No man is an island unto himself
A few weeks ago my son participated in the annual Pinewood derby. For LDS youth this is almost a right of passage from toddlerhood into pre-teenhood. Equally so it is a sort of right of passage for LDS fathers in son-rearing. More effort goes into making these things than you would think.
My son comes home from scouts and says "Dad I want to build a pinewood derby car. Will you help me?" Peace of cake right. Riiiiight!
So I sat down with him. First thing he wants to do is start scribbling all over the wood block and attach the wheels. I pulled the reins in, and went through the design process together.
We began by brainstorming ideas for car themes. My son is way into nature, so all kinds of nature themes came up. The one he kept coming back to was an island theme. Rather than brush it off and steer him into a more practical direction, I indulged his idea.
I sketched on paper what an island themed racer might look like. I further brainstormed what he would like to be seen on this island racer. He settled on a peacock and snake. Other details included trees and a volcano.
The trees would be cut toothpicks with paper crumpled and taped to the tips. The Peacock and snake were made from bakable sculpting clay. In the case of the snake I sculpted it directly to the trunk of one of the trees.
Cutting the block of wood to the proper shape proved to be the most challenging. For this I enlisted the aid of my father, who has a full wood shop full of tools. Unfortunately I was not able to be there. thankfully grandpa was more than happy to take my son, cut the wood and make this happen. The results, as you can see above, were much more than I expected. My Dad went above and beyond.
After this I helped my son paint the car and put the wheels on.
The day of the race I went into this fully expecting Gage's car not to be the winner. This car was primarily for show. However, I was relieved when I saw that his was not the slowest. No one wants to be the slowest. We had a good time, which is what really mattered; and we shared a good experience as Son, Father and Grandfather.
Random show of affection for my wife
I have learned many things I never would have otherwise, had I not gotten married. One of those things is a marriage, like a plant, must be nourished if it is to grow, survive and thrive. For me at least, what this means is extending a random show of affection. Showing affection on holidays, anniversaries and birthdays is expected. By showing affection during those times you maintain the bare minimum to maintain a relationship. No, If one wants to thrive you need to show her day in and day out through small simple acts that you love her. then every once in a while doing something extra, that is unexpected, above and beyond the norm. What you see above is one of these simple above-and-beyond acts of love and affection.
As well as being really simple and effective in showing my wife I love her, this little piece shows effective use of some simple design principles.
I used the couple as the focal point of the message not just by their presence, but by their physically taking the place of the 'o' in LOVE, the message is driven home that much more powerfully. additionally the use of a single color adds interest and draws the viewers attention.
The font I used is a fairly new one called Open Sans. This font was specifically designed for the web. But as you can see I could probably use it for both in this display piece. I chose it to experiment with and also because it is simple and direct. Much the way my wife was in her interest in me some ten year ago.
Her brother took this photo with a 35MM camera using black and white film. This adds a whole other level of nostalgia personal meaning to the final piece.
Hope you enjoyed seeing this. I sure enjoyed sharing it.
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