Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction
Purchase
Description
by Gary Rogowski
“Gary Rogowski leads us gently but surely upon the path to a type of success we may not have previously considered. (Hint: it involves blisters.)” —Nick Offerman, author of Paddle Your Own Canoe
A new classic in the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and Shop Class as Soulcraft, Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction will help creative people in any field reconnect to the source of their creativity and revitalize their creative energy. In Handmade, master craftsman Gary Rogowski confronts the greatest obstacles to creative focus in the modern age: distraction; pointless busyness; fear of failure; and the devil of self-doubt that tells you your work doesn’t matter.
Handmade shows that the path around these obstacles is the act of creative work itself. The discipline of working with one’s hands, mind and heart to create unnecessarily beautiful things shapes the builder into a more complete human being. Handmade tells the story of how the young Rogowski, an intellectual college graduate with no formal training in woodworking, became a craftsman through years of persistent labor, which taught him patience, resilience, tolerance for failure, and a love of pursuing beauty and mastery for their own sakes.
Rogowski punctuates the story of his growth as a craftsman with accounts of his hiking and mountaineering expeditions with his friend Wheaton, who taught him a different kind of perseverance and patience in the face of danger, discomfort, and the wild beauty of nature. In telling his stories, Rogowski reflects deeply on the lessons he has learned and presents a series of profound meditations on the eternal value of work, creativity, human fallibility, and the stubborn pursuit of quality.
Part autobiography, part guide to creativity, and part guide to living an authentic life, Handmade is a book for craftspeople, artists and anyone who seeks clarity, purpose and creativity in their work. Audience: Artists, craftspeople, woodworkers, creative professionals, and anyone developing their creativity.
About the Author: Gary Rogowski is a furniture maker, designer, teacher and author. He is also a playwright, essayist, and novelist. His previous books include the best-selling Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery. Rogowski is the founder and director of The Northwest Woodworking Studio, A School for Woodworkers.
$18.95 US • Trade Paperback • 6" x 9" • 180 pages
ISBN 978-1-61035-314-4
Self-Help / Creativity • Crafts & Hobbies • BISAC SEL009000 CRA000000
Products You May Like
-
THE ALL NEW WOODWORKING FOR KIDS
$14.95
$8.97
The All-New Woodworking for Kids takes an already popular book and gives it more: more projects children will love and more information in an expanded introductory section on tools, materials, techniques, and safety. Plus, this invaluable guideone of the rare woodworking volumes created especially for kidshas been completely redesigned with thoroughly contemporary photographs. Of the nearly 40 projects included, 15 are brand-new and 25 have been redesigned. So now its even easier and more fun for kids to handmake a bench for their own workshop, create a DVD storage cube that spins, build a doggie diner, or craft adjustable stilts, a box with a secret drawer, and many other long-lasting items.
-
ELEMENTS OF WOODCARVING
$17.95
A book of instruction and inspiration that explores design, material, and technique. The foundation stones of woodcarving. Pye offers ten projects that take you through the entire carving process. Carve in relief, in the round, in the realistic style and in the abstract. Discusses drawing, modeling, holding the work, finding ideas, and much more.
-
101 ARTISTIC RELIEF PATTERNS
$19.95
$11.97
Packed with patterns for small-scale projects ideal for beginning and intermediate crafters, this companion features original relief projects that stand alone beautifully or that can be easily incorporated into functional and decorative items in the home. The entire carving process is demonstrated, employing a country apple quilt square project as the example, alongside detailed information on necessary tools, a review of the best woods to use, and instructions on how to achieve the appropriate levels of depth. Patterns include wildlife, botanical, mythical, and landscape subjects, and each project includes two detailed patterns: a line and a shaded variety. Fifty additional patterns for gorgeous corner designs that can be incorporated into a variety of crafts projectsfrom carving and wood burning to painting and quiltingare also included.
-
WOODTURNING PROJECTS: A WORKSHOP GUIDE TO SHAPES
$19.95
$11.97
"A workshop guide to shapes". This is for the turner looking to advance their skills. There are over 50 projects that will challenge you. Objects such as cylindrical, diabolo and clamshell boxes, round-bottom, flared and winged bowls, minimalist platters. Each project comes with diagrams, wood and tool requirements, and even suggestions for alternative designs.
-
THE COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED G/T FINISHING
$39.95
$23.97
This is part of Taunton's "Complete Illustrated Guide" series. Jewitt provides in-depth coverage of tools and materials and covers all of the key processes from surface preparation to color matching. There are sections that cover advanced techniques such as adjusting color, disguising defects, toning, glazing, spray finishing and rubbing out. This is a complete look at finishing, from storing finishing materials to using various types of end coats. Regular $39.95 Special $31.95