Last week I took my three year old to the library. While he was playing on the Ipad I checked out the movie section and found a "How It's Made: Sports" video. My son loves playing and watching all sports. He has begged for a soccer team for weeks and today after school we are planning to go play golf right when he gets home. So, I thought that maybe he would like watching how balls and bats and other sports equipment was made.
Saturday night when I was cooking dinner I heard my husband, son, and two teenage stepdaughters exclaiming "Cool!" as they watched the lathe carving golf tees. Morgan shared at dinner that a friend of hers has made his own bat using one of those "things that spin wood". After dinner the 5 of us continued to watch the 5-10 minute episodes on how hockey pucks, sticks and pads are made, the making of a pool stick, and a canoe.
"It's so satisfying to watch the wood being carved," the girls proclaimed, mesmerized by the block of wood being cut away.
We then searched through the 50 something episodes to see if we could find how soccer balls are made but eventually resorted to YouTube. I was surprised to see how engaged all of us were. What is it about watching someone produce something from beginning to end that is so intriguing?
I'm also surprised I've never seen this show before! I love learning about how things are made. I think it adds value to something when you can see the time and effort it takes to create that product. Although I do wish they would show the bloopers of this show. You know they have to mess up every now and then. Why do they skip over those parts?
I am in the process of creating a video about my process that shows how I go from idea to drawing to cutting then gluing and framing. It will be with not only the cool bits but also the mistakes and frustrations that are had along the way. Stay posted!
Another one of my ideas is to create a website where artists can post videos of their process and how their artwork is made. Do you think artists would want to share that? Would you want to watch an artist at work? Would it inspire you to buy their work or add value to their art?