Picking up the Pieces

["Ainsley" <allemann@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

linda ... i've only been working with stone a little
over a year ..... i had a piece of soapstone on the
lathe the other day ... i had over six hours working on
the piece ... cutting the stone .. using a belt sander
to bring it to a cylindrical shape ... glueing a piece
of wood to the bottom .. and then actually turning it!
the outside was finished except for sanding .. i had
drilled the inside and was hollowing it out .... the
chisel snagged on the lip of the vase, the lathe jammed,
and three chunks of soapstone fell to the floor!  my
heart sunk!  i left the studio, returning the next
morning .... i took the vase off the lathe, glued the
pieces back on, then the next day finished turning the
inside and sanded the piece ..... there are some gaps
and i didn't spend the time with it that i would have
had it been "perfect", but i felt the need to finish it
..... i'm not sure what size you were working with, but
with mine, the only thing it could have been was a
repaired vase..(altho you can barely see the cracks,
just the two places where the chisel actually got
caught!)  so i guess my thoughts are to get back on the
horse as they say .... i realized i need to use this as
a learning experience ... (i seem to have a variety of
them adorning my shelf!)  with each piece i learn
something new ... and my success rate is growing, of
which i am grateful!  if it's inside you, you won't be
able to give up ... the biggest thing is, don't beat
yourself up .. you're only human and it's all a part of
the learning experience .. have fun 'cause that's the
most important thing!     ainsley