Hand Eye Coordination

The first question 99 out of 100 people ask me when I show them something I have made is invariably , "How long did that take you?"  And, they almost seem to me to imply that I am crazy for putting time into an artistic endeavor.  Do you really suppose that when Michelangelo completed a sculpture that this was the first question on everyone's lips?  I don't think so and by the way I am not comparing my work to his.

But that question does give me pause and I have actually come to hate it.  This innocent question rankles me because a creative and artistic piece of work SHOULD take time.  It probably should take a lot of time!  It's just that in this day and age, with all of our technological  wonders that can mass produce items very fast... the handmade is not common any more.  Indeed it is less expensive by far to accumulate the cookie cutter items in life.

All of this brings me to the reason I am writing this blog.  In the December 2009 issue of Forbes Life magazine, ( this is a special issue ) editor Gary Walther has devoted the entire issue to handmade luxury.  As he writes, "The desire for the handmade and handwork is the hallmark of luxury now, and reflects a longing for all the adjectives on Ms. Glover's shopping list."  Priscilla Glover told The New York Times in December 2001 , "I don't want some brand trophy right now." 

Mr. Walther adds, "For decades, luxury had denoted scarcity, quality, pedigree, authenticity, and class  (  in the Gary Grant sense of the word )."  And then, since the 1980's "boundaries have blurred and logos have blossomed.  A cotton T-shirt could be marketed as a luxury garment with the right label  inside and a few spoonfuls of sequins sprinkled on the front.  Up until last year we were living in an era of luxury inflation that not even the tech-bubble bust could halt." 

He makes the point that this "mass luxury" has now made connoisseurs of former consumers.  Again, Mr. Walther quotes Ms. Glover, "I want something original, special, beautiful, charming, and even precious..."  He calls to one's attention that his December issue is not about things, but it is about "the mind, eye, and hand of the artisan that imbue an object with the spirit of authenticity." 

I could not agree more with Mr. Walther.  It's what I do in my work.  Do we really all need the next mass produced item that our neighbor also has?  And, I am also like Ms. Glover; I would rather have something original and special and charming and meaningful to me.  Let's face it.  Our homes and lives are stuffed with stuff.  People are now beginning to reevaluate (I think the economic times have brought this on fast) what means the most to them and what they can live without and actually don't even really want.  As the slow food movement has gained steam and is going mainstream; I believe the true luxury of an original handcrafted work ...for one to possess... will mean more to the consumer...to more consumers in the near future and rightfully so.  This is why I joined Etsy.com, the headquarters for the handmade movement.