Welcome to Handsome!
Welcome to the Handsome Craftworks blog. I am in the very early stages of establishing a small, part-time one-person art and design practice that will feature hand crafted lamps, artwork, and furniture. I plan on using this blog as a way to catalog different stages of the making process, and to share things that I find inspiring/useful/interesting.
The following is more detailed information about me, the shop, and this blog in case you want to know more. Thanks for stopping by!
MOTIVATION FOR THIS BLOG
I am always fascinated and inspired when I run across blogs or websites that feature behind-the-scenes images and notes on a creator’s conceptual and physical making process (or when they share their trouble-shooting experience with particular tools, materials, or methods), and I am a huge fan of sharing information and knowledge in general. I believe that we benefit collectively from sharing ideas and knowledge, even if only as sources of inspiration.
Architects, musicians, and writers borrow from each other all the time, and so do artists in general - although many do not like to admit it! Woodworkers definitely often share ideas and experiences online. A specific recent example for me of benefiting from shared online knowledge: I bought a used power miter saw and discovered that some internal parts were damaged and needed to be replaced. I quickly found someone’s blog who had gone through the same problem, and who had posted detailed notes and images on how to fix it. It worked, and the saw works like new. This (free!) information saved me a lot of time and money. Part of the inspiration for this blog is to participate in this process of sharing information and ideas on both creative and technical issues.
MOTIVATION FOR THE WORK
As I’ve gotten older, I have come to appreciate “slow movements”, DIY, and up/recycle culture more and more. I realize that these movements are not new and have been developing for many years, but they are still nonetheless important influences on me and my art practice, and nothing to do with being trendy. Don’t get me wrong - I love technology and gadgets. But I have a strong desire to work with my hands and create in ways that are thoughtful, deliberate, and meaningful - qualities that resist the ongoing societal tendencies toward over-consumption, waste, and information saturation. Something critical is lost when objects made by unseen faces in unseen places are cranked out under inhumane working conditions, compensation, and schedules, only to be consumed by unseen others in far away places and discarded into a landfill after their short useful lifespan has expired.
BACKGROUND
I have both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in art, with an emphasis and interest in interdisciplinary practice. My history working as a drafter shows up in a lot of my work, and that aesthetic is a nice compliment to my love of maps, diagrams, and data/information visualization. My wife Julia is immensely supportive of these projects, and she is also my muse when it comes to talking through ideas and getting her feedback. I am deeply indebted to her.
THANKS
I look forward to comments, questions, and feedback on future blog posts and on the products themselves as they become finalized. Stay tuned as things develop, and thanks again for stopping by.
Cheers,
Matt
