It seems that craftsmanship is tied to honesty and integrity. I don’t consider myself an artist but I do create and make taking raw materials and transforming them with intention. It is a wonderful learning experience. With each new making, I learn so much. My skills improve. The hand work becomes second nature through repetition. This is why it is so powerful to work with a production of like items. I am working on a run of Arts and Crafts candlestick holders, 16 total in three wood species. I also am working a production run of 3 Arts and Crafts mantel clocks. Both these projects are of original designs I designed ten or more years ago. I hope to post pictures and stock them in my online shop.

In the past week I came across a Facebook post on a spoon carving group of a “art” spoon out of Amboyna Burl. Jarrod Stone Dahl posted a comment that has stuck with me. I’ll have to paraphrase because I can’t find the post again. ‘That is a poorly designed spoon. It fails as a spoon and in the future when the jazzy color of the burl is all faded it will be worthless.’ It was really a scoop with the leading edge of the bowl radically up turned and ending in the natural edge of the burl. The rest of the scoop was wonderful with two apposing hearts making up the handle. Jarrod’s comment reminds me about craftsmanship. One deviation into the world of art and a work becomes unusable. It probably would be better of left as a tree.

Made for use.

Next week in the shop I plan on finishing the candlestick production, work on a book shelf for a real narrow space in the kitchen, make a welding cart.