Feeling Better

Wow...check out how beautiful my mountain is tonight!

I suppose I've been feeling a bit better today.

I've begun my search for an Evanston apartment in earnest and am getting more excited about the move and what's in store for me at Northwestern.

I only have one week of work left (my last day is June 30th) and though I still have to check myself once in a while about my feelings towards Cannonball, for the most part I believe I've cleared my brain of concern about leaving and how the engraving will be carried on after I go.

I have an odd sort of relationship with my art in that I view everything I produce as my own offspring. Because of this, I tend to be quite particular and protective towards it. One of the biggest struggles for me in regards to the engraving at Cannonball has been patiently accepting and appreciating the work my coworkers have done with it as well. Ever since others began learning the craft alongside me, I've been hyper-concerned about whether or not everyone else takes it as seriously as I do. I'm admittedly pretty anal about certain things and when I've noticed even slight lapses in attention to detail it's sometimes been difficult for me to devise a tactful way to suggest any needed improvements.

Though engraving at Cannonball requires hundreds of horns to be etched with the same design, each saxophone must be a work of art on its own. It may feel like a simple and tedious assembly-line job, but it can't be. Every horn we send out the door will eventually translate someone's individual voice into music, and I want to know that the aesthetics of the horn somehow match the purity of its purpose. Every saxophone should be one a player could fall instantly in love with--most importantly for its sound, but for its beauty as well.

Anyway..I'm moving on...(sigh)...and I am confident that the engravers at Cannonball will do just fine without me and continue to dress up some beautiful saxophones!