Seems like woodturning is beginning to divide into the two traditional camps: "Those who learn more and more about less and less until they know everything about nothing and those who learn less and less about more and more until they know nothing about everything". I suppose there could be a hidden covert coven of turners who know naught about naught and know naught about knowing naught.
Chick Sales said it for the ages in his classic about outhouses, "The Specialist". The little book he wrote so that copyrights could protect him from plagiary, ought to be in our turning libraries as a balance to some of the puffery written about the importance of turned vessels. For goodness sake, what's a vessel in the larger scale of things? A bowl is a bowl "for a' that and a' that". Does Its form, design and metaphysical qualities ever establish a world view or explain the meaning of life or even of curved space? Maybe, but if not we are permitted to lighten up. :)
I reckon perception is everything and turning a vessel means different things to different turners. For some it's a dollar sign on the road to fame, tho not likely to fortune. For others it's like a bowl of salad, a toss of tool collecting, ego building, stress relieving, boredom salving or domestic retreating. Whatever it means to you, whether you obsess, try to always do your best or are laid back and just having fun, enjoy the trip and pay no attention to this COC's gritchings.
You are in for a well deserved rest. He's off to the Florida Symposium plus a few day's vacation, expecting to have fun and learn a little about the importance of turned vessels. :) Hope to see some of you there... you can't all take evasive action.
Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter