Sunday, March 16, 2008

pilot1022

Meet Tom!
1) What are your name, Etsy name, profession and location?
Tom Taylor and I am called Pilot1022 currently I am a retired Private Investigator living in Sacramento, CA. No I am not a pilot, I got the nickname from my hobby, traction kiting. It’s like land yachting but with parasail kites. I got yanked out of my kite buggy so much (Yes, the kites can and will lift a person off the ground) and I was getting so much ‘air’ time friends started to call me pilot, the name stuck.
2) Married? Single? Do you have children? Do any animals dwell with you?
I have two grown boys from my first marriage, my current wife and my best friend, Roberta, met on line. We have been married coming up to 5 years. We have two great dogs, Dixie an elderly Min-Pin and General a year old Ridgeback hound and Rot mix.

3) What medium/s do you work with and where did you learn how to do this?
I have two mediums. Many years ago I took up Photography and became a successful, wedding photographer. My photography was enhanced thru the tutelage of Ansel Adams before he passed. It was after I had two open heart surgeries and retired that I took up woodworking. I purchased a few tools and learned how to use them when I joined a local woodworking club here in Sacramento. Soon my garage was transformed into a wood workshop, and then my wife got the WW bug, now we have a his and hers workshop. Woodworking quickly became a passion of mine and now I teach turning in our club. I enjoy making furniture and turning pens and related items. In 2007 two of my pens won second and third place in the wood turning competition at the California State Fair.

4) Do you have a specific area you work in and how much time
per week do you devote to your art/craft?
We have transformed our garage into a wood workshop. My wife still works and I am the house husband doing all the chores associated with that lofty position. But I find I spend on average 20 hours a week in the shop.

5) What inspires you?
Whither I am turning or doing flat work I get inspired by the wood. The color, grain and even the smell of wood, will dictate to me the final outcome of the project. I look for nature’s flaws or mistakes in the wood, a knot hole, or crack or some other defect in the wood. I tend to highlight or incorporate that in my work to show that nature is not perfect. For example; while turning a pen I discovered small hole in wood, instead tossing the half completed pen and starting over I found a small gold nugget, (I was a gold prospector at one time) and mounted the gold into the hole. I have that pen in my shop.

6) Is there a medium you haven’t tried that you’d like too?
I am sure there are, but I can’t say right now. I just started to scratch the surface of Woodworking and I learn something new every day. I know woodworkers that have been in the field for 20 or more years and they are still learning.
Now some questions from our fellow Etsian’s.
Would you rather be a small fish in a big pond or a big fish in a small pond?
A small fish, there are so many things to see and experience and not enough time.
If you were trapped in an abandoned cave, and could only have three artistic materials with you, what would they be, and why?
Funny that you should ask that question, I have been in a few gold mines in the hills of California, but never trapped. I am not claustrophobic so that’s not a problem. CLAY would be #1 so I could make a companion to chat with while I use sunny yellow PAINT #2 to light up the dark cave, and #3 WHITE paint to paint a light at the end of the tunnel. Then I and my companion would walk out to the fresh air.
What is the one item you created that you are most proud of?
Thinking back of all things I have made or created, either the photos or the wood projects the one item that stands out the most is a small piece of 5 inch wood I hand carved into a toy submarine for my youngest son when he was 7. He’s 27 now and still has it. I did make a photo of the space shuttle Challenger and entered it competition soon after the crash, I saw people walk away in tears after viewing it. That was a very profound moment for me.
What are five of your favorite Etsy shops?
To tell you the truth, I am so new to Etsy and the time it took to build my shop I haven’t had much time to explore the many shops here. But I will say this, the ones I have looked at are fabulous so much creativity are shown that each one is an artist in there own right. I look forward to spend more time looking at shops and hope to meet some of the owners.
What is your worst time wasting habit?
Well it’s not a time wasting habit, but with my health problems I can only do about 2 hours of any activity at one anytime, and then I have to sit and relax for an hour or so. It’s that resting time I think is a waste.

Some other facts; I have many interests in life a few are Military history, movie filming locations, photography, writing short stories and Titanic history. The Challenger space shuttle was the most fun shoot, the chair photo is a work in progress based on a Frank Lloyd Wright design.
Thanks Tom!


1 comment:

Dharma Designs said...

I LOVE that they are best friends, too! :-)