I spent almost thirty years hand building jewellery. Often the wealthiest people in Halifax would ask me to copy mass produced designs from Tiffany and others, and expect to pay less. People who have never made anything with their own hands somehow do not understand the value of craftsmanship. What’s that saying? They know the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
I lost that way of thinking when, at the age of 31, I became a carpenters helper in building my first home outside Bedford, Nova Scotia. My father-inlaw was the guide and expert through the whole experince from cutting the trees on the land down, to putting up the forms for the foundation, to
putting the last shingle on the roof we did the whole house by hand. It was the old way. We took Sundays off. Every Monday he would take our saws in to the shop to sharpen them.
It took us 10 months of 3-4 hours a night , full Saturdays to build the house. Of all I have done in my 78 years of life... the profession I worked at , the music awards from my time in the business, even the songs I have composed, this house is the project I am most proud of. I have never felt that staisfaction. (Well maybe the birth and life of my children but that's another story). Jim Henman
I stood in front of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia recently. I could make a convincing case for this as the single most important heritage building in Halifax. Designed by renowned architect David Stirling and built in 1868 it was and is the epitome of pre confederation grandeur in the city. It was built by George Lang who executed the intricate carved N.S. sandstone facade. Much like your dining room, this exquisite craftsmanship could not be created today by artisans as there simply are none. People who do this kind of work are considered “mere labourers”. In the 1860s these artisans were respected and sought after. Their work was highly valued as were they. Somewhere in the 1900s, we started to de-value the work of skilled artisans like carpenters and masons. Their legacy is still visible in their work but even that is disappearing. The AGNS has a deal with a developer who will take over their old building as soon as they get a deal to build the new gallery. It is likely that the building will at worst be leveled or at best a remnant of facade will remain on a new character-free McBuilding which will be erected to make a fast buck and last at best 50 years.
My Dad taught construction estimating at BCIT for awhile. I've always thought that what many contractors lack is not sense or ability, it's business acumen. If we want them to be more productive and efficient they should either be supported with bookkeepers, accountants and office management or taught those skills early and thoroughly. We concentrate on the physical aspect, as you say, but most of carpentry is basic math (angles, measurements, fractions, etc.) which is also useful for most kinds of bookkeeping tasks. Also, we need to make forms and regulations as streamlined as possible.
Also, if you go back to Ancient Greece the gymnasia of the time taught gymnastics along with philosophy in an effort to combine the mental and physical, as bringing those together in harmony was considered a way to access Truth and achieve a sort of perfection of form and function, including in the social sphere as well as the physical and mental.
I spent almost thirty years hand building jewellery. Often the wealthiest people in Halifax would ask me to copy mass produced designs from Tiffany and others, and expect to pay less. People who have never made anything with their own hands somehow do not understand the value of craftsmanship. What’s that saying? They know the price of everything, and the value of nothing.
I lost that way of thinking when, at the age of 31, I became a carpenters helper in building my first home outside Bedford, Nova Scotia. My father-inlaw was the guide and expert through the whole experince from cutting the trees on the land down, to putting up the forms for the foundation, to
putting the last shingle on the roof we did the whole house by hand. It was the old way. We took Sundays off. Every Monday he would take our saws in to the shop to sharpen them.
It took us 10 months of 3-4 hours a night , full Saturdays to build the house. Of all I have done in my 78 years of life... the profession I worked at , the music awards from my time in the business, even the songs I have composed, this house is the project I am most proud of. I have never felt that staisfaction. (Well maybe the birth and life of my children but that's another story). Jim Henman
What a great truth that is.
I stood in front of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia recently. I could make a convincing case for this as the single most important heritage building in Halifax. Designed by renowned architect David Stirling and built in 1868 it was and is the epitome of pre confederation grandeur in the city. It was built by George Lang who executed the intricate carved N.S. sandstone facade. Much like your dining room, this exquisite craftsmanship could not be created today by artisans as there simply are none. People who do this kind of work are considered “mere labourers”. In the 1860s these artisans were respected and sought after. Their work was highly valued as were they. Somewhere in the 1900s, we started to de-value the work of skilled artisans like carpenters and masons. Their legacy is still visible in their work but even that is disappearing. The AGNS has a deal with a developer who will take over their old building as soon as they get a deal to build the new gallery. It is likely that the building will at worst be leveled or at best a remnant of facade will remain on a new character-free McBuilding which will be erected to make a fast buck and last at best 50 years.
All of that art gallery business is shameful. If the art gallery can't be a steward for what is beautiful, what hope do we have?
My Dad taught construction estimating at BCIT for awhile. I've always thought that what many contractors lack is not sense or ability, it's business acumen. If we want them to be more productive and efficient they should either be supported with bookkeepers, accountants and office management or taught those skills early and thoroughly. We concentrate on the physical aspect, as you say, but most of carpentry is basic math (angles, measurements, fractions, etc.) which is also useful for most kinds of bookkeeping tasks. Also, we need to make forms and regulations as streamlined as possible.
Also, if you go back to Ancient Greece the gymnasia of the time taught gymnastics along with philosophy in an effort to combine the mental and physical, as bringing those together in harmony was considered a way to access Truth and achieve a sort of perfection of form and function, including in the social sphere as well as the physical and mental.