Category: Uncategorized

FRAGMENT FROM NATURE for this and next weekend features a text from the early twelfth century England that was an authoritative summary of diverse craft techniques in that era. This book is a gem and fortunately has been republished. When I first read it some fifty years ago it left a deep impression, one that was further reinforced upon rereading it. Craftsmen of old had profound skills and deep knowledge. View in LinkedIn

FOUR GLASS KILNS NEEDED BUILDING. “Again, before making stained glass, one must know how to make the kilns, the vessels to contain the ingredients and also the glass itself.” Not to mention the exacting and complex recipes for making the glass paints, and colored glass. https://lnkd.in/d7yzXt5 View in LinkedIn

MAKING EVERYTHING YOURSELF. It was not sufficient for a metalworker to know metal. “Before embarking on metalwork one must learn what kind of workshop to build, how to make the work-furnace, the bellows, the anvils, hammers, pincers, files, chisels, rasps, chasing tools, crucibles and so on, and also have some knowledge of how the relevant metal is itself produced.” https://lnkd.in/d7yzXt5 View in LinkedIn

Light can completely change a familiar image into something different. View in LinkedIn

BIG OOPS AS A LEGACY. “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” (Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943). https://lnkd.in/dif7Y_D View in LinkedIn

CAUTIONS TO READERS. “He warns the painter and glass-worker of the particular danger of flame when preparing varnish or blowing glass, he tells the gilder of the difficulty of recovering his gold leaf if he should lose it in a draft, he cautions the workman about the dangers of using quicksilver on an empty stomach.” (The last caution sends shivers down my spine -- handling raw mercury with abandon). https://lnkd.in/d7yzXt5 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this first of two weekends on the twelfth century text on how to do crafts by Theophilus. Even today, there are gems in this work for those interested in the crafts. Above all, it is an insight into the depth of knowledge of these people and the amount of skill needed to do their work. Never again visit a museum and see a painting, a piece of glasswork, or metal work from this period or before, and forget the true depth behind each one. View in LinkedIn

INTIMATE KNOW-HOW. “He knows, for example, all the actual problems of gilding: that too much glue will blacken the gold, that impure glue will cause it to crumble and too thick a leaf will not stay on.” https://lnkd.in/d7yzXt5 View in LinkedIn

MODERN FLAKE-WHITE. “A traditional lead based white, it is steeped in painting history. Evidence for its use can be found in all the oldest civilisations: as a cosmetic in 400BC Athens, by the Ancient Egyptians and back to the earliest Chinese paintings. Considered one of the earliest pigments, it is basic lead carbonate with zinc oxide and was the only widely available white pigment for artists until the emergence of others in the 19th century.” https://lnkd.in/d3iMu_c View in LinkedIn