Writing Workshop: Process not Product
Professor Kris, had us do some short drafts on keywords found in our Project Proposals and our Annotated Bibliographies, to get our motors running. After a nice short guided meditation to remove any anxieties the class was having over our Final Project, she broke us into small groups and had us start writing. Not worrying about the quality of the writing, but just to get something down on paper. Meant to start the recursive writing process, with any ideas that come to mind. Who knows what you’l find, but you could write something that will give you the push in the creative direction you were looking for.
I’ve included my thought drafts below. Progress not perfection.
Vintage Tools
Real steel; cold, hard, American made tools made almost a century go. The use of old verse new tools, brings with them the men and women of the past that have used them. The old steel tools have a different feel in the hands of the builders of today, than the shiny counter parts of the tools made today. Yes, newer tools may make a job easier to complete, but the soul of the piece created with new tools wont have the same feel as the piece built with older tools. The soul of the people from the past wont be there, the men and women who forged the way before us. Using vintage tools to work metal, maybe harder using these tools, but with that hard work. The builders leave some of themselves inside the metal. They sweat on the project as they build, and the sweat gets beat into the project using the tools of the past. Pressing and pounding their souls and emotions into the piece.
Shinya Kimura, says the bikes he builds are part of his instincts. That they help him release his wildness and his vulnerability from with in and it comes out in his styling of each piece he builds. This style would be different if he used modern tools. These Japanese American bike builders, who speak with quiet soft voices. Bring to life some of the loudest and most wild creations with their hands. Working with raw steel and fire, to bend, beat and form one of a kind creations hiding in their minds. Building ideas out of their minds, into rolling dragons, bikes louder than a stampede of a 1,000 wild mustangs.
Sparks flying from grinders, welders, metal forges, these makers form metal like magicians casting spells. Pulling emotions from their souls and using craftsmanship of the masters of the past to build works of art. Mysterious Machines of freedom and rebellion. Something that represents them as well as the machine in a light, that many people see as works of art. And some see as aliens on earth from from the future.
NYC Keino Sasaki of Keino Cycles
Keino pulls inspiration from the builders of the 60’and 70’s, building piece that look like they just rolled out of the tattered pages of an Easy Rider magazine. Using candied metal flake paint jobs, and lots of bright chrome, his bikes sometimes look like a sun setting into the ocean. Beautiful. He uses old time metal working skills, techniques that the builders today don’t understand. Techniques he was taught from his father in Japan, and Indian Larry a bike building legend from New York city. Keino brings these styles together, forming classic bends and twists in steel that modern machines can’t match. Designing pieces that fit together seamlessly, and that hold true to the bikes original essence. He uses custom made accents in his bikes from other artists, that highlight his bikes bringing them to the next level. Silver Smith Fin of Japan is one of those artist, he like his name states is a Silver Smith. Who pours silver into hand made molds, of Keino’s designs. Using the outdated process of the past, his pieces have a raw, less refined look to them. Making old time Japanese metal working, fit perfectly with his gritty NYC style of today.
The Speed of Freedom
Performance driven led horses, tearing across the face on their path to freedom. Never letting anyone or anything get in their path of expression and their pursuit of happiness. There is something that drives them along the way. Maybe it’s in their blood at birth, maybe it’s something they’ve picked up from their friends or from someone their family. But you can find the lust for the open road in the minds and hearts of men and women across the world. No matter the social ring, no matter the location, that loves runs deep in those who have a love for things with wheels. That feeling of being drug across the face of the planet, gripping a rumbling beast by the horns, the feel of the engine between your legs, flying across the open road. That is home. Banding together, sharing that love for the open road. Living by unspoken credos, a bond that only others who ride know, a life driven by speed, sound and adrenaline. Forever Two Wheels.