Uhhhh – just remembered the brilliant and very beautiful exhibition “The Power of Making” held at the V&A London a year and a half ago. Did you see it?
Or else, please have a look into Daniel Charny’s edition of the powers behind the skills of making. True reflections and a theoretical view on what some people normally just do – to make something, without paying it to much attention of why, how and what to make.
A great collection on some of the most interesting artifacts and review of great makers, to contribute to the world of stuff – just perfectly made:-)
From the book: “Thinking by making. Many people think that craft is a matter of executing a perceived form or idea, something that allready exists in the mind on the paper. Yet making is also an active way of thinking, something which can be carried out with no particular goal in mind. In fact this is a situation where innovation is likely to occur. Even when making is experimental and open-ended, it observes rules. Craft always involves parameters imposed by materials, tools, scale and the physical body of the maker. An unskilled maker, hitting the limits of their ability, might just stop. An expert though, will find a way through the problem, constantly unfolding new possibilities within the process.” Charny, ed. 2011