Love, mental illness, woodwork, and animals.

BoogiesOogie

Mostly finished product first! Featuring the tiny desk I made for a friend while I was procrastinating a work thing! #fieldday #partsandcrafts #dontlookimnaked #woodworking #mental_health

Here it is today, one year after starting it, and still not finished! Hooray for ADHD!

Plank is here to help guide you through this field day post. As mentioned in the title, I wanted to touch on my mental/learning disabilities while presenting this field day post. I have ADHD and am bipolar. I am also an addict/alcoholic (pretty sure those two things came as a bonus gift with the mental illness! Free stuff!! (Shout out to ADD parentheses!))

Sandwich (asshole on the couch), must judge each piece for a minimum of 2 hours before fabrication can be considered complete.

Started with the hand cut tails on the Padauk. This is where it all starts, I get crazy manic and excited about a new project. I plan out only half of everything to an ungodly degree (I do this generally as a distraction from something that is wrong in my life), the rest I slap together last minute with the precision of a well intended goat on ambien. We will touch on this theme as we move along.

I had some really nice cuts of sycamore left for the pin boards from a previous project (one that is still not finished thanks to the poorly constructed bacchanalian nightmare that is my brain chemistry). Here is an example of my brain getting too excited, and not realizing that these are not the correct dimensions, as the sycamore (blonde) pieces will not be that far out once I seat the joint.

First test fit! If you are reading this, I want you to notice how much the workshop and background changes… I started this box for my “special friend” in July of last year… I still have to polish and finish the last coat of poly, and line the inside with felt… for safety… and because there are too many tool marks on the inside of the box (tool marks that are entirely caused by me getting lazy and drinking and using and not taking care of myself).

THOSE ARE DOVETAILS!!! I DID IT!! I got so excited with how clean my hand cuts were getting, that I cut the opposite side upside down and had to play doctor with the wood! My workspace has a tendency to mimic my brain health (refer to the abhorrent mess in the background above). My bipolar is type 2, and it has more of a manic flow, I constantly have to feel the spark and inspiration of something new to keep me from my comfort depression. This is different for everyone, and you should remind yourself that it is okay, you are okay, and you are fucking important.

CLEAN BABY CLEAN!! Notice how the background (much like much that joint) is tidy in this photo. I spent 2 days completely cleaning and organizing my workshop in a manic fit. It is important to note that I cleaned my workshop for two days instead of filing one (1) properly attached PDF file for… a legal thing. Thanks anxiety!

Hey! It’s sort of a box! That workbench it is on weighs 280lbs, I built that workbench to stop vibrations while I make fine cuts. I also built it to distract me from the plethora of other projects and problems I had in my life. I also built that workbench because I wanted the immediate gratification that comes with buying a shitload of tools and materials that I completely did not have the funds for, but hey, that show biz baby!!

Here is where I find great beauty in the used ziplock full of Crystal Pepsi that is my brain. I used a warped shitty piece of wood to make the top, because I liked the shape of the curve, then I got a wild hair to attach staggered rectangles from the scrap of the Padauk and sycamore to tie it together. I had no idea what the top would be until I saw the warped scrap wood. I like that part of my brain a whole lot!

Sanding it down!

Another fly by the seat of my pants decision, why not outline that bad boy with the thinnest pieces of walnut I have what could go wrong!? Then I decided the bottom should be made out of walnut and Padauk…. The reason the bottom is walnut AND Padauk, is because I completely fucked up the initial cut of just Padauk! But it was a happy accident.

Your workshop is not truly blessed until a possum princess tries to sneak past you while you are in deep thoughts about how to use the wood you just cut incorrectly!

Notice the complete disarray of my workshop here. My brain was messy, my space was messy. But I really liked the idea of rounding out the bottom to compliment the top, because that meant I could hyper focus on shaping the wood, and not clean my workspace.

Decided instead of cleaning the shop the next day I would make a bunch of bow ties!!

Plank can be seen in the background taking a nap.

