The three goals of the ITE are research, exploration, and collaboration.

I certainly intend to do research. We have access to amazing public and private collections, including the permanent collection of the WTC. We visited the basement briefly before the symposium on Sunday, and, oh my stars, what a collection it is. I plan to spend a good deal more time there before heading home. They also have an extensive library that I plan to make good use of. And we will be traveling to see museums and galleries and visiting with private collectors.

The exploration has already begun. We set up the shop today, arranging lathes and work benches, then picked up boxes and boxes of stuff from the WTC. After we hauled it all back and into the shop, it was like Christmas. Every box held gifts and surprises: turning chisels, chucks, abrasives, adhesives, paints and dyes, glitter (!), rotary tools, carving tools, brushes, bits, paperclips, face masks . . . Some things we had to discuss to identify. Trying a bit of everything will be a blast.

The collaboration has also begun. As Albert has emphasized, collaboration is not just making work together. Collaboration is also what happens as we talk together, live together, eat together, explore together, and respond to each other.