I have seen offered for sale a set of wooden staves marked with the 4 types of lines generated with either coins or Yarrow stalks. But the price was rather high, and with an attempt to actually purchase them, found that they are not actually available not anywhere, after all.
With some deliberation I set out to find a way to produce them, in quantity and for a good price. Not as simple as it might appear! Yes, one way would to track down a manufacturer of small plastic toys, but I’ve witnessed the results of this approach. There is a long setup to a less than satisfactory result, a committee of bad decisions and someone to purloin the entire idea so wonderfully simple that only some thousands in the entire world would appreciate. For me, that may be enough.
So my approach is different. As an Artist, I am familiar with the “long shot” of first to have an idea, then to produce it, entirely my own way. Limited production of something that appeals to a limited audience, is either a nightmare or a brilliance that depends on your patience, I think.
So I sat down at my PC and proceeded to create a print of the series of lines spaced exactly to fit around the circumference of the material I found available from a supplier of wood products to model makers. The poplar wood I found is mostly very consistent and light in tone, and the exacting needs of professional model builders. There are people who create either architectual displays, or model airplane enthusiasts who need straight and true, inexpensive material they can count on. It is to this source I also went in my search for the best material for my idea.
Set of Staves, White Lines on Black
After several attempts, I seemed to have the size and spacing exactly right, and proceeded to make my first run of several dozen. Yet by the end, I began to find several instances of lines too off-center by the time I finished wrapping, and rejected them with dismay. It was not until after several tries I came to realize the exactitude of my wood material was not of the same order as my prints! What I learned to do was to carefully start out with my placement and retry for fit as I progressed. I did not count on the accuracy of the material, but compensate from the start for the irregularities of the poplar. All this by way I mention is to illustrate again the difference of approach from a manufacturer`s way, to the way of craftsmanship. This difference I have observed in my life as an employee of others, of those who have little respect for materials and often try to force an abstract concept to appear in a living material. Today, I am once again celebrating that I work alone so there is no blame, but a constant interaction between an idea and the even better results of bowing to the needs of the materials.
