Future emerging artisanry for all

Our educating culture has spent over fifty years dumbing down craft education to mere hobbies or pastimes despite the reality that all children and young people of every age when shown proper ways to work enjoy making, growing, baking and cooking things and thrive more healthfully working with their hands. Thankfully the old saying is true that says “you can’t keep a good man down” and that’s because a good man is a solution not a problem.

 

 

Above and below are my grandchildren in their first woodworking class with me

Today I see more and more new-genre artisans emerging aptly able to fund their future craft training aand ready to invest in their future. As a boy of 15 my wages were low, $4.50 for 52-hour week. My tools cost me half my income for a year. My remaining money then went to my parents for housekeeping and they gave me half of that back. I was an emerging artisan funding my future.

This is Phil Adams. He works as a cook at one of my favourite cafes

So what if you are a doctor or an IT guy or gal. Bi-vocational people work two very different jobs all the time. Difference here is you get to work one you really like and you’re not doing it for money but because you love it, it’s therapy, challenging, vibrant and new and it’s what you feel called to do in many of your spare minutes in every day. Have you ever thought that you may be responding to your vocational calling even if you are an academic of some kind. Fifty-percent of my students are academics searching for therapy, wholesomeness, excitement. Twenty-five percent are usually women in search of the same. They want to master something of value worth working hard for. I am speaking from my working knowledge training 3500 of them. They are serious woodworkers or at least they are serious about learning their newfound craft. You can join them by devoting a few hours a week to developing your skills. It can be after the kids have gone to bed and it can be with them on a Saturday morning or Sunday afternoon. Over the past years I have made as much of my knowledge as a working artisan available for free and for pay. Either way I have always done so because I believe there are thousands upon thousands of people who want real woodworking skills. It doesn’t have to be nor should it be solely a machine process. In some cases it need never see a machine.

Dad and daughter – he oversees a thousand IT guys

Woodworking is affordable for everyone as I am constantly making people aware of through the things I do. We want to support you by answering your questions and giving the answers on the blog or through direct email if you prefer. If you belong to a guild or club you can form a chapter of the Real Woodworking Campaign, host workshops to train adults to teach others using the each-one-teach-one concept and then we will see woodworkers gain their aspirations to become real woodworkers. It is most likely that we will never see traditional apprenticeships like mine come back again, but we don’t have to lose the craft or the skill. You’ve got children and grandchildren, nephews and nieces you can help and guide in their formative years. Why not make a start now and get some wood in the vise. My book and DVDs will help you to get started if you feel lacking. If you don’t know how then please write me and perhaps we will do some online training on how to get going.

Father and son sharing a special day together. The son treated his father to a class and worked with him throughput the day.

I see more emerging artisans striving to establish skills even though they may never change their jobs. If you have skills then you can help them with sound advice I’m sure. If you don’t have the funds then write to me. In every class we offer we give one class away and only you and I know.

Do you remember that old Bob Dylan song?

“People get ready there’s a train a comin’, don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.”

One Comment

  1. Paul there is still such a wealth of info and insight on these past blogs, thank youfor keeping the ‘related’ feature in the new layout, like this entry from almost two years ago. I hope the grandkids are still involved.
    BrianJ

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