Coining a phrase....

The Ozark Folk Center presents such a wealth of information that we decided to stop by a second time and to watch the highly skilled artisans practicing their trades.

Rachel and Skip, the copper colorists, demonstrated how to "paint" on copper with a flame and how the temperature and the layers impact design and color.

Tom at the knife shop told us how fulfilling it is to be on his own. He learned how to craft hunting knives after a successful career with the Ford Motor Company.

Robin in the woodcraft shop made us aware that making a wooden spoon is an art.

Shawn in the broom shop taught us that it takes up to two hours and strong hands and arms to build a kitchen broom from scratch.

The apprentice at the chandlery showed us how many dips it takes to make the perfect size candle.

The pupil at the chair shop surprised us with a guitar concert.

All of the artisans are wonderful story tellers and we love listening to them. Since I have spent many years in the printing industry, I always have to stop at the print shop. Troy Odom is running two letterpresses and I have learned from him something new:

The letters of the text that is to be printed are held in a metal frame. The space between the text block or phrase and the frame is filled with metal spacers, which are squeezed into the frame with wedges. In the old times of letterpress printing, those wedges were called lockup coins, thus creating the term "coining a phrase". Thank you Troy!