1913 Edition of The Seven Lamps Of Architecture

Inside my 1913 Edition

For a student of craft work like me seeing a 1913 Edition of The Seven Lamps Of Architecture in an antique book shop was like finding gold! It was $9.50 for me to buy and it probably wasn’t even worth that much but I’d have gladly paid double. Funny how we place value on certain things that others wouldn’t take for free. All of you Kindle and Nook users are nodding at the screen right now however I'm nostalgic about a lot of old stuff including books! I already have a more recent printing but it's a soft cover and lacks the character of an almost 100 year old hard back.

So why is this book in particular of value to me? If you go to Wikipedia and look up John Ruskin this is what you will find:

John Ruskin (8 February 1819 – 20 January 1900) was an English art critic and social thinker, also remembered as a poet and artist. His essays on art and architecture were extremely influential in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

You will also find a slew of other information but not a whole lot about what is important to me about John Ruskin.

Ruskin was an early champion for the artisan to rebel against the machines of industry. After modernism and the industrial revolution cast out craft work he called for artisans to reclaim societies respect!

In the mid 1850’s Ruskin along with others created a Working Men’s College where he gave lectures to craft workers on a variety of topics. The purpose was to create a positive environment for people who worked with their hands AND their minds. In 1849 Ruskin released The Seven Lamps of Architecture which offered seven guides for anyone who works directly on material items. These are the seven (with descriptions borrowed from Richard Sennett’s book “The Craftsman”) :

“The Lamp of Sacrifice,” the willingness to do something well for it’s own sake, dedication;

“The Lamp of Truth,” the truth that “breaks and rents continually” embrace of difficulty, resistance, and ambiguity;

“The Lamp of Power,” tempered power, guided by standards other than blind will;

“The Lamp of Beauty,” which for Ruskin is found more in the detail, the ornament-hand sized beauty-than the large design;

“The Lamp of Life,” life equating to struggle and energy, death with deadly perfection;

“The Lamp of Memory,” the guidance provided by the time before machinery ruled; and

“The Lamp of Obedience,” which consists of obedience to the example set by a master’s practice rather than his particular works; otherwise put, strive to be like Stradivari but do not seek to copy his particular violins.

This book really sealed Ruskin’s fame but a later book he wrote “The Stones of Venice” is more widely regarded. I wonder if I can find a cool old edition of that one too. I’ll leave you with an excerpt from “The Stones of Venice”.

"You can teach a man to draw a straight line; to strike a curved line, and to carve it . . . with admirable speed and precision; and you will find his work perfect of it's kind; but if you ask him to think about any of these forms, to consider if he cannot find any better in his own head, he stops; his execution becomes hesitating; he thinks, and ten to one he thinks wrong; ten to one he makes a mistake in the first touch he gives to his work as a thinking being. But you have made a man of him for all that, he was only a machine before, an animated tool."

Contest Winner: Autumn Andrews

Modern Living for the 21st Century Bird

It's a Birdhouse! More specifically it's a Bird Condo. Congratulations to Autumn Andrews with her guess of Bird Feeder. Not exact but close enough to win the prize. Autumn can choose to receive her very own Bird Condo for FREE or a piece from the upcoming Anne Boleyn collection also for FREE! I love free don't you?

Congrats again Autumn for the win. For all my friends out there you might check out Autumn's Facebook page called Autumn Angel Art . She's quite the artist.

If you get a chance visit Ferrochie to see the Bird Condo and a teaser of the Anne Boleyn Collection. Hope to see you locals April 30th at the Spring Bash!

Creation is full throttle! How about a contest?

Drilling Template

Spring Bash is only a few weeks away and the creative juices are flowing. In the next few days we will have some cool stuff to show but in the meantime it's drilling templates, doweling jigs, sawdust and lacquer fumes.

Here is something fun. If you are the first to guess correctly what this is going to be I'll give you one for free! With only these two pictures as a guide it will be like counting beans in a jar but whoever gets the closest will get a consolation prize. What do you think? Post your guess here or on Facebook. You'll have only a few days until we post images of the new item then it's over!

Pre Assembly. What is it?

Extra Hint - Glass

Arts and Crafts Revolution?

Queen Victoria Opens The Great Exhibition

When people speak of the Arts & Crafts Movement of the 19th century they generally think of the art form we associate with it. However, there was a cause as there are in all movements of it's kind that still resonates to this day. It was a call to arms against the onslaught of industry and the destruction of craft work. A call to arms that may need to be trumpeted again. Here is a short version of the circumstances surrounding the movement.

