Hi, everyone, Elliott, the founder and owner of elliottworks, is busy making his contribution to the next Community Warehouse "The Chair Affair" charity auction, so I'm stepping in to cover the blogging. I'm his wife, Sarah, btw, and have known E for about nine years now. However, he started designing and making green home, garden, office furnishings something like 20 years before we ever met. Thinking sustainably comes natural to him. Reclaiming, salvaging, repurposing, recycling, thinking / being green, are the words to apply to E's woodworking, and to the way he lives his life. His beekeeping and gardening are further expressions of his belief that this is what's necessary to live intelligently, responsibly. Anyway, during the time I've known him, I've watched him develop as an artist and artisan. If you -- regardless of your vocation or avocation -- are creative, then you know what the process is like. Naturally enough, as time goes on, the practitioner becomes more adept overall. Ideally, though, the curious person continues to discover not only innovative ways of doing the familiar, but also discovers new things that can be done. In order to keep developing, the practitioner continues to discover, to uncover new things about him/herself, as well as about the surrounding world. Seems to me that's what Elliott's been doing. And that's what makes his work exciting. His sensibility of how things work and his world-view keep developing. Does that make sense? Have you found the same things to be true about yourself or someone you know? Love to hear about that ... Well, I'm glad I wrote this. E, who is a man of few -- though eloquent -- words, might not have felt comfortable introducing himself. Oh -- if you would like to see and hear him, there's a nine-minute video at ShopPeople.org. OPB's "Art Beat" did a segment a couple of years back at Portland's Shop People Industrial Arts, LLC. Elliott, then a shop member, was in it and they used footage of him working and assisting others, as well as some of his comments as voice-over. It was cool. So is Shop People, btw. OK, time to stop. Till later, Sarah -- elliottworks
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