Thursday, August 26, 2010

Old School

Hand Auger 12 x 24
I do not paint everyday, nor do I look too my survival to do so. I actually punish my hands daily in the construction world, come home dirty and perhaps a little bloody from an errant old rusty nail. I'm calloused all over, have deep brown arms and legs as white as the driven snow.
I love to work with my hands and have that sense of accomplishment of making something concretely tangible at the end of the day. Just being out in the elements with some tools and wood, you know, building stuff.
When I look at many of the antique tools I have from my grandfather and other sources, I gain a whole new respect for how things used to be done. And things were done Old School, by hand, with tools crafted for the purpose. These tools are a work of art themselves. After recently re-fabricating a heritage fence and having to do mortise and tenon joints through a 4x4 post by hand, I could only imagine how half the stuff we view as beautiful today was made by the master craftsmen of yesterday.
I want to celebrate that, so look for more works along these lines in the near future. Just my way of giving back to the school I feel I belong too, the Old School.