Thursday, February 27, 2014

wood and sweat, hammer and saw, and solitary dreaming

Whether made into a wooden pillow or table, wood with excellent grain is a guarantee of splendid poems, and the composition of perfect documents.
~Liu Sheng


Saint Joseph in his Studio
by The Master of FlĂ©malle, Robert Campin (c. 1375–1444)

Bronze Statue of Violin-Maker Mathias Klotz, 1888

Wood carvings in a Buddhist temple, Thailand
photo by Uwe Schwarzbach

Craftsman When Turning
by Gustave Jeanneret (1847–1927)

Maori Wood Art in Tree
photo by Gerald O'Sullivan

Saint Joseph, Patron Saint of Carpenters, with the child Jesus, 1640s
by Georges de la Tour

View of a Frame-Maker's Workshop
by Anonymous

Early Spring, 1917
by Albin Egger-Lienz

The Hannah Cabinet
by Geoff Hannah
This was made over six years using 34 different timbers, 4 species of shell, and 17 varieties of precious stone. It has 18 doors and 140 drawers.
photo by spelio

Country Craftsmen, scene from Virgil
by Wenceslaus Hollar (1607–1677)

The title of this post comes from Yusef Komunyakaa's section of Honor Thy Hands: Carpentry and Poetry.

1 comment:

Pop said...


I work with wood myself on occasion, so I was particularly interested in the portrayals of woodworking.

I thought that the painting of Saint Joseph in his studio was really interesting.

The Hannah Cabinet was, well, magnificent. Trying to think of how I would keep up with what's in all those drawers!