The soul of the craftsman.

They used to say that politics ends at the water's edge, which meant that when faced with crises that are international in scope, folks would suspend criticism of leadership to present a united stance. That is no longer the case, as some Republicans and talking heads on one of our major networks attempt to use the crisis in Ukraine to sew discord among us and undermine our leadership in the international response. What can I say, but shame, shame, we know your names and will deal with you later.

In the meantime, a friend of mine has been selected to make the keynote address to the Hand Society, on the subject, "the Soul of a Craftsman." He asked me to offer a few reflections on the subject.

I don’t know that all buy the idea that there is a soul, but if there is indeed a soul connected with each of us, or that connects each of us with each other at some deep barely detectable level (and I suspect there is), the soul of a craftsman tends to be deep and wide. For some folks, the soul, if it could be found, it might be nothing more than a shriveled up raisin of what it might have become. For the craftsman, the soul is reflected in our deep engagement in the materials of our choice. It’s also deep  and wide in that we’ve chosen such means to connect with others that demands the cultivation of skill and taking personal risk. 

There’s a great quote from Chaucer that I used in my new book around p. 42. It’s about the development of craftsmanship and discusses the challenge of it. "The lyf so short, the craft so long to learn, the' assay so hard, so sharp the conquerying." In that is the soul developed and portrayed. I do not believe soul is something that’s developed in a vacuum, but is something exercised in real life and in the challenges we face. 

What is meant by Chaucer's "assay so hard?" The word assay refers to the analysis of things, like of an ore from which other minerals may be extracted. And so it is with the soul. We can try to extract it, and perhaps to no avail. But we do see it in action. At this moment I'm thinking of the courageous men and women of Ukraine and their president... There is of course, some courage on the other side, on the wrong side, on the evil side, on the inhumane side. May Putin and those Americans who support him please come to their senses.

I got a lovely card in the mail from my friend Bob Ebendorf, an internationally known jeweler/teacher/craftsman. His postcards are his preferred means of communication, and each is hand made from recycled stuff. This one celebrates the coming release of my new book and he found a picture of me in a pensive state to paste on the front. The picture is from an article I did in Fine Woodworking a few years back.

Make, fix and create. Help the people of Ukraine to stand firm and with heart.