to self-teach. We’ll see if I get anywhere with this desire!
There are many other arenas of “creating & building” but with everything else I’m trying to accomplish in my lifetime I need to limit my involvement to these. . . for now. 😉
(Featured image by James L. Patterson)
