blacksmith
Thursday, September 9, 2010 at 7:57AM 
I created this wood cut print for a young friend who is a working blacksmith here in Michigan. He has no aspirations for college or getting that "good job" because he is already doing what it is he loves and he is one of a growing tide of people about the very important task of reskilling themselves to fulfill the necessary needs of . So many people in the western world spend much of each day of their lives at work that is not at all essential. This is a big problem because we are about to move into an era as a culture where it will soon be about the essentials; food and water, shelter, and clothing. It will be people like my friend the blacksmith who can make finely crafted knife of quality steel that will be sought out on a daily basis while the intellectual property rights lawyers will be stumbling down the lane begging their next piece of bread.
Reader Comments (4)
I SO agree, I TOO see a resurgence in sustainable, meaningful, thoughtful trades...
This is an awesome wood cut Rick. I love that it is the artists who are predicting and who will help usher in this new society. I hope the arts will be seen again as one of those vital trades.
We (my husband and I) are right on the same page. God has been gently calling us out of the fast-paced, electronic-filled world and we are feeling a real need to teach our children how to live a more meaningful, simple and sustainable life. It's encouraging to see others preparing for the inevitable changes the western world is facing. I so enjoy your blog posts!
Technology will become greater than ever, as we need to become more efficient than ever. It's important to spend less time at "jobs," but more at meaningful "work". For many, if not most, of us that will increasingly rely on the digital. At the same time, there will always be appreciation of "old" forms, such as the wood cut print above, which is truly art.