On May 1, 1851 Britain opened "The Great Exhibition of All Nations" which was intended by Albert and Victoria to be a celebration of Britains industrial strength as well as foster an appreciation for free trade and industrialism. The problem was that many in Britain did not see this industrialism and free trade as a blessing but more a curse. Industry was making some people wealthy and others poor thus dividing the nation into a deplorable class imbalance. If I may borrow the words "A nation of masters and wage-slaves was emerging." A nation devoid of social responsibility of any kind. This issue and debate I might add is complicated. Too complicated for me to cover in this blog plus there is plenty of information out there on the subject.

As quickly as industrialization was destroying values and deepening the class divide it was equally crushing the craftsman under it's weight. The economic part is easy to digest since we see this still today too. The artisan soon found himself put out of business in the name of price, volume and convenience. More damaging still is the social change that took place. Industrial goods were being glamorized and idolized so much at the time that people no longer valued craft work in the way they had. Again, it's much more complicated than what I am laying out here but you understand where I am going.

William Morris at Oxford Aged 23

Then comes The Arts & Crafts Movement. It's founding members were nostalgic about the works created by ancient artists and craftsman. They were hungry to bring back products that exemplified hard work, passion, originality and craftsmanship as opposed to the uniformity of mass production. They desired to rescue the lost arts and techniques of craft work before they disappeared from our world forever. The movement blossomed from about 1880 through 1910 but lasted quite a bit longer in some places around the world.

It's interesting that these ideals the followers of the Arts & Crafts movement lived by are so similar to the ideals many artists of today have founded their businesses on. I myself founded Ferrochie on the principles and values of hand crafted work but at the time never made the connection. Many artists I have spoken to didn't realize how closely aligned we are with the sentiment of that time. I wonder if there is something we can learn from this past movement that may give rise to a new modern movement based on today's realities.
One thing is for certain in my mind and it's that industrialization is here to stay. It's a major part of our world economy and is as necessary as drinking water in keeping it running. I've never been against industrialization as those of the movement were either. I feel that we just lost touch with the fact that machines are tools for humans to use to help us create. They are not tools to help us become lazy, disconnected from our work and ultimately lose valuable skills. The moment we allow a machine to dictate the design of something or force us to change our design because it's easier, we lose. However, the social disasters that they feared do still haunt us today. Look at the ridiculous wage gaps between the average worker and the executives of any given organization. Lowering worker benefits while increasing executive bonuses is another. These as well as a host of other inequalities in the workplace exist in excess. It's now such common place that our system has adjusted to work with this issue rather than to correct it. Education is geared to preparing young people for this reality as though it's the only option. You need only look as far as the vast number of fast food MBA's available to see it. These days very few schools offer education in crafts, trades or the like. Why? No market for it.

Can we get back to a place and time when hand craft is more main stream and respected again? Some of us think we can or at least I do. I'd settle for a time an place where hard work, dedication and passion are respected and rewarded in any career choice. A place where we can reconnect with the humanity in produced goods rather than the profit in it.

Central Texas Style

Back Yard View

This week I am on a strategy retreat in Wimberley Texas just outside of Austin. I have never been here before and the views are spectacular. Look at this back yard view! It's amazing. Just this morning there was a small pack of wild boar grazing in the front yard. Not a good idea to try to pet one though as they will charge. :)

Door Table

Anyway, I wanted to share a few pieces with you that are in and around the property that I thought were interesting. First is this coffee table made from an old door. It has tons of character with it's cracks and nail holes and old hinges. It accents the space perfectly and compliments the overall Texas style of this property.

Vintage Branding Irons

What about these vintage branding irons. They are authentic and have the wear and tear to prove it. It's fun to pick up a piece like this and feel the texture, see the age and experience the history. I thought for a second I might take this out to the camp fire and give it a test run but I don't think I want to wrestle down a tick infested boar to try it. It's a battle I probably wouldn't win anyway.

Saddle Art

I like this next piece a lot. It's essentially saddle art I suppose. I admit I'm no cowboy so I don't know the name of this part which is the handle. The leather is long gone and replaced by two hook for coat hanging. I just like found and re-purposed objects.

I have a lot more images from this home but I'll leave you with this. The property was able to keep and utilize some natural rock formations as part of the back yard patio area. As it turns out the formations were perfectly positioned to be functional without being disturbed.

Natural Stone Path

If you look closely at the bottom of the image you can see where the natural stone leaves of and the more yellow new flagstone was laid down. I thought that added a very interesting story to the property.

Natural Formation Left/New Flag Stone Right

I'll be here a few more days and I'll be on the lookout for some other cool design elements.