Jack of Many Trades

Here I Go

Originally posted: 2010-12-05

The title of my blog is actually something of a misnomer. As much as fire has always been my element, Setting Fire is actually about metal.

I'm on the verge of starting a welding certification program, and I want to focus on sculpture welding and blacksmithing. Artistically, I'm a big-canvas kind of person. My favorite painting was on a large canvas. I prefer large sketchbooks, too. I want to do sculpture. I love having a big field to make my statement on, and welding is more likely to get me there than wire is.

More than the fire of the welding torch, or the forge, this blog is about the fire within. When I got out of college, I committed myself to a bad relationship and a job I expected to be temporary. I didn't have any clear ambitions even then. The relationship's over now, but I'm still at that job, and it's starting to get old.

I needed something else, but I didn't know what it was. I've been flailing around, trying different things and getting nowhere. But I'm excited about this in a way I can't remember being excited in a long time. I have a goal and a calling, and even if I do terribly, I figure I'll have tried.

So this blog is about what's getting me excited – making. Metal. Fire. Art. Producing something with my hands. And more than that, it's about staying excited. About managing my depression. About staying organized and productive and creative even when my head isn't on straight, because those things are what keep my head on straight. Hopefully something here will help set you on fire, too.