“If you do what you want to do, if you find something you love, you will never work a day in your life,” he says, paraphrasing Joseph Campbell. And taking another cue from that wise American mythologist and writer, Yokel is as determined as ever to follow his bliss. For more information, visit Jestures: Finely Crafted Sculpture With Personality, fredyokel.com. Mike Shuler, Pink Ivorywood Bowl, pink ivorywood, satinwood, brazilian tulipwood, and macassar ebony, 4 1/2 in. diameter x 2 in. high 78 South Bay Accent Fred Yokel, Ball Dudes, slab-built ceramic, carved, glaze and underglazes, raku fired, various sizes up to 9 in. M I K E S H U L E R A balanced life is as much a state of mind as an equal parsing out of hours devoted to tasks and relationships. For Mike Shuler it’s a 16-hour day doing just one thing—the thing he loves to do most. That’s the kind of imbalance that keeps him from losing his grip. He doesn’t exactly get lost in his work so much as it happily consumes him. The longtime woodturning craftsman often labors in his shop from pre-dawn until well after dark—or even around the clock—when he feels it’s necessary, says Shuler, who resides in Santa Cruz. “Some experts advise against this kind of thing, but when I have to, it’s a 16-hour day. If I really have to, I’ll go 36 hours straight. I’m not happy if I’m less than 10 hours in the shop with something. If I’m not making dust, I’m online looking at others’ work.” D I S C O V E R I N G L A T H E L O V E Shuler’s attraction to art—and woodturning in particular—started at about age six. His earliest memories are of making things with his father’s tools and whatever materials were lying around. “That’s how I occupied myself,” says Shuler, who was born in Trenton, NJ, and raised primarily in Maryland and in Birmingham, Ala. “I became fascinated with things that were round, particularly chair legs in my case, and
South Bay Accent - AugSep 2016
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