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The Tip is 'Where They're Proud' I recently saw an ad in our local newspaper for a big box home improvement store. Their newspaper ad had USA made products and American flags all over it. Several weeks later, I checked the ad again and sure enough they were still advertising their American made products. It was obvious they are proud to carry products Made in America. Their competitors made no mention of things Made in America. I have been to this store and asked what products are made in the USA? A clerk told me they primarily carry imports. Obviously they are not proud. I now realize you can buy many Made in the USA building supplies, including tools Made in USA and appliances Made in USA., in stores that are proud to carry brands Made in the USA. Here is another example of a store proudly carrying products Made in the USA. I was shopping for men's shoes in a local department store when I tried on three different pairs of shoes. I couldn't decide which pair I wanted so I went out on a limb and asked the clerk, "Are these shoes imports?" The salesman said "yes they are" so I asked, "Do you have any Made in America shoes like these?". To my surprise he said, with GREAT PRIDE, "yes sir, we have a whole line of Made In USA shoes". He brought me the same color and style with the Made in USA label. These Made in America shoes were less expensive, came with a better warranty, and were more comfortable. Looking for companies that are PROUD is simple and can have a great impact on our country. I encourage you to try this some time- just ask. You will love it when you realize you are making a difference that all of us will benefit from. With your help America will be ours again and that is a good thing. Buying Tip Continued - Read more on Made in America Products by Grainger McKoy Wood has been an integral part of my evolution from childhood into adulthood and from craftsman into sculptor. As a young child, I marveled at my father notching cypress logs as the cabin in which I grew up in the early 1950's took shape. Growing up with those interior logs, combined with the mystery of an old decoy my grandmother had given me from her attic, pressed something deep in me. I remember well my mother holding me up by my belt and her encouraging words as she allowed me to saw an extended exterior log from that cabin for my first bird. That is when I first peered over the edge of the nest into the world of sculpture. Carving a few birds and decoys as a teenager and working as a carpenter's helper not only strengthened my allegiance to wood, but also revealed a love of working with my hands. This love has only deepened with time. Leaving home to study architecture at Clemson University turned eventually into a BS degree in biology, which was, as I look back on it, a continuation of what was quickened in me as I grew up next to those cypress logs and a decoy. For the quarter century since then, the pursuit of the flight of birds in wood has been a passion of mine. The sculptor in me began to emerge as I worked under the wing of Gilbert Maggioni of Beaufort, South Carolina, for two years in the early 1970's. He challenged me like no one before or since. Gilbert inoculated me against mediocrity while at the same time encouraging innovation and preaching there is no substitute for hard work. Although I had long since left the nest, I was still precariously perched on an outer limb, not knowing where to fly. Gilbert kicked me from that position to soar toward a vision on the horizon his eyes had seen, but mine were not accustomed to. The first flight was the point in my life when inertia was overcome, and I began that slow, arduous process which continues to this day of becoming a sculptor. First Bird, 1960 Cypress With my path lit with the torch of Maggioni's enthusiasm, encouragement and work ethic, I continued to push wood and my subject matter to their limit. I believe that over the years I have been able to make wood fly, yet all along I knew there was more to be discovered and tested. Recently, the possibilities and boundaries of wood have been extended again as if a whole new territory has been opened for discovery and development. A peephole was given me into this new territory when I had a mold made from a wooden feather into which bronze and later sterling was poured. That feather triggered more feathers, then eventually a whole bird in bronze. This is not an abandonment of wood, rather using it directly to bring these birds out from behind their glass cases while retaining the detail and lightness wood has allowed me over the years. Having flown from Gilbert's vortex early in my creative experience, and then spending the next 25 years pressed to the grindstone of making a living with my hands, I'm prepared to continue to rise to the challenges that wood and metal offer. My vision is to make these materials fly as they have never flown before. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see vision. ? Joel 2:28 |
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