Forging for the Blind

I’ve lost more than half the hearing acuity ability I once possessed.  Some of it came gradually as the result of accumulated acoustic trauma, and perhaps aging.  But most of it came as the consequence of acute labyrinthitis a couple of years ago.  So, bad luck, I deal with it.  It is a minimal handicap.  It is not in the same ball park as total deafness or blindness or both as I imagine those handicaps.

I think I may have the possibility of actually learning something useful from the experience.  How would I judge a piece of ironwork if I could not see it?  If I knew that fingers would explore my work to create a mental image of it, how might I change my designs and techniques?

I’ve heard the advice, “Easy on the hands, easy on the eyes.”  I’ve paid some attention to it but, perhaps, not enough or not from the most useful perspective.  At the beginning of each new year I like to spend some time thinking about how my work is proceeding and things I might change.  I’m going to devote some time to exploring this notion in more depth.