a meditation on tools
posted by Art Durkee at 11:42 PM
Friday, January 22, 2010
About Me
- Name: Art Durkee
- Location: Nomadic, Western and Midwestern, United States
A wandering musician, artist, and writer, traveling across the face of the earth and sharing what is encountered. Has won awards for music composition, visual art, and creative writing.
Previous Posts
- a lesson in how to change shape
- Earth Spirals
- Wood and Water
- Woodcarving 2
- Hesychia
- Robinson Jeffers' Last Poems
- Shiva on the Plains
- Gratitudes and Lessons 2009
- In the Garden of Memory
- Happy Twelfth Night
5 Comments:
It's wonderful the tools you include here. I especially like the last fragmented image of the computer - my most invaluable;e tool beyond the humble pen. Thanks
I can appreciate the design of a good tool just like I can admire the packaging of a bottle of wine. I just don’t have any desire to use the tool or drink the wine. My wife, on the other hand, is a connoisseur of both. I view my computer more as a workspace than a tool laid out to make the tasks I have to tackle as user-friendly as possible. I don’t feel an attachment to them but then I’ve never felt very attached to any of the very many pens I’ve owned over the years.
Beyond the aesthetics of design, there is also the tactile nature of hand-tools. The feel of using them in the hands is a way of connecting to the material through the tool, no matter what tool it is, or what material is being worked, or made. Kneading a loaf of bread before baking it is a kind of earth magic of touch, and so is using a hand-drill on a slab of wood. Touch is what connects: the sense we use all the time, but perhaps take the most for granted.
I thought about including a few other kinds of tools here, but the balance was good just as it is.
You've just given me a wonderful name for a character in a short story I'm working on! In the first photograph, the letters in the window--"Tools" spelled backward. The character's name will be Sloot! Inspiration comes in waves from the most unusual places. Thanks, Art!
My pleasure.
Inspiration does indeed crop up in unexpected ways, at unexpected moments. I always enjoy those moments.
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