Establishing Bond Lines

We all seek to find ways of marking or setting time.Some have photos they keep in their wallets.Some have stories they retell whenever the opportunity arises. Others keep momentos of an occasion or objects salvaged from a place or event in an effort to help fix a piece of time in their mind.

I had a conversation with an artist friend of mine about time and story lines and how they effect our lives and work.He is a "wood illusionist"(he says wood artist but I know better) and he calls me a "metal shaman". Though we share a love and commitment to craftsmanship in different mediums we have many common bonds and are very much energized by each other`s presence.When we stop working and start talking it becomes more a meditation than a discussion.The talk centers around the work but dances around our spirituality. Which is ironic as he is Jewish and I practice Witchcraft.
We talked during our last visit about how we both feel we are conduits for something bigger than ourselves and the things we produce bring both income and abundance into our and other peoples lives.
Jacques has a history of giving his work and time away as do I and other craftmen we know.We feel it`s just part of completing the circle with our craft and sharing in order to keep abundance in motion.We give our work and time as an offering so we may continue to receive inspiration.The work is secondary to that inspiration.
Many of my friends joke that we "can`t afford our own work" so we donate it in order to help others or trade work for something a friend made and we can`t afford to buy just as they can`t afford to buy our work.What we are left with are "bond lines".

Anyone who works with adhesives will know about bond lines.
In order to get a durable and lasting join you must choose both your material and the adhesive/glue wisely.Both must be compatible for the project and the conditions you expect your work to be subject to.The join must be carefully prepared and properly fit and the application of just the right amount of glue must be calculated.The proper applicator must be used and you must be careful to not overdo things.The join must be held in proper alignment with just the right amount of pressure in the right places for enough time for the glue to set.All this requires experience,careful planning and more than a little finesse.
If you do everything right you can get a lasting and secure bond line that is at least as strong as either of the two pieces you have joined together.

My friend and I discussed this in order to arrive at the realization that those pictures,stories and objects are bond lines that join us like glue to the times they represent.The seeing,telling or holding of these things instantly transports us back to that place or moment in time that touched our heart and we hoped would last forever.Those things represent an ideal life and all the promise that life holds.We keep them as memorials to the times we have been able to see the higher self in each of us.

I told Jacques about a fellow blacksmith who had forged a hand made hammer for a relative stranger.The person who received the hammer was just passing through town and had stopped for lunch.While waiting to order he struck up a conversation with my blacksmith friend and he explained that he was a chef on his way across country to a new job.They ended up sharing a table and during the extended conversation the chef happened to mention that he did silver smithing as a hobby and how hard it was to get a proper hammer these days and how he envied my buddy`s ability as a blacksmith to make whatever tool he wanted to fit both his hands and his style of working.
The lunch and the conversation wound down and before parting they exchanged contact information.A few weeks later my friend received a postcard from the chef thanking him for sharing his time.Nate showed me that card.
Now being a blacksmith my friend notices things like hands and saw that the chef and he had similar size and shape hands so on a whim he made a hammer that he thought would be useful for his new friend and sent it to him.I saw a picture of this hammer and was impressed by the attention to detail he put into it.The quality and fit and finish of the metal and wood were superb.Nathan explained that he enjoyed the whole process and was thinking about forging one project like this every couple of months to give away at random.He wasn`t sure if the chef would really use the hammer as he wasn`t sure what type of silver work the chef did.I told Nathan I had no doubt his hammer would be cherish object,and here`s why;
I asked him if he ever noticed as he looked at the places where other craftsmen worked how you could usually pick out one object that seemed out of place,something that was different than all the other things in that space.An antique among all the newer tools or a thing that shone amid the grime and dust.An object that looked like it was held in higher esteem that the rest.When you pick that item up and ask about it a change comes over the person who owns it and the story begins.They`ll tell you about a time or place or person that made such an impression on them that the object took on new meaning and became a snapshot in time,a bond line.
I explained that even if that chef never used that hammer on silver and only kept it in a roll with his chef knives,that hammer was destined to become one of those objects,something he would want to keep it close.I went on to explain that Nate had made an impression on that chef,enough of an impression that he kept the line of communication open by sending him that card.In turn Nate was so impressed that he was moved to forge a hammer for his new friend.I knew that when the chef opened the box and took out that hand forged hammer he would think "that man thought enough of me to listen to my words that day and my words had such value to him that he made this for me".I had no doubt that hammer would touch his heart just as Nathan`s kindness had touched mine.
I told Nate that everyone should be so lucky as to find a friend like him and that every time that chef saw that hammer he would smile because he knew that for at least one person in the world his words and life had weight and meaning.He knew that at least once in his life he had truly been heard.

I left Jacques` shop feeling I had a better grasp on both my craft and the process of establishing those bond lines.
On the drive home I was overtaken by a deep sadness for those people who carry nothing but cash or plastic cards in their wallets,pockets or purses.
It must be very sad to live a life that doesn`t allow the time to establish strong bond lines.