Throughout history, handcraft has been passed from one generation to the next. Whether a master to an apprentice or a parent to a child, this generational linking of skills and trades remained unbroken until the advent of the Industrial Revolution. But there are places where the tradition has been preserved.
Issue Thirteen presents several such stories. From our first Craft Research Grant recipient, who learned violin making from a Cape Breton craftsman, to a Colonial Williamsburg master blacksmith who still teaches the trade to apprentices as well as demonstrating for the general public, the value of craft mentorship is held high. The makers and thinkers of the past still have a great deal to offer us today.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
“The Fiddle’s Unfolding: Tracing a Folk Tradition” – Kerry Lambertson
“Fruitful Efficiency: On the Cultivation of Skill” – Joshua A. Klein
“A Blacksmith’s Contribution to Woodworking” – Kenneth Schwarz
“Root & Branch: Rediscovering the Uttermost Parts of a Tree” – Brendan Gaffney
“From the Ashes: Examination of a Mid-19th-Century Worktable”
“Engaging Work: Selections on Craftsmanship & the Modern World” – Compilation
“The Scraper Through the Ages” – Michael Updegraff
“Some Thoughts on the Artisan Process” – Jim Tolpin
“Reconstructing the Varnish Maker’s Art: Traditional Finishes for the 21st Century” – Steve Voigt
“Book Recommendation: Claudia Kinmonth’s Irish Country Furniture and Furnishings” – Gerald W.R. Ward
144 pages. Printed on premium, heavy (#60), uncoated paper for a classic look and tactile feel. Weighs 1 lb. Printed in the United States of America. Ad-free and independently published.