13 Comments
User's avatar
Robert Jones's avatar

“They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price.”

Khalil Gibran

Expand full comment
Hugh Downing's avatar

Beautiful

Expand full comment
Paul Oppliger's avatar

Thank you. Truly.

Expand full comment
Gavin's avatar

Hi Peter, Just wondering how the cold effects green wood. Does some of your fresher material freeze when your shop is so cold? Thanks

Expand full comment
Peter Follansbee's avatar

Gavin - the green wood does freeze- the stuff outside splits easier when frozen. Working it in the shop isn't a big deal - and I shave or plane it twice, once when it's just been split then again a month or two later when I'm ready to use it. So that first planing/shaving isn't the finished surface. Doesn't make any difference. The stove usually gets the shop to around 60° - so when I'm in there all day things aren't so bad. It's rare when it's so cold that I don't bother.

Expand full comment
Bernie McCarthy's avatar

Thanks Peter.

Expand full comment
Brian Barney's avatar

Very beautiful.

Expand full comment
Duane's avatar

I like your approach to the question(s) posed. Human nature likes categories even when it’s a continuum but I fear such thinking makes it harder for people young and old to become woodworkers. It’s like looking at a cyclist with an expensive bike and expensive gear and saying to yourself “I couldn’t do that - or even afford it,” when all you really need is a simple bicycle to get started.

Expand full comment
Duncan Davidson's avatar

Thank you Peter. I think people sometimes use the word 'real' when they want to express a value that they are not sure about themselves. "Craft" too. For me, this lovely post opens up some interesting discussion by following these words as they tumble down to meaninglessness. I like the way you end with sparrows, John Goodwin and the sunset. I could say a clear night sky too, after a late night in the shop!

Expand full comment
Luke Shearer's avatar

Peter, thank you for these thoughts. I feel that I know what's being gestured at by this discussion of "real craft", but I like your approach, seeking a life of beauty in keeping with that of the natural world. I wonder why this goes with the title "There are no truths". To me, it's not so much that there aren't truths, but that the intrinsic beauty of the cosmos dwarfs the arbitrary categories of humans, and it's best to stick closer to that deeper truth.

Expand full comment
Morgan Grove's avatar

Beautiful. Thank you. I think I might add that I try to harmonize with myself ...

Expand full comment
Keith N.'s avatar

"I try to harmonize…" A compelling vision. Seems like a truth.

Expand full comment
Raymond Cornelius's avatar

Thanks Peter. I nice reflection.

Expand full comment