Get Your Fingers Tying
This week was the first time attempting to tie flies. I broke open the vise and mounted a hook. Then I started going to town on tying a basic streamer. The more I tied on this streamer, the faster the hook filled up. As a result, all of my materials started to spin on the shaft of the hook. I felt like something was not right. It was then that the realization came to me that I missed a step. Upon watching a few YouTube videos, the mistake became clear. Before tying any materials onto the hook, I was supposed to wrap my shaft in thread to establish a base. Without this base, the polyester materials are able to freely move.
The next learning hurdle was figuring out to wrap my thread away from me. If I wrapped it towards me, then I would likely end up unwrapping the threads in the process of starting between steps. Once I established these two principles, the tying began to be smoother. This occupation of tying flies falls in the definition by Pierce that says "occupation is the subjective experience of an individual, with meaning that is personally constructed." Other definitions given from our book fit the descriptions as well, but not as perfectly as this one did. None seemed to exclude this as an occupation but some were vague about how it filled the definition of occupation. The occupation of fly tying to me is a personal one that is only necessary when I need new flies for fishing. Other than in this class, my vise will not come out unless I have a trip planned where flies will need to be plentiful.
Fly tying seems to be an occupation that relates to Wilcock's model directly. I am being directly involved in an occupation that could one day allow me to survive. I am becoming better at it every time a new fly is set in vise. A sense of belonging could arise from a survival situation where my skills would be necessary for other's survival on top of mine. The end result is one that allows me to both survive and contribute to my health. Just as last week the show Alone arose, occupation was the key to the winner lasting the longest. By performing in new occupations, the winner allowed for their mental health to be in a normal zone. The use of the occupation kept their mind engaged and off of the subject of family. I could see in the future how fly tying can become a way out of depression and a means of survival in certain situations.
Hey Glen,
ReplyDeleteNice to see the process coming along. It looks like you learned a lot this week. It also looks like it could quickly become tedious work. How do you approach a task that takes such precise determination and I'm guess a good level of endurance (like how long does it take to tie a fly like that?). Do you approach it as a time to quietly be to yourself, or do you turn on some load music and rock out a little?
When you were discussing fly tying in terms of your experiences of being, becoming and belonging you talked about belonging only within the context of survival. Is there a context of belonging that you experience or desire to experience through fly tying that may not relate to health so eminently, as in a life or death scenario?
Also, how do you like your fish cooked?
I do not usually eat fish. I prefer to catch and release. But on the rare occasion they gut hook themselves and I need to salvage them, on the grill or fillet them and roasted in the oven. I have approached this as something that can be simple and fun in the future. I just have to learn the basics and keep practicing. This specific fly took me about 20 minutes to finish because threading the bobbin and whip finishing took a while to figure out. I approach this as a time of peace, or a time of education if my son wants to ever try it. Music has been nonexistent, but YouTube tutorials have been known to appear.
DeleteI kind of hit on the topic of belonging in my first blog response. There will be conventions to hit up and learn from masters. This will hopefully allow me to gain a new sense of belonging by sharing in the experience with others.