Ides of March

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal featured the plight of bookbinders in the Bay Area.  Like a lot of the trades, the digital revolution has changed them significantly.  Printed books, after all, are becoming largely obsolete.  So the need for bookbinders is shrinking.  However they are still needed for small, custom jobs and repair of older, bound material like family Bibles.

An interesting exception is the invention of the Dodo case for iPads.

This invention has actually increased the work load at one local bookbinder's business.It's a great example of how our "can-do" spirit sees a need and comes up with an imaginative solution for that need.  

We need to have classes in invention at high schools and colleges.  There's a tremendous amount of problem-solving talent out there.  We simply need to give it the tools and encouragement it needs to see it blossom.  Click on this link to see a video on how Dodo cases are made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1N42OnhQIQ 

A bench for our house

As a fan of George Nakashima, I've always wanted to make something using a slab of wood.  The opportunity to do this was presented to me by my wife's asking for a small bench for our front entry.

A trip to Urban Lumber in Martinez, California provided the slab.  It's California Walnut -- a neat wood that has a more interesting figure than regular Walnut coupled with a reddish brown color.  As a hard wood it works better than a softer wood and finishes well.

At first I wanted to mortise the legs so that a stretcher could pass through them and receive a mortise in each end for a "tusk" or wedge-shaped piece that puts tension on the stretcher.  But faced with other projects on my plate, I decided to simply attach the stretcher to the legs with 3-1/2" stainless steel screws and cover the screw heads with a contrasting wood plugs.  Under the seat I made four blocks -- one on each side of each leg -- screwed the blocks to the seat, and passed two carriage bolts through the blocks.  This, along with the stretcher, provides the needed engineering support for the piece.

I finished it with a Dutch polyurethane product that had me put two coats of Brilliant  -- with sanding with 220 grit between each coat -- and a finish coat of Satin -- with a final scrub with 0000 steel wool.  The result lets the figure and color show through but also protects the seat from wear.

The Pursuit of Happiness, Part 2

In a previous blog I wrote about the ideas behind the American dream of the right to the pursuit of happiness.  Here is an op ed piece from The Christian Science Monitor that speaks to our concepts of "rights."  It's appropriate because -- from a craft point of view -- no one can "give" you the ability to do well.  You have to earn it.  And this earning is part and parcel of the American dream.

By Mark W. Hendrickson / January 18, 2011 / published in the Christain Science Monitor

Americans have always been passionate about their rights. Whether conservative or liberal, we vigorously assert and defend them when we debate national policies like health-care reform or extending unemployment benefits.

Unfortunately, the concept of "rights" is often poorly understood across the ideological spectrum. Some conflate rights with responsibilities. Others label any benefit they think people should have – from food stamps to mortgage relief – as a right. Both are dangerous tendencies, because they reverse the American understanding of the relationship between citizens and government. A muddied understanding of "rights" undermines the basis of our freedom.

In the Founders' vision, government's sole legitimate purpose is to protect our rights. The Declaration of Independence specifies two essential points we need to understand about our rights: (1) They are God-given; and (2) they are unalienable.
Divine authority is a stumbling block for some Americans, but the second point should be clear to all.

That our basic rights are unalienable means, simply and unequivocally: No person or group of persons, including government, is justified (or authorized: see the Fifth Amendment) in trespassing upon anyone's rights – that is, in taking life, liberty, or property from another – except via due process of law as a penalty for having harmed or violated someone else's life, liberty, or property. One person's rights end where another's begin. Nobody's rights trump anyone else's.

Under the influence of progressive and socialist ideas, the American right to not have somebody take his or her property has been corrupted and inverted. Now, people often claim a "right" to have certain things provided by others. One of the most famous examples of this inverted concept was President Franklin Roosevelt's "Economic Bill of Rights." In 1944, FDR asserted that Americans had a "right to a useful and remunerative job," "a decent home," "adequate medical care," and so on. Nobody objects to decent jobs, homes, health care, and education, but these good things can't be "rights." If one person has a legal right to have a home, then other people must be compelled to provide that home. That would violate those citizens' rights to their own liberty and property. "Rights" in FDR's sense negates "rights" in the Founders' sense.
Citizens have at least three primary responsibilities in our constitutional, rights-based order: First, not to trespass on the rights of others; second, to provide for self and dependents; third, to provide some useful good or service to others in order to earn a living..

But don't we have a responsibility to help those who are in need? Yes, we ought to extend charity to our neighbors. This, however, is a moral responsibility, not a legal one. We are accountable to God, not to government, for our good works.

It makes no sense to say that those who work hard, are productive, and have savings, have a responsibility to provide for those who shirk that same responsibility. The American ideal is that we all have equal rights and responsibilities. Progressives and other social engineers, by contrast, believe that government should decide whose "rights" and "responsibilities" receive privileged treatment.

When politicians debate a new law, they consider purpose, price, and popularity. They must also consider consistency with the Bill of Rights. Future generations are counting on us to get our rights right.
Mark W. Hendrickson is an adjunct faculty member, economist, and fellow for economic and social policy with The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College, which published a version of this piece.

The Japanese Print

Last Sunday, we went to the Legion of Honor to see an exhibit of Japanese prints and how they influenced the Impressionists.

One of the best parts of the exhibit was a video showing the printmaking process:  from making the paper, planing the Cherry block, transfering the image to the block, cutting away the excess wood to reveal the image, making the ink, making the Baren (a circular rubbing pad used to press the paper down on the block), and adding the different colors that make up the print.

For me the idea of making your own tools which, in turn, are used in the production of a work of art is a real pleasure.  It comes back to the original state of craftsmanship ... something at which the Japanese excel.  When I was carving wood, I ran across a fellow sculptor who made a special chisel for his work.  In itself it was a work af art. 

Another interesting aspect of Japanese printmaking was the business model it embraced:  producer, artist, carver, printer, and distributor.  My wife remarked that it was analogous to today's movie industry where you have a producer, script writer, director, actors, film crew, editor, and distributor.  

Here are a couple of favorites:  Hiroshige's Thunderstorm at Ohoshi from the series "One hundred Views of Edo;  and a print from Henri Riviere's series, The Thirty-Six Views of the Eiffel Tower.

Moving Day

Everyone has moved.  We are no exception.  This time, however, it was literally across the street.  We left our compact, one-bedroom apartment and segued to a contemporary. two-story, single-family house. 

So much space ... as the intro to Star Trek used to say, "Space ... the final frontier ...".

We're still unpacking boxes and probably will be doing this for a few weeks.  The cats are having a ball, running around and high-fiving each other because of all the exploring and viewing spaces.

I just read this morning that the mining industry is having trouble finding workers.  Another perfect example of how we've been taught that blue-collar work is beneath us.  I wonder how many college grads would jump at the chance to make some big bucks doing manual labor?

This is a trash receptacle in Paris.  Notice how it's so practical and simple.  A stand, to which is affixed a disposable plastic bag.  No heavy, bulky unsightly container.  Just pure, intelligent design.