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May 07, 2008
Life : Maker Faire
This passed Saturday Anne and I went to the annual "Maker Faire", sponsored by Make magazine (and its sibling publication Craft). This is a gathering of people who, well, like to make stuff. Everything from people who knit (Anne's focus) to people who build their own musical instruments from scratch, to people who do model rocketry, to people who build robots and even folks who build custom Victorian-style cases for computers. The common theme of the whole show is the value of hand crafted goods and the knowledge of how to do things for yourself.
We had a great time, although there were only two talks Anne and I went to together. One by a knitting humorist who I also enjoy, and another that was a demonstration of molecular gastronomy where the presenter created carrot juice "caviar" – small beads of carrot juice with a thin outer membrane and liquid inside. I also saw a talk by the creator of the character McGyver (a patron saint to this crowd) and one on the recent re-creations of Babbage's Difference Engine (including one made from children's construction kits). This on top of visiting hundreds of booths with a variety of demonstrations, tools, and goods.
I really respect the people in this movement, and realize how much of what I am today is a result of how my family encouraged me to make things for myself when I was young. I remember playing with "Major Mat Mason" astronaut action figures when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade and how my parents encouraged me to build my own moonscape diorama out of paper machete to play on. I also did model rocketry and fairly quickly transitioned to creating my own designs (some of which worked, all of which were educational). Inspired by my brother, I started taking plastic model car kits and creating my own vehicles using parts from different kits. My parents also made sure my brother and I knew how to cook – we were given responsibility for preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the family (with supervision).
On the other hand, there was a touch of sadness in going to the faire and I really don't do this kind of stuff anymore. Partially this is a reflection of my personal transition of going from atoms to bits – I still create stuff; but my creations are almost entirely made of bits. Partially this is a reflection of the desire of Anne and me to live light – to reduce the amount of stuff we own. One thing all of the people who participate in the faire have in common is that they have lots of stuff – tools, finished projects, projects in process, etc. I've contemplated restarting one of my "maker" hobbies from time to time; but the question always ends up "where would I put it all?" I still want to know how to do all of this kind of stuff for myself (hence my desire to go to the faire); but actually doing it represents a level of baggage on my life that I am unwilling to carry right now.
Posted by Steven at May 7, 2008 05:00 AM
Comments
"...that I am unwilling to carry right now"
And unlikely to carry in the foreseeable future, unfortunately. Me too. I still have a box of HO scale trolleys, but where would I set it up? I'd like a real woodworking shop, but would I use it and the 400 sq ft are better used for other things. I'd love to at least paint minitaures but the eyes have long since gone and the hand isn't as steady as it used to be. (Mandatory heavy sigh.)
As John Dickinson is quoted in '1776': "But don't forget that most men... would rather protect the possibility of becoming rich, than face the reality of being poor." I suspect, as makers, we passed out of the 'rich' category a decade ago. :-)
Posted by: janbergs ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://sighsandmusings.stevenanne.net/nav-commenters.gif)
at May 7, 2008 07:58 AM
As to "protecting the possibility" of doing more of this - the best I can do is hope that I will be able to retire under circumstances and health that would allow me to renew some of these interests. Although as you say, eyesight and coordination are already working against that.
The current struggle is doing another culling run on my board/war game collection as I am unlikely to get around to playing most of the games I now own.
Posted by: Steven at May 7, 2008 10:18 AM
You need to avoid getting more stuff so there's enough room for all your books ;o)
If you have the inclination, consider yourself tagged.
Posted by: Barry at May 7, 2008 05:14 PM
"You need to avoid getting more stuff so there's enough room for all your books" :)
Actually, I keep well less than half the books I read - most get donated to the local library.
While I won't pass it on, I will respond to the tag.
Posted by: Steven at May 7, 2008 05:33 PM
