Craftmanship

When I was looking at the wheels I sent back to Woody it really struck me the craftsmanship that went into the making of those wheels.There's a point where pure engineering crosses into art. When the end result is prettier than simply the engineering that went into it. Likewise, there's a point where the engineering transcends the art.When the two -- seemingly contradictory -- meet you wind up with a transcendent bit of craftsmanship.

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In the old days the way things worked is by apprenticeships. You learned from a master and slowly you became a master yourself. Even if you look at how names started -- "Baker," "Smith," "Cooper," and so forth. You learned what your family was doing and you wound up doing that yourself. That's very similar how the castes in India started as well -- not so much as to keep people down, but to keep out competition.

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If I wanted to be a wheelsmith, how would I lean how to do that? How did Woody learn?

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Now we're living in a world of mass production. Commodities. Disposable.You don't as much get love in something built by a machine. It might be great... but is it crafted?

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The maker movement of late seems to be the logical backlash against this. People are starting to make things again. From simple things like knitting all the way to complex electronics and artisan charcuterie.Perhaps we're about to enter another golden age?