CARE FULL UP

I am lucky in that I have lots of people who do things for me. I don’t mean wipe my bottom (maybe one day – not!) or squeeze my toothpaste tube, (not king yet!). Since I can’t do many useful activities such as DIY then I employ a plumber to fix my leaking taps and an electrician to stop me getting electrocuted. I even have a huge team of IT experts that enable what I write loosely described as blog gets a wider audience on the Internet.

One thing I don’t get people to do is to make glass for me as after all these years I think I am quite good at the subject. Having said that the world of glass art is diverse and my particular skill very narrow at involving the manipulation of glass tubing and rod in an open flame.

The big subject for delegating help with is of course health. I certainly am not going to operate on my body nor mess around with my teeth. That’s why had doctors and nurses. That’s why we enjoy having a dentist to hand – well sometimes. I thank them all and during the Covid pandemic I acknowledged the work that medical people do by making lots of glass Covid spheres. Yea, yea of course they paid for them, but they got a bargain. I mean they couldn’t do my job as I certainly wouldn’t know where to start with theirs.

All about teamwork and the perfect team is where each person brings a specific skill to the table without fear that this skill will be overshadowed by another. Ideally the objective of every group is realised when all members contribute in different ways and then together like a cocktail produces a wonderfully heady mix which cheers everyone up.

A recent project I was involved didn’t include glass. Well, it did if one considers that framed pictures contain glass for protection. I suppose such protection is warranted if the exhibition takes place in a hospital. The project I am talking about did that and was set up on the walls of a corridor at my local hospital. The exhibition involved seven artists and writers working together to create imagery of dreams. Trouble was none of the artists and writers could easily get together as a group due to travel restrictions and other challenges. Hindsight is wonderful and if ever I was going to be involved in something again then I would definitely encourage a group discussion face to face.

One thing I care about is time. Its priceless and so when presented with a deadline I usually step up to the mark. Most times it’s a challenge just to make something from glass but occasionally I am asked to create a wonderful glass sculpture by a certain date. This is usually dependent on the customer leaving until the last minute before realising they haven’t got a gift for a birthday party; they were invited to months ago. I aim to oblige and think on the whole it is recognised that working with a customer is a caring sign and I certainly don’t want to appear as if I couldn’t care.

There are customers who don’t express any sign of a caring attitude but thankfully these are in a minority and most welcome and recognise the value of handmade crafts. Once or twice, I received telephone calls from customers after they have collected their commissioned work. I always brace myself for a moan but these times the customers are very complimentary and tell me how great they thou8ght my work is. Strange isn’t it how we fear the worse and when hearing a compliment are taken by surprise and breathe a sigh of relief. Why can’t it always be like this?

Two extremes of looking at similar subjects tell their own story. A company wanted a presentation to celebrate safety and care in the workplace. I made safety hats and safety ladders. In fact, I just made anything and as long as I prefixed the title with the word “safety” then one happy customer. I am sure I could have made a safety machine gun and a safety bomb! Other side of the story is a presentation for a vet, and I was left to make my own design. Result was a figure in white coat with one hand up a glass sheep and other hand investigating a cow. I know which one I had fun with the most!