The workshop where Ben Mason hones his craft is located in Kre8Now Makerspace, a beehive of creative energy. In various shared workspaces, machines are running, and makers are busy working on any number of projects, from 3D printing to metalwork to producing podcasts. But up the stairs and down the hall, Mason’s light-filled studio is a beacon of calm, patient energy – the same energy Mason brings to his work as a violin maker. Chisels, clamps, gouges and saws are hung in an orderly fashion. Drawings depicting the serpentine lines of his latest designs are displayed on his work surface. Wood shavings pile next to a vise holding a block of wood that Mason is lovingly hand carving and shaping into a violin.
Watching him work, one can spot similarities between the rhythmic strokes of his gouge and chisel and the music that will someday come from the finished piece….