I cut the walnut boarder on the front of the top too thin, so I said fuck it, and made it wavy. Once again notice the floor is clean, I LOVE my brain when I am treating it right. When I am not paying attention to how I treat my space, I am not paying attention to how I treat myself. This is a lesson I will learn over and over for the rest of my life.

Bonus heart and bowtie, as it has been over two months since I started the project and my “special friend” is now my perfect idiot and I am in love.

Here is where the project takes a turn, I see it as asymmetric, and I LOVE organic looking pieces, so say goodbye to those pristine corners, and say hello to chaos!

The left front is now the highest point, the back right the lowest. Weeeeeee!!

Sometimes when your mind is a mess, and you are sad and you feel like nothing wants anything to do with you, you make mistakes. It is important to remember that it is okay, and take what you can away from the situation to better yourself. I got very hasty, because I was in a deep depression, and I forced the decorative (blonde) bow ties in, that split the middle piece of Padauk, causing me to have to put in structural bow ties (walnut) in to hold the bottom together. I actually really like the way it turned out in the end.

Huzzah! Glued and sturdy bottom (that’s what he said).

I went to university for jazz guitar, aka unemployment. All I want to do is create, because my brain is a mind library from a Steven King novel that is also a bouncy house with a raccoon problem. If you’re still reading this, and you struggle with depression or ADHD, I want you to know that progress is not linear, when you fuck up you didn’t lose, you don’t have to start over, you just have to flow with it in anyway you can. And most importantly, you really fucking matter and I am proud of you.

Hey guess what? I used tung oil that had been left out in subzero temps (because we are now 7 months in, and Detroit is cold as fuck)! I forgot to take my oils and glues and finishes out of my garage for the winter, because I spent 3 months drinking and eating pizza and playing Zelda (for personal reasons). So I had to sand everything down, buff it, and reseal the wood! Happy birthday to the ground!

Alas my patience paid off.

Wood you look at that!!

This is June of this year, I am still in love like a possum on a landfill, and I got new tattoos! They are from a Jim Croce song called “Rapid Roy” one wrist says “baby” and the other one just says “hey”. Shout out to the Jim Croce fans.

Here is a wing of the coffee table I started 3 years ago and still haven’t finished! I use it as a reason for why I haven’t finished anything else I start.

I dropped it, and dented one of the corners, so I decided to make it even fancier!

I have scrapped so many ideas on this piece because my mind is a hat on a frog on a log in a hole in the bottom of the sea, with extra frog.

A chessboard I started when I got sidetracked, because fuck the perfectly good project I was working on.

BONUS POSSUM!!

Teeeheeeheeeheeehee. Seriously, I was so fucking pumped when she graced me with her presence. Btw, I work at night with the doors open so I get fresh air, hence the visitor.

Dual gripped fire poker I built for my dad as a distraction from cleaning my shop and doing the dishes. It is also one HELL of a dildo. I jest, please don’t ass the poker.

This place is in constant turmoil, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It is important to me that I learn and progress with each cleaning I do. I also built the big workbench on the left, if anyone wants “plans” it has a hinged center piece so I can put my miter saw on it and store it below (I’m just not using it that way right now).

Plank is happily looking over his kingdom

Here is a watch tree I made my brother to distract me from paying my credit card bills.

Here is a bathymetric map of the Great Lakes I made my mother and tried horribly to burn in the roads to all her favorite places

This is a secret hidden cactus planter I built for my ex

This is a cherry table I built for my mom because I felt horrible about having to live with them in my thirties… don’t ever feel bad for where you are at!

Here is a pie I made!

This is Ricardo

This is Englebert Shellperdink. I saved him from the middle of a busy street.

This is Dennis, he was in my bedroom, so I put him outside.

This is Monty, he has a sweater

This is Amy, she is very helpful when I need to sweep the garage

David and Sandwich tax (both assholes). Just remember to love yourself, and even if it takes you a year and 20 other projects just to finish one, you did the thing, and I love you!