New Book...

 I received copies of my new book, Beautiful Boxes, Design and Technique yesterday from the publisher, Taunton Press. With each book (this is number 8, not counting two books translated into German) it has been amazing to hold so much work in my hands and to know that it is being shared in ways that I would never be able to share without help. A book is exactly that. I make boxes (and other things) in my shop, take photos of each step, and write the steps out so that others can read and understand. Then others take hold, help me to edit and clarify my explanations of work and create books from my starting point that allow my own work to shape skills in other hands than my own.

It is an honor to work with such a good team in developing such fine books. And I pinch myself in wonder at how lucky I've been.

Yesterday in the wood shop, my upper middle and high school students worked on their mechanical drawing. They now want to make their own T-squares. We can oblige, but I want them to know how to use them first.

Today I will be with the Arkansas Arts Council in Little Rock as part of a panel to select the recipients of various Arkansas Governor's Awards in the Arts.

In wood shop, I get to see transformational things happen that would be inappropriate to share in this blog. I see personal triumphs that shape the lives of our kids. Today I was witness to one of those. The crazy thing is that people think that woodworking is about making things. It is actually a process through which we ourselves are shaped and refined into new form. It is called craftsmanship, and the real product is the skilled craftsman.

Let not one single day pass without engaging your hands in something skilled or creative.

Make, fix and create...