Here is what woodturner George Seradakis posted in response to my April 25 blog on the League of NH Craftsmen's conference CRAFT IN THE DIGITAL AGE:
Hi Luann,
After reading your excellent summary of Saturday's seminar, I have concluded that, for me at least, this distills down to: "my involvement with the tool in creating the art" It does not matter whether the tool is a gouge on a lathe or a piece of software on my laptop.
Involvement if bi-directional which is voiced over and over again in Saturday's messages. I am constantly astounded that just when I think I have learned how to use a tool to create an effect I want, I discover (or it teaches me) yet another facet of it's abilities. The fact that I/we have reached the point where the tool teaches me/we is a fundamental aspect of our being artists/craftsmen/designers or whatever we want to call ourselves. Perhaps I am biased because I spent 29 years in the computer industry, and software does not hold fears for me (not to say it sometimes a royal pain in the butt because of design etc etc), but hi-tech tools are rather just another tool in my collection. Most people buy the artist not just the work.
The story behind the artist and their involvement with their tools is part of the sale. George
I agree with George. In the end, it's what in our (the craftsperson's) head and heart, and how we choose to bring that into the world. Some of us will do it the hard way--long, long and hard way. Some of us will use whatever shortcuts we can. Others will pick and choose the benefits of new technology, which may change the final product but may also improve it. Or improve us. Because, as Jay Coogan of RISD commented, the craft shapes the maker just as much as we shape it.
As always, it's not about the end but the means. How we got there, how we choose to get there and why. The why, of course, is the story, and that story is what will ultimately determine the success of our product in the marketplace. Price will drive some purchasing decisions, of course. But when the money hits the cash register, it will all come down to whether people will buy our story or not.
