Great post. Could you share what the little caddy/wall box is called? Is it intended for something specific? Matches? Candles? Wet tea bags? Hopefully it’s something archaic and interesting. I think I’d like to build one as a holiday gift.
The original was a salt box, used in a kitchen. Small wall boxes such as this were used for knives, candles, pipes and other small items in the early home.
I could not agree more. It is the human touch that gives life to hand made things.
The same applies to music. At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon (which I am) most music for at least the last decade is sterile and lifeless because it's all been quantized and pitch corrected and sounds nothing like what human music sounds like.
Thank you so much for the link to the stool blog! We had a giant tree fall on our house so I have plenty of material! I know that white oak is a good choice for building a stool but I also have some pecan. Do have any suggestions about using pecan?
Thank you so much! We had a giant tree fall on our house so I have plenty of material! I know that white oak is a good choice for building a stool but I also have some pecan. Do have any suggestions about using pecan?
There is a type of joinery, out of Japan, I don't remember what it's called, that highlights very complex and interesting interlocking joints. These seem to require very precise and accurate handwork. How does this fit into the mix that your talking about? The end results are usually very crisp, clean and have a lot of straight lines and sharp edges.
Nice post; love your 2024 addition and that little maroon box.
I have two things I keep in mind about perfection. 1 is "progress not perfection" in an attempt to be willing to make, and learn from mistakes.
The second is something my son said in his 6 or 8-year-old innocence and wisdom. When told "nothing is perfect," he replied "or maybe everything is perfect. You could look at it that way."
Your take on accuracy reminds me of similar critiques made of today’s wine. In large wineries, a scientific approach is taken to manipulate the wine to achieve “perfection.” But there’s more to wine than the few chemicals that we can currently measure, and the result never stacks up to wines made in more traditional ways. They lack the harmony, that you mention, that integrates multiple physical and sensory elements into a single, unique experience.
Chris, for chairs, don’t forget comfort as success criteria #1. No comfort and there won’t be any use. No use and you might as well have crafted a boat anchor.
My wife and daughter went garage sale shopping one day and brought back a number of router carved panels made of Doug Fir, not the best choice of wood. The panels just don’t look “right” whereas Peter F’s work looks “alive”. Someone commented that our minds thrive on imperfections not the perfect. Amen.
A very well timed article for me. I’m in the midst of carving some pieces and am continually battling with trying to find the point where I am finished and not get sucked down the hole of looking for “perfection”.
My wife and I go to craft shows in our area from time to time.
There is a booth where the artist sells laser made marquetry mirrors and tables for the lack of a better term.
It’s amazing work, very intricate, flawless in design, function and color.
They aren’t cheap, they have to pay for the laser, programming time and stock preparation I suppose. While at first intriguing I find the pieces fatiguing to the eye the more I see them.
Owning something like that would be like listening to A Woman in Love by Barbra Streisand in an endless loop. Yet both are perfect.
Great post. What comes easy for some folks can be harder for others to appreciate. Especially if they have not attempted to make it themselves.
Great post. Could you share what the little caddy/wall box is called? Is it intended for something specific? Matches? Candles? Wet tea bags? Hopefully it’s something archaic and interesting. I think I’d like to build one as a holiday gift.
The original was a salt box, used in a kitchen. Small wall boxes such as this were used for knives, candles, pipes and other small items in the early home.
Oh wait- is that for mail!?
It could be. Ours holds the markers for our whiteboard.
I could not agree more. It is the human touch that gives life to hand made things.
The same applies to music. At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon (which I am) most music for at least the last decade is sterile and lifeless because it's all been quantized and pitch corrected and sounds nothing like what human music sounds like.
Thank you so much for the link to the stool blog! We had a giant tree fall on our house so I have plenty of material! I know that white oak is a good choice for building a stool but I also have some pecan. Do have any suggestions about using pecan?
Thanks,
Brian
I’ve purchased your books but can’t find the plan except for one with a back.
Is there a link to a three leg stool plan?
Thank you so much! We had a giant tree fall on our house so I have plenty of material! I know that white oak is a good choice for building a stool but I also have some pecan. Do have any suggestions about using pecan?
Thanks,
Brian
Pecan is great wood for legs. Very tough.
Here you go. I've made about 20 of these. Love them.
https://blog.lostartpress.com/2023/04/09/3-legged-staked-stools/
There is a type of joinery, out of Japan, I don't remember what it's called, that highlights very complex and interesting interlocking joints. These seem to require very precise and accurate handwork. How does this fit into the mix that your talking about? The end results are usually very crisp, clean and have a lot of straight lines and sharp edges.
I don't see it as an either/or situation.
1. You can have beauty and questionable joinery.
2. You can have shit and have questionable joinery.
3. You can have shit and have transcendentally beautiful/perfect joinery.
4. You can have beauty and transcendentally beautiful/perfect joinery.
Nice post; love your 2024 addition and that little maroon box.
I have two things I keep in mind about perfection. 1 is "progress not perfection" in an attempt to be willing to make, and learn from mistakes.
The second is something my son said in his 6 or 8-year-old innocence and wisdom. When told "nothing is perfect," he replied "or maybe everything is perfect. You could look at it that way."
I kinda like that.
Your take on accuracy reminds me of similar critiques made of today’s wine. In large wineries, a scientific approach is taken to manipulate the wine to achieve “perfection.” But there’s more to wine than the few chemicals that we can currently measure, and the result never stacks up to wines made in more traditional ways. They lack the harmony, that you mention, that integrates multiple physical and sensory elements into a single, unique experience.
I very much agree with that sentiment. Thank you
Thanks Chris for your good thoughts.
“ The question is not what you look at, but what you see.” ( Henry David Thoreau)
Cheers,
Michael
Love that. Thank you!
Chris, for chairs, don’t forget comfort as success criteria #1. No comfort and there won’t be any use. No use and you might as well have crafted a boat anchor.
That is covered by utility. Which I did mention.
My wife and daughter went garage sale shopping one day and brought back a number of router carved panels made of Doug Fir, not the best choice of wood. The panels just don’t look “right” whereas Peter F’s work looks “alive”. Someone commented that our minds thrive on imperfections not the perfect. Amen.
A very well timed article for me. I’m in the midst of carving some pieces and am continually battling with trying to find the point where I am finished and not get sucked down the hole of looking for “perfection”.
It’s not quite the same thing, but this reminds me of the discussion in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance of what “quality” is.
Every time I read that book
My head explodes
I remember finishing the book on a flight, and then walking around the airport a bit bewildered.
The perfect, is the enemy of the good. Something some French guy once said.
My wife and I go to craft shows in our area from time to time.
There is a booth where the artist sells laser made marquetry mirrors and tables for the lack of a better term.
It’s amazing work, very intricate, flawless in design, function and color.
They aren’t cheap, they have to pay for the laser, programming time and stock preparation I suppose. While at first intriguing I find the pieces fatiguing to the eye the more I see them.
Owning something like that would be like listening to A Woman in Love by Barbra Streisand in an endless loop. Yet both are perfect.