Why Artisans

Sarah finishing pentagon chopsticks with a cabinet scraper — Craft as an armature for idealism

In his recently published Craft | An American History — Glenn Adamson says:

“Craft has often been used as an armature for idealism. If the complex narrative of craft has one simple lesson, it is that we don’t live in a perfect world. An artisan knows this deeply: Every craft project is a reckoning in which time and costs, tools and materials, skill and invention are all in play. It is this balancing act that makes it a subjective human endeavor. Craft—like politics, like life—is a mater of give-and-take.”

50 years ‘using craft as an armature for idealism to keep my wits awake’ underlines my resolve to see Artisan Lab succeed. I encourage you to offer your support to keep this armature in motion

Artisan Lab exists — to mentor the elusive opportunity to explore 10 Finger Thinking. “To do a thing well for its own sake”, explore polymathic design & fabrication, increase our attention to detail, build our collaborative capacity & willingness to risk failure as we grow perseverance, courage and imagination. We are not Luddite’s nor is our goal to MAKE money per se.

Our focus is the design and artisan fabrication of ordinary beautiful objects for everyday use. What we think becomes what we do and what we persist in doing creates our life. We believe the individual power ‘to do’ is more important than the ‘product’ result—that there is no result without process. We practice the cause which creates the effect. Consumers worship buying products while Artisan’s celebrate ‘making’ functional beauty. We offer opportunities to explore ‘making a life with your hands’ as a tangible expression of your existing capacity and your potential to grow that capacity. Blending creative practice with practical application has the strength of momentum which builds courage to physically express your innate Artisanship. The collaboration of our mind and hand becomes our walk and talk, our rubber on the road. Artisan Lab mentors your opportunity to grow self-reliant capacity to adapt and persevere with the necessity of change.

“The keystone of our program focus is the design and artisan fabrication of usefully beautiful objects for everyday use. The point is to provide opportunities to practice making the ordinary objects of everyday life. These may be simple common things which we more typically purchase because they are expendable, inexpensive and frequently cheap. The choice to create personal value by making what we use—helps us build self respect by growing our capacity. Through our daily repeated and practiced actions we expand self reliant flexibility as we balance practical consumer choices with our artisanship hearts.”

“The successful artisan is the one who can use their skill to navigate the dynamic forces around them. In this sense, craft is not a stubborn holdout against the transformations of the 21st century. It is a template that suggests how we can keep our wits about us as the world surges unpredictably onward.” — Glenn Adamson

Artisanship programs are structured to empower, through direct experience, the growth of your purpose and values. We offer the opportunity to practice patient perseverance. This magic of ‘slow thinking’ engages the gears of our peripheral non-linear mind — gifting ourselves time to think and then act with fresh creative clarity.

  1. 10 Finger Thinking
  2. Process Design
  3. Pilot Project | Incubator Structure
  4. Earth | Air | Fire | Water
  5. Ceramics | Metal | Wood | Composites
  6. Multi Disciplinary Practice
  7. Polymathic Attitudes
  8. Autodidact Collaboration
  9. Everyday Function Exploration
  10. Communication | Market Worthy Result
  11. Collaborative Teams
  12. Participant Designed Pilot Projects.