The Beauty of Craft A "Resurgence" Anthology

by Brown, Sandy; Kumar Mitchell, Maya

• ISBN13: 9781903998427
• ISBN10: 1903998425
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-10-01
• Publisher: Green Books

Summary

Craftspeople usually leave their work to speak for itself, so it is a rare privilege to have the thoughts, stories, experiences, observations, and feelings of such skilled people in a book that enables us to share their insights on the nature of their work and the way they live. Most of the contributors have been featured in Resurgencemagazine, which regularly features crafts and their connection with spirituality, ecology, and sustainable, joyful living. The work of these creators comes from their great dedication to their craft and the sincerity with which they integrate their philosophy into daily life--in much the same way that their bowls and baskets, chairs and tables, shoes and spoons are art for daily use. Their words inspire and their works delight. These essays, accompanied by beautiful color photographs, encourage us to have faith in the human spirit and the human endeavor. Artist and crafts include: * Philip Baldwin and Monica Guggisberg, glassblowing * Clio Mitchell, weaving * Louis Allison Cort, basket making * Ianto Evans, cob * Margot Coatts, silversmithing * Roger Deakin, leather work * Edmund De Waal, pottery

Author Biography

Sandy Brown is an English potter with an international reputation and following, especially in France, Holland and Germany. Her pottery is wild and bright, just like the woman herself. She courts controversy not only in the pottery world, but also in the world of art generally. Many public figures, including Anita Roddick and Cherie Blair, own her work. She has been the art advisor at the Resurgence magazine for many years.

Maya Kumar Mitchell writes, dances the tango and teaches English as a foreign language. She is a regular contributor to the Resurgence magazine, the longest running UK environmental magazine.

Table of Contents

Editors' note	p. 5
Foreword	p. 8
Introduction	p. 11
Creative moments : glassblowing	p. 16
Art elevated, craft degenerated : fragmentation	p. 22
Wonder of work : overview	p. 26
Inuit solutions : design	p. 30
The new alchemists : recycling	p. 34
Kingdom of beauty : pottery	p. 36
Contemporary concerns : craft today	p. 40
Shoji Hamada : pottery	p. 46
Clive Bowen : pottery	p. 48
Richard Batterham : pottery	p. 52
Making in the city : pottery	p. 55
John Makepeace : furniture making	p. 58
David Drew : basket making	p. 62
Kazuo Hiroshima : basket making	p. 64
Amish thread : quilting	p. 70
A tale of tapestry : weaving	p. 72
Living traditions : tribal art	p. 76
All hands to work : local economy	p. 82
Made to measure : leather work	p. 86
Willow workers : basket making	p. 90
Way of the cook : cooking	p. 92
Treading lightly : environment	p. 98
Guy Martin : furniture	p. 100
Living structures : willow work	p. 102
Growing with gratitude : gardening	p. 104
Building like gardening : architecture	p. 108
Earth sculptors : Cob	p. 112
Made of mud : Cob	p. 115
Saving the swill : basket making	p. 118
Tino Rawnsley : bodging	p. 120
Buildings like trees : architecture	p. 122
Poetry of practice : writing	p. 128
Roman letters : lithography	p. 131
Life of books : book binding	p. 132
Bill Phipps : silversmithing	p. 135
Gwen Heeney : ceramics	p. 138
Breon O'Casey : handskills	p. 141
Marta Donaghey : jewellery	p. 144
The harmony in hand tools : woodwork	p. 145
With the grain : woodwork	p. 148
On the mend : repairing	p. 150
Continual renewal : craft traditions	p. 154
Keith Critchlow : architecture	p. 160
Bobbie Cox : weaving	p. 164
Kaffe Fasset : knitting	p. 168
Spontaneous potting : ceramics	p. 172
Spirit in the wood : cabinet making	p. 177
Tobias Kaye : woodwork	p. 180
Let the ingredients sing : cooking	p. 184
Wabi sabi : aesthetics	p. 186
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