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    Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman
    Unavailable
    Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman
    Unavailable
    Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman
    Ebook218 pages2 hours

    Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman

    By Peter Korn

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    A must-read for the craftsperson, artisan and artist. “In his beautiful book, Peter Korn invites us to understand craftsmanship as an activity that connects us to others, and affirms what is best in ourselves.”—Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft

    Woodworking, handicrafts —the rewards of creative practice, bringing something new and meaningful into the world through one’s own vision, make us fully alive. Peter Korn explains his search for meaning as an Ivy-educated child of the middle class who finds employment as a novice carpenter on Nantucket, transitions to self-employment as a designer/maker of fine furniture, takes a turn at teaching at Colorado’s Anderson Ranch Arts Center, and finally founds a school in Maine: the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, an internationally respected, non-profit institution.

    How does the making of objects shape our identities? How does creative work enrich our communities and society? What does the process of making things reveal to us about ourselves? Korn poignantly probes for answers in this book that is for the artist, artisan, crafter, do-it-yourselfer inside us all.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDavid R. Godine, Publisher
    Release dateMar 31, 2015
    ISBN9781567925142
    Unavailable
    Why We Make Things and Why It Matters: The Education of a Craftsman

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    Reviews for Why We Make Things and Why It Matters

    3.5/5

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    • 4/5
      Nowadays people spend inordinate amounts of time in front of computers supposedly creating things and whilst some of these things can be satisfying, quite a lot of the time it isn’t. Peter Korn has had a lifetime of creating objects, when he began as a carpenter against his father's wishes. After a few years doing that, he suddenly had a desire to make a create furniture, to move from making things to creating things. These changes in career meant relocating to different parts of the States, taking each new venture in his stride and discovering his voice when it came to producing exquisite items of furniture. One thing that wasn’t in the plan though was the discovery of cancer.

      He is a fighter, though, and thankfully he survives. But this is more than a memoir of his life, profession and a critique of his creations. He sets about answering the questions that he poses in the title of the book, describing what he and the people that he has taught through the school that he has set up, gain from the process of creating functional and beautiful things, and learning from the experience of others. It is quite a philosophical book, with a nod towards Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, but much more eloquently written as he explores just how the creative process can bring fulfilment.