Visit with Gideon Guitar Maker

Let's face it. I took a risk. And it was so worth it.
Visiting an unmet yet friend from a social media can be a little intimidating. But I had become very interested in this particular person due to some of his subversive hilarious ways of using words on threads of other friends who frequently discuss various angles of 'The Situation' between Israelis and Palestinians. At some point we friended each other and often, his posts, full of beautiful, whimsical and spiritual art and music were such a welcome break from the rest of my feed I noticed I missed them if he missed a day. Somehow we became friends. My favorite posts and photos were those of his guitar making activities. Many years ago I had the opportunity to visit a luthier (fairly famous one it turns out) in Tel Aviv. Ever since then I've been fascinated with the whole idea and process of handmade musical instruments. When I found out my visit to Israel was a sure thing I asked him if visiting his workshop was possible. Happily, the answer was "Yes". The only problem is that he lives in a pretty 'far out' town in the north. Not easy to get to it. I was certain this was not going to be a person one could swoop down, have a two hour coffee with and leave. The pace for this meeting had to be slow. I didn't realize how slow.

Visiting Gideon feels like being removed from the normal flow of time. One senses the moment one enters his world that time slows down and patience will be key to getting the most satisfaction from the encounter. (Speaking of Time, turns out he has started a very entertaining story about time traveling - https://steemit.com/travel/@stillgideon/my-adventures-in-time-travel ) Gideon is soft spoken and there are many silences between sentences.... or cigarettes. He is also quite a thin fellow. It adds to his focused demeanor.

He is also a very polite host. He took time out of his day to drive a few miles to a city I could get to more easily with public transportation. I know we were both probably a little nervous to meet each other. After all, we had conversed on a variety of topics and shared numerous musical video clips. But still.... Right? Huge question marks remain about the three dimensional human form of a being one only 'sees' in a virtual way. From the inside out as it were. Thankfully, on my end anyway, I found myself the very opposite of disappointed. But still questioning this modern world of virtual friend making. That's the miracle part. Considering our extremely different lives and backgrounds, there is about a zero chance I would have met him otherwise. I have to say that visiting him in his little corner of the world has been a major highlight of my trip. Although I grew up in Israel, I had never had a chance to experience a place like that before. I am incredibly thankful.

Although there is little to no likelihood of me attempting to ever build a guitar myself, I learned so much from observing. In addition, I felt that some of my own internal wisdom was confirmed. Creating is not something one can rush. It is slow and thoughtful and meditative. It is intentional in a manner that allows for, and opens up to, a certain flow. I watched. And witnessed. I took numerous photographs with my iPhone. But some of the best images remain in my minds eye. The hills, the wind, the setting. The workshop sitting there almost in defiance, daring you to disbelieve the fact that amazing artwork was going on inside. Even the small bits of the guitar making process I did see revealed enough truth to understand and to feel what goes into his craft. Inside the he studio itself it is a perfect combination of order and toned down chaos. It's possible I'm just an odd human to have felt so deeply impacted by visiting Gideon and his workshop, or maybe I was just lucky enough to have been in the perfect frame of mind to be able to plug in to the flow of the place.

I think his real words aren't words at all, but are the sweet soft music he plays on the guitar. The music, along with the silent pauses, felt like his real communication with the world, and maybe with me while I was there. Unfortunately there seems to be some kind of curse upon him, which makes recording his music nearly impossible. You'll have to go visit him yourself.

Here is a wonderful place you might stay if you do.

In the meantime you can follow him at @stillgideon