Ralph writes:
>>People who work with "wood" work in the forest, or in lumber mills.
After
the forest products have been through the lumber mill, people who work with
those products work with lumber.
Do masons set rocks and clay, or stone and brick?  I rest my case.<<

Yes. It depends on whether the woodworker or the mason is working as a
tradesperson, a craftsperson, or an artisan. I know from my own experience
that a plank of lumber from the mill can be a product that is simply
installed as piece of flooring, as a tradesperson would do; or can be
consider as a piece of wood that can be shaped into a stair stringer, as a
craftsman would do; or can be carved into a decorative newel post panel, as
an artisan would do. The tradesperson might depend on the mill for his
product, but the craftsman and the artisan might go to the forest, or to
the mill for his wood.

I just spent a week at the Masters of the Building Arts Festival in
Charleston. The festival was organized by the School of the Building Arts.
It was an unusual combination of artisans from around the country, trades
educators, staff and supporters of the school. Perhaps 60 people from
around the world were involved and another thousand or two of the visiting
public from the southeast USA.  During the APTI conference last October,
John Paul Huguley, the school's founder, asked me to come down for the
festival. I thought, "Alright! A chance to demonstrate traditional
woodworking, perhaps do a little letter carving that I had been otherwise
neglecting out in the shop." But, John Paul said to NOT bring any tools, he
had another assignment for me. I was to be his personal journalist, the one
person who would range through the various levels of the event, from the
artisans' demonstrations for the public, to the school staff and artisans'
roundtables for the development of the school's curriculum, to the VIP
cocktail parties, to the behind-the-scenes pow-wows of foreign advisors,
national funders and political supporters--and then to report back with my
findings and observations. All this was a real eye-opener for me. Perhaps
more reports will follow.

I had also set myself with the task of furthering my own research into the
differences between contemporary construction industry trades practice and
the traditional crafts and artisanry. One of the distinctions is that
"spark
of life" that passes from the maker of an object, into the object as it is
made, and then on to the later user of the object. I think you know what I
mean by "the spark." In the traditional crafts and artisanry the spark
flows most readily. The spark occurs most often when raw materials from
the earth are worked by hands that are informed with traditional methods,
decades of experience and when the worker has the future user of the object
at heart. When such objects are assembled into a building, the sparks
combine and the building is said to be "living," or have a "life of its
own." My own principal belief system is science. Even though science does
not recognize the spark, I do believe in the spark too, since I have
experienced it in my own work since I was a child. The construction
industry depends on science to manufacture raw materials into products that
are installed by tradespeople. In the construction industry system the
"spark" is not seem to be carried by the object--perhaps it is there, but
there is some disconnect that seems to prevent any positive result. At the
festival I was present at three instances of "the spark," and able to
document two of them (at lease as far as such things can be documented with
photos, video and interviews), which seems to be developing into an article
on the topic of "The Spark." In any case, I have been able to refine my
definitions of the different sorts of workers. These definitions are based
on how workers relate to their tools, their materials and how their work
affects other people. Here are the definitions for your review and comment:

Honor in All Work

Those who work with their hands are Laborers.
They help others by shifting materials from here to there.

Those who work with their hands and their tools are Tradespeople.
They follow the rules laid down by others. They use their hands
assembling products to meet standards set by others.

Those who work with their hands, tools and their heads are
Craftspeople. Knowledge and ideas become extensions of their minds
to implement the plans of others. Craftspeople use their hands and
heads to solve problems with their knowledge of basic materials
and how to shape them effectively.

Those who work with their hands, tools, heads and their hearts are
artisans. Vision moves them to create great works that inspire
others. An artisan uses his hands, his head and his heart to
change the way people feel about themselves and the world around
them.


If you have any stories about how the spark has affected you or the people
around you, please let me know.

John
by hammer and hand great works do stand
by pen and thought best words are wrought

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