It was a brutally cold December day at a Market Street in Lubbock, TX. Started out the day with a used #6 bur. The larger surface area allows the bur to move at lightning speed across the glass without getting bogged down as a new one would. I didn’t begin the day planning to do the whole trainload of bottles with ONE bur, but I almost did just that.
At the busier events I literally have to make every second count. Often I get too busy to even put a legible signature on the back, hoping my hang-tag will suffice if the recipient wants to find me for more or cuss me for one he/she got. Toward the end of the day, I did have to change to another used #6 because this one lost part of a cutting flute; see it missing lower right. I could tell when it broke because it began to drag. I couldn’t fly as usual. Like a Piper Cub with a chunk of the propeller missing; it would be a wild and bumpy ride if it even stayed in the air.
BOTTOM LINE: In events when the wine is marching across the table, non-stop in singles and in sixpacks, there is no time for guidelines, thicks and thins, perfectly straight lines, and bumpy, out-of-balance burs. Learn to create the letters you know so well when going slowly, at time-lapse speed and still keep the finished product looking zippy and beautiful. Learn the flourishes and swashes. They cannot look drawn or contrived. They must be fast, spontaneous, smooth, and graceful.
Now, off to bed before a long, good day tomorrow with 6 students….2 returning for a refresher…and lots of instructions and getting everyone on track.
Cheers!
Ken
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