Sat. night Holly and I had a few freinds over for dinner and a bit of fun company(life can't be all work). One of my good friends is a shop teacher at a local Jr. High and he ask me a question that really got me thinking.
He ask me if I would come in an do a presentation for his shop classes one day. He thought the kids would get a real kick out seeing that a person can make a living doing our kind of stuff. This brought to memory that last year my neighbor Larry (who teaches science at a local high school) ask me if I would set up for the high school's career day. I also remembered that my wife Holly ask me if I would do the same thing at her high school (yes she is a teacher there not a student
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Last year I told Larry and Holly, "no", "I had too much on my plate to do that" in short I was too busy.
I have already agreed to do the jr. high thing for my friend Mark and if I am ask to do the career days this year I plan to say yes and here is why.
If we want to promote and advance this artform we need to inspire and attrack the next generation of engravers to carry it on. By doing one day presentations at these three schools I will be exposing literally hundreds of kids to the art of hand engraving and it will only cost three days time.
I remember when I was in school my drafting teacr showed a film one day from the winchester (I think it was winchester) factories custom shop and it highlighted their engravers. I remember thinking how neat it would be to do that. I had exposure to engraving before that but I still remeber that film. Now I make my living as an engraver.
I would like to encourage all of us to get involved and participate in carrer days or demonstrations for your local shop or art teacher. Heck if they don't contact you give them a call. I used to be an art teacher and if I had the chance to have a real professional artist come in and talk to my students I would have jumped on it. The really cool thing is that once we get the new association formed and we have the web site up and running we will have a place to direct any interested to find out more about engraving.
I may not find a single kid interested in what I do but on the other hand I might.
Who knows what giving teenage students that kind of exposure to engraving might lead to. Heck it could start a whole engraving rennasaunce.
Ray