This morning and afternoon, I had the pleasure of filming a music video for Norman band TYRANNOCAT before their 10PM performance on Saturday at Earth Rebirth’s Monthly Audio Detox party. You can find the venue at 325 E. Comanche St, and there’s usually over 100 people in the door. Many come after the bars close since the party lasts until 4AM.
Shooting a video of TYRANNOCAT before the performance at Earth Rebirth
Cedar, the lead singer of TYRANNOCAT, wrote the untitled song for this music video. The lyrics involve squirrels. Squirrels running. A lot.
So, I naturally assumed it was a metaphor for how we rush through our daily lives without enjoying the small moments.
Not quite.
“Actually no,” Cedar said. “I’m singing about all the roadkill squirrels I see around town, and how that’s what happens to our brains when our lives become ruled by addiction and pleasure seeking to escape the suffering of life.”
The party runs tonight, Saturday Feb. 20, from 9PM to 4AM. TYRANNOCAT and other live bands will play from 9PM – 11PM.
It costs $5 at the door and is 18 and up. Proceeds go to local nonprofit Earth Rebirth, which offers gardening services and distributes gardens at local Norman public schools.
Before meeting my friend Cooper Pollacia, I had no interest in woodworking. I didn’t see it as a form of artistic expression or as anything relevant to my life.
For two days I observed Cooper measure, cut, glue, drill, stain and assemble a polished wine rack out of a dirty, dusty, reclaimed, wooden pallet.
Here’s four insights I gained from seeing through the lens of a woodworker that can be applied to virtually any new or difficult task you’ve been wanting to attempt:
SUSTAINABILITY is in everything.
“I see myself doing this for a long time. No reason to stop.”
Notice how I mentioned reclaimed wood?
A wooden pallet found outside Home Depot Fig 2. Deon Osborne. 2016
Whether you’re someone who values the finite resources this planet has to offer (which should be everyone), or you just don’t want to break the bank, you can find wooden pallets outside pretty much any hardware store or Wal-mart.
Being sustainable isn’t about hugging a tree or refusing to ever cut one down. According to Herman Daly, a renowned ecological economist who worked in the Environmental Department of the World Bank, it comes down to making sure the “rate of harvest doesn’t exceed the rate of regeneration.”
In other words, using alternative wood sources every now and then helps to keep the cycle of life spinning in the right direction.
I’d go as far as to say woodworking bridges one form of life to another. “I see myself doing this for a long time. No reason to stop,” Cooper said.
2. PATIENCE is a process.
“Patience is probably the biggest thing you have to have if you get into woodworking.”
I always viewed patience as a switch that I could control in an instant. Only, I’m almost never able to.
I was wrong, again.
Cutting the wood. Fig 3. Deon Osborne. 2016.
When it comes to woodworking, there were several times along the way that a piece of wood Cooper was drilling or cutting would rip because it was fragile, pallet wood. Surprisingly, I never once noticed the horrified expression you would’ve seen plastered across my own face.
Cooper had the peace of mind to remain calm and address each crack in the pavement of his project as it arose.
It seemed as though he had this crystal clear image of what his final project would be in his mind. No amount of bumps, scrapes, scratches, or chips had enough power to discourage him from reaching his ultimate goal.
I’m starting to understand why he said “Patience is probably the biggest thing you have to have if you want to get into woodworking.”
3. PRACTICAL SKILLS come in handy.
“It’s relaxing for me just going outside, working with my hands and building something.”
Obvious, right? As a civilization, we pride ourselves on our intelligence. Our evolution. Yet, with all the information at our fingertips, how many of us know how to make even one item in our homes ourselves?
Sanding the wood. Fig 4. Deon Osborne. 2016.
We are more than consumers. We are more than the items we buy to reveal our status in society.
Glance down at your thumbs.
What’s more likely? That their ultimate purpose is to consume or to create? You may find creating something more therapeutic than buying something.
“It’s relaxing for me just going outside, working with my hands and building something,” Cooper said.
4. APPRECIATION for the Aesthetics of woodwork.
“It takes you, kind of, out of your own world and puts you into this craftsman world. Which–it’s nice.”
I’m taking a philosophy of art class with Dr. Sherri Irvin in which we analyze the different perspectives on how to define something as “art.” I had to google “aesthetics” before class because I had no idea what it meant.
I admit I know very little about art itself. But it seems that bizarre behavior that goes viral for a week is quickly replacing the timelessness of artistic expression.
It was refreshing to realize that there is art all around us and throughout many of the things we do.
I don’t have the answer on what exactly defines something as art. But maybe one type of art is something created for a purpose that involved investing time, sweat and passion.
Wine glasses in natural light. Fig 5. Deon Osborne. 2016.
Here’s the full video:
Thank you for reading my first blog post. Communication is the ultimate purpose for this blog, so make sure to COMMENT on this post whatever’s on your mind and SHARE the experience you had with your friends.
I want to thank Cooper for letting me see life through his lens for a little while. For updates or purchases of his projects, follow his instagram.
Also, many thanks to my travel-blogger friend, Kellie Mogg for convincing me to go forward with my own blog. Here’s a link to her awesome website the Wandering Movement.
Last thing: if you’re interested in learning more about how to help your friends and family become more self sufficient and in charge of their own resources (food, energy and water), you’ll want to check out the Earth Rebirth center located at 325 E. Comanche St, in Norman, OK.
Check out my instagram for updates on new videos and posts.
Now, get off your phone and talk to someone new, today